I Studied 5,400 YT Shorts to CRACK the Algorithm

Summary

This video script delves into the findings of a comprehensive study analyzing over 5,500 YouTube shorts to understand the platform's algorithm better. It highlights five key insights, emphasizing the importance of average view duration and video length for maximizing watch time. The script also discusses the 'viewed versus swiped away' metric, suggesting that a higher percentage indicates a better chance of virality. Additionally, it compares the subscriber and monetization potential of shorts versus long-form videos, providing valuable insights for creators aiming to grow their audience and revenue.

Takeaways

• 🔍 The video discusses a study analyzing over 5,500 YouTube shorts across 34 niches to understand the algorithm for going viral.
• 📈 The study was conducted by Paddy Galley, a YouTube expert who has generated billions of views and worked with major creators.
• 🎨 The YouTube shorts algorithm works by initially showing random popular content to new viewers and then building a profile based on their engagement to serve more niche-specific content.
• 📊 High average view duration is a key factor in a short's success, with top-performing shorts averaging between 50 to 60 seconds of watch time.
• 📉 Shorts with lower average view duration tend to have fewer views, indicating the importance of holding viewer attention for longer periods.
• 📹 Longer shorts have the potential for higher watch time and average view duration, which YouTube's algorithm favors.
• 👀 The 'Viewed Versus Swiped Away' (VVSA) metric is crucial, measuring the percentage of viewers who watch a short versus those who swipe away, indicating the quality of the short's hook.
• 📚 A high VVSA (70-90) can lead to hundreds of thousands of views, but it's not a guarantee for virality.
• 🤔 The study found that long-form videos gain more subscribers per view compared to shorts, suggesting a trade-off between content type and subscriber growth.
• 💰 YouTube shorts have been monetized, with earnings per thousand views increasing post-monetization, though still lower than long-form videos.
• 🚀 The presenter suggests that understanding these insights can help creators make more engaging shorts that could potentially go viral and increase revenue.

Q & A

What was the main purpose of analyzing over 5,500 YouTube shorts across different niches?

The main purpose was to decode the YouTube shorts algorithm and determine the best strategies for creating viral content.

Who is Paddy Galley and what is his relevance to the study mentioned in the script?

Paddy Galley is a YouTube expert who has generated billions of views and worked with major creators. His tweet about a massive study he and his partner conducted to understand the YouTube shorts algorithm is central to the script's discussion.

What did Elon Musk do in response to Paddy Galley's tweet about the YouTube shorts algorithm study?

Elon Musk did a celebratory live stream in 144p in honor of the study's findings.

How does the YouTube shorts algorithm work from the perspective of a new viewer?

For a new viewer, the algorithm starts by showing random general popular shorts to gather engagement data, then builds a profile of the viewer's preferences and explores niches to find the best shorts to keep the viewer on the platform.

What does 'best' mean in the context of the YouTube shorts algorithm?

'Best' refers to the shorts that are most likely to engage viewers and keep them on the platform for longer periods, which YouTube prioritizes to increase watch time and generate revenue.

How can a creator determine if their short is considered 'the best' by the algorithm?

A creator can determine this by looking at metrics such as average view duration, which indicates how long viewers are watching the short and engaging with it.

What is the significance of average view duration in the context of YouTube shorts?

Average view duration is significant because it signals to the algorithm that a short is engaging and worth promoting to more viewers, potentially leading to higher views, subscribers, and revenue.

What is the relationship between the length of a YouTube short and its performance in terms of views?

Longer shorts, typically between 50 to 60 seconds, tend to perform better in terms of views because they have the opportunity to accumulate more watch time and higher average view durations.

What is the meaning of 'vvsa' in the context of YouTube shorts?

VVSA stands for 'Viewed Versus Swiped Away' and measures the percentage of people who choose to watch a short versus those who swipe away because they are not interested.

How does the 'vvsa' metric impact the potential for a YouTube short to go viral?

A higher 'vvsa' indicates that more people are choosing to watch the short, which can signal to the algorithm that it is engaging and worth promoting, thus increasing its chances of going viral.

How does the monetization of YouTube shorts compare to long-form videos in terms of earnings per thousand views?

Before proper monetization, shorts earned about 0.27 cents per thousand views, which doubled to 0.061 cents after monetization. However, this is still significantly less than long-form videos, which can earn between one to two dollars or more per thousand views.

What advice does the script give regarding the decision to create YouTube shorts versus long-form videos?

