How to get into YouTube recommendations?

So, the first option implies the following steps:

 - search for videos popular in the niche – to do this, you can use the platform's search bar or a popular channel, where it will be enough to sort the video by the number of views;
 - parsing competitors' video parameters (length, semantics);
  - create your own videos with similar parameters.

The task sounds simple: your video must be better than the ones you found from your competitors. Now let's see what "better" means.

Tip #1: Make sure your video is longer than the most popular video in your niche.

YouTube takes into account expected watch time &ndash ; it is evaluated by the so-called “Expected watch time” with an absolute, not a relative value, which is listed in the document as “Deep Neural Networks for YouTube Recommendations”. Shoot long videos that keep the user on the platform longer. That is, a 10-minute video with 50% view time is better than a 5-minute – with 100% scan length.

Tip #2: An intriguing start that will provide the first 15 seconds of viewing.

It is very important that the user watches the first 15 seconds of video content. To do this, you need to make the introduction enticing. An intriguing start should be followed by the most useful and interesting piece of content. Tell the user about the benefits of the information that he will receive when watching this video.

Tip #3: add dynamic elements and semantic core to your video content

YouTube's artificial intelligence can recognize and analyze video content: transcription semantics, images, and other elements present in the video. You can parse semantics from competitors' videos by exporting the transcript and then analyzing the text. Make video content dynamic and “like” YouTube is possible through infographics, images, music, and other elements that the algorithm can read and analyze.

Tip #4: make content exclusive and original.

Once you begin to dive into the world of YouTube, you will understand how difficult it is today to interest the user. Indeed, the audience is already quite sophisticated — It's not easy to earn views. So turn on your creativity to the maximum and give people what they want to see here and now.

Let's give an excellent example, in our opinion. In just a year, a guy from the outback collected 22.5 million views, 95.5 thousand subscribers and 100 thousand dollars in income, filming POV videos with cars of the Soviet automobile industry. Recall that this video format provides for shooting in the first person. Thus, the audience could feel like driving a car and completely immerse themselves in the environment filmed by the blogger. The format itself has existed for more than a year, it gained popularity in 2019 in Germany. But the guy tried his best: in a year he released 182 videos (and this, for a second, is 3-4 videos a week). Perhaps this is too much, but apparently, he was very fired up with his idea and did not lose.

As you can see, it is not so important for views where you are. It is important to find your niche – when you love what you do, it's much easier to grab your audience's attention.

Tip #5: Prepare a content plan and stick to a strategy.

Rush in YouTube with one video will not work, here you need regularity and systematicity. A novice blogger should have scripts ready for 10-12 videos in advance. If you can post a video once a week – ok, two – perfect. But you need to think through their script in advance, so as not to disappear or sculpt content in a hurry.

Tip # 6: high quality video and sound.

People no longer watch “kolkhoz” videos and want to listen to the author, so take care of the high quality of the picture and voice acting (this is definitely not about the built-in microphone). Provide clear audio without echo, background, or any debris so you don't have to apologize to your audience.

Tip #7: Engage with your audience.

Allow viewers to comment on videos, reply to comments, thank for opinions – the good and the bad.

Tip #8: Make your previews interesting.

Make your video cover art pleasing to the eye – few. The user should be tempted to open and watch the video. The title should be catchy, well-aimed, intriguing and short (up to 60 characters). It is important to convey to the potential viewer the benefits that he will receive from watching this video in the first 15 seconds of the video. But in the title, it is also necessary to indicate as concisely as possible what the video is about, using key queries.