Although YouTube is owned by Google, it’s a unique platform with a different approach to algorithms and discovery to Google Search.
YouTube’s systems take a viewer-first approach, evaluating a user’s preferences and interests based on the data it has about their viewing habits and pulling lists of videos unique to that user.
It also prioritizes signs of video quality, especially user engagement and user satisfaction, much more than metadata.
YouTube search is one of several systems that deliver videos, and while you can rank for specific keywords and search terms, it’s also weighted heavily toward personalization and user satisfaction.
Many videos may not perform well in search but will draw traffic from other discovery systems on the platform – and user journeys don’t include YouTube Search much of the time.
Ranking on YouTube is only one part of a complex relationship between you, your content, and your audience. If you want to build a successful …