The script advises creators to consider the time it takes to produce each type of content, the views they typically receive, and the monetization rates to determine which format offers the best return on their time investment.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Decoding YouTube Shorts Algorithm

The video begins with the narrator discussing their analysis of over 5,500 YouTube shorts across various niches to understand the algorithm better. They mention a study by Paddy Galley, a YouTube expert, which aimed to decode the YouTube shorts algorithm. The study received significant attention, including a celebratory live stream by Elon Musk. The narrator intends to delve deeper into the study's findings, which are expected to help viewers create viral shorts. They clarify that the insights are entirely credited to Paddy and his team. The video then transitions to explaining the YouTube shorts algorithm from a viewer's perspective, discussing how it personalizes content based on user engagement and the concept of 'best' shorts being prioritized by the algorithm.

05:00

📊 The Impact of Average View Duration on Virality

The second paragraph delves into the importance of average view duration for YouTube shorts. It highlights how longer watch times signal to the algorithm that a video is of high quality, thus increasing its likelihood of being recommended to more viewers. The narrator presents data from a spreadsheet of real YouTube shorts, showing a correlation between higher average view durations and greater views. They also reference Paddy's study, which supports the notion that shorts with an average view duration between 50 and 60 seconds tend to perform better. The paragraph also touches on the relationship between video length and watch time, suggesting that longer videos inherently have the potential for higher watch times and better performance in the algorithm.

10:02

📈 Understanding VVSA and Its Role in Short Success

In the third paragraph, the focus shifts to a lesser-known metric called VVSA (Viewed Versus Swiped Away), which measures the percentage of viewers who choose to watch a short versus those who swipe away after encountering it in their feed. The narrator explains that a higher VVSA indicates a more engaging hook and a better chance for a short to go viral. They present data showing that top-performing shorts have a higher VVSA compared to lower-performing ones. The paragraph also discusses the implications of VVSA on the potential for views, with the study suggesting that shorts with a VVSA between 70 and 90 have the potential for significant views, although it's not a guarantee. The narrator also addresses the changing landscape of YouTube shorts, noting the increasing competition and the need to stand out.

Keywords

💡YouTube shorts

YouTube shorts are short-form videos that last up to 60 seconds, designed to engage viewers quickly. They are a central theme of the video, as the speaker analyzes how to make these videos go viral by decoding the algorithm. The video discusses different metrics and strategies for creating successful YouTube shorts.

💡Algorithm

An algorithm is a set of rules or processes followed by a computer to solve a problem or perform a task. In this video, the YouTube algorithm determines which shorts to show to users based on their engagement patterns. The speaker explores how understanding and leveraging this algorithm can help creators increase their video views and subscriber count.

💡Engagement

Engagement refers to how viewers interact with content, including likes, comments, and watch time. High engagement signals to the YouTube algorithm that a video is valuable and should be shown to more users. The video emphasizes the importance of creating engaging content to improve average view duration and viewer retention.

💡Average view duration

Average view duration is the average amount of time viewers spend watching a video. This metric is crucial for YouTube shorts, as videos with higher average view durations are more likely to be promoted by the algorithm. The speaker demonstrates this with data showing that shorts with longer average view durations receive more views.

💡Viewed versus swiped away (VVSA)

VVSA is a metric that measures the percentage of viewers who watch a short instead of swiping away. A high VVSA indicates that the content is engaging enough to hold viewers' attention. The video explains that shorts with higher VVSA are more likely to succeed and receive more views.

💡Niche

A niche is a specific segment or category within a larger market. The video mentions analyzing YouTube shorts across 34 different niches to understand how the algorithm works in various contexts. Identifying a niche helps creators target their content to a specific audience, increasing the chances of engagement and success.

💡Monetization

Monetization refers to the process of earning money from content. The video discusses how YouTube shorts were recently monetized, allowing creators to earn revenue from ads shown on their videos. It compares the earnings from shorts to long-form videos, highlighting the financial potential of each format.

💡Retention

Retention is the ability to keep viewers watching a video for a longer period. High retention rates are beneficial for the algorithm, as they indicate that viewers find the content engaging. The speaker advises creators to focus on improving retention by making longer, high-quality shorts that maintain viewer interest.

💡Click-through rate (CTR)

Click-through rate is the percentage of viewers who click on a video after seeing its thumbnail or title. While CTR is more relevant for long-form videos, the concept is adapted to shorts through VVSA. The video highlights the importance of creating compelling thumbnails and titles to attract viewers initially.

💡Return on Investment (ROI)

ROI measures the efficiency of an investment, in this case, the time and effort put into creating YouTube content. The speaker encourages creators to evaluate whether making shorts or long-form videos offers a better return based on views, subscriber gains, and monetization. The analysis helps creators optimize their content strategy for maximum benefit.

Highlights

Analyzed over 5,500 YouTube shorts across 34 niches to understand the algorithm for going viral.

The study was initiated by Paddy Galley, a YouTube expert with billions of views.

Elon Musk celebrated the study with a live stream, highlighting its significance.

The YouTube shorts algorithm works by initially showing random popular content to new viewers.

The algorithm builds a profile of viewer preferences based on engagement.

High average view duration is a positive signal for the algorithm, leading to more views.

Shorts with an average view duration of 50-60 seconds tend to get around 4 million views on average.

Longer shorts (50-60 seconds) have a higher chance of increasing watch time and average view duration.

The study found that shorter shorts (30 seconds or less) tend to perform worse.

VVSA (Viewed Versus Swiped Away) is a key metric for understanding short engagement.

A high VVSA indicates a better chance of a short going viral.

The study revealed that long-form videos gain more subscribers per view compared to shorts.

Monetization of YouTube shorts has improved, with earnings increasing post-monetization.

The potential for shorts to earn more is expected to rise in the coming months.

Content creators should weigh the time investment and view potential of shorts versus long-form videos.

The transcript provides a detailed guide on how to download and analyze YouTube shorts data for insights.

The study encourages creators to focus on fundamentals like average view duration and VVSA for success.

Transcripts

I analyzed over 5 500 YouTube shorts

across 34 different niches to try and

decode the algorithm and figure out the

best way to go viral and I want to show

you what I found so here's how it all

happened so the other day I was

scrolling through Twitter

procrastinating as usual and I came

across this tweet from Paddy Galley now

Patty is a YouTube expert who has

generated billions of views with a b and

worked with huge creators including lord

Jimmy and basically Paddy's tweet broke

down a massive study that he and his

partner did to decode the YouTube shorts

algorithm and despite the fact that most

YouTube analytics studies make most

people feel a little bit like an Edward

Munch painting but the findings in this

study are actually so profound that it

got a huge amount of views and even Elon

Musk did A celebratory live stream in

144p just in its honor all jokes aside

though this study is actually a real

thing so today I want to Deep dive and

expand on it so by the end of this video

you will have everything you need to

know to start making viral shorts that

get you you more subscribers make you

more money and get you lots of

girlfriends so a quick note though even

though this video is probably titled or

introd something like I analyze 3.3

Billion YouTube shorts to crack the

algorithm I want to make it very clear

that all the credit and insights for

this study are 100 with Patty and his

team I didn't have anything to do with

it I just needed a clickable YouTube

title so please don't sue me Patty

anyway with that out of the way let's

get into this because this is

fascinating stuff now this study had

five massive findings that will help you

get more views with your shorts but

before we can get into those you need to

actually understand a little bit about

how the YouTube shorts algorithm

actually works and the best way to

understand this is from the perspective

of a viewer so if you're a viewer

opening up YouTube shorts for the first

time ever what YouTube's gonna do

because it has no data on you it's gonna

send you random General popular shorts

that's going to measure which ones you

engage with so which ones you watch

which ones you maybe like and comment on

and it's going to gradually start to

build up a profile on what type of

content you'd like then once it has an

idea of what kind of content you like is

going to explore that Niche for the best

shorts in it and we'll talk more about

what best means in a second and it's

going to try and feed you those shorts

because those shorts are going to be

more likely to keep you on the YouTube

platform for as long as possible binging

your life away which makes YouTube money

so let's say for example whenever

YouTube happens to show you a cricket

show you really engage with that shot

you watch it all the way to the end you

like it you comment on it the algorithm

is going to take notice of that and

eventually it's going to be like hey

let's search our YouTube library for

other videos of Sports and send

them to this person and see if they also

engage with them so you'll find yourself

getting more Cricket shorts you might

get some badminton in there maybe some

baseball you know the real like lowest

of the low but as we mentioned

previously there are probably a lot of

cricket shorts and baseball shorts and

badminton shorts so how is YouTube know

which ones to serve to you so it's going

to find the best shorts in those

categories and give those ones to you

first because those ones are going to be

the most likely to keep you on the

platform and this is where we can start

to get into what best actually means

because if we take a step back from this

example and put ourselves back in the

shoes of the Creator your job is to have

your shorts be perceived by the

algorithm as the best because that means

that your shorts are going to be the

ones that are most likely to be pushed

to viewers first which means you'll get

the Lion's Share of the views

subscribers and all that good stuff but

instead of me just telling you what the

best is I actually want to show you some

data on this so here is a spreadsheet

full of YouTube shorts data from real

YouTube shorts and if some of you are

watching this right now I wonder how you

can get a spreadsheet of die like this

as you come to your channel and you go

to analytics and in analytics you find

that the analytics that you actually

want the data of let's say I just wanted

the overview I come to overview I'd

click see more it's going to open up a

more advanced analytics panel and then

you come up here to this download button

and you can pick which stats you want to

download into a spreadsheet and which

ones you don't by clicking on this plus

button here and then adding say

different columns to your report and

then once you're happy with your report

you can't appear and you click on this

download button it'll export your data

so back to as you're about to see this

data can give us some really interesting

insights so in this shade each one of

these roads is an individual short so

what I'm going to do is come across to

average view duration here which is on

average how long did a viewer watch

particularly short for and what I'm

going to do is I'm going to sort from

z2a which is going to order this sheet

in a way that the shorts with the

highest average view duration are going

to come at the top and then the shorts

the lowest average view duration will be

sorted to the bottom and once we've done

that grab the views here so from here

I'm going to highlight just down this is

a really basic analysis and click down

here and grab the average what you can

see is that on average the top 26 shorts

from this Channel with the highest

average view duration have about 3.2

million views on average now if I change

this and sort this to A to Z this is

going to give us the lowest average view

duration shorts with the lowest one

having just nine seconds and then I do

the exact same thing I grab our top 26

videos and look at the average has

plummeted the average amount number of

views here is now about seven hundred

thousand this channel has some pretty

good shots on it so even it's worst

short to do pretty well but 700 000 is

nowhere near 3.2 million so what this is

telling us is that if you have a higher

average view duration not just see your

short but actually watch it for a long

amount of time YouTube algorithm sees

that as a positive signal that that sure

is a good shot and makes it more likely

that that shot's going to be pushed out

to more viewers I know this is really

basic and obvious stuff but often we're

always looking for the hacks and I think

we need to start on a foundation of what

are the fundamentals that really matter

and clearly seeing the data here the

average view duration is one of those

and Paddy's study also backs this up for

example this is a graph that encompasses

33 different YouTube channels across

different niches and you can see the

averages it looks pretty similar right

with shorts between an average view

duration of 50 and 60 seconds on average

got 4.1 million views think about that

so in essence if your short can maintain

an average view duration of between 50

and 6 60 seconds especially as it scales

chances are on average you're going to

get about 4 million views but that's a

lot easier said than done so how can you

actually do that well our study has some

insights in this as well I want to come

back to this channel here and show you

something else very interesting so if we

sort out views again Z to A which is

going to give us the top viewed shorts

on this channel and if we come across to

the duration of this shot so this is an

average of iteration this is how long

each shot is let's have a look through

some of these numbers so we've got 45

seconds 59 seconds 52 seconds 54 seconds

we keep going down this list we'll see

there's only about three shorts in this

entire list that are in the 30 seconds

or below and even those shorts two of

them are like 37 seconds so they're like

close to 40 seconds anyway however if we

come into views and we sort this the

other way around to the shorts with the

lowest amount of views I want you to

have a look at this column again look at

how these numbers have changed right

we've got a number of shorts in the 30

seconds and below I can just see 10 from

eyeballing this but in general if you

just look over this you can can see that

on average the shorts that performed

worse tend to be shorter no pun intended

than the shorts that are longer and

interestingly this is also backed up by

Paddy's study as well so you can see on

this graph the shorts that Paddy analyze

most of them were between 30 and 40

seconds you can see shorts between 50

and 60 seconds performed far better than

their shorter counterparts now why is

this well again with the caveat that

people are actually watching your shots

because if you just post a long shot no

one watches it then it doesn't matter

but a longer short has the opportunity

to get more of the Thing YouTube cares

about most which you know is high watch

time for that shot if you're posting a

30 second short chances are your most

engaged viewer will probably watch that

short all the way to the end so you'll

get about 30 seconds of watch time now

some really engaged viewers if you're a

little bit sneaky and loop your short

might watch your short one and a half

times maybe even two or three times but

that's the vast minority right on the

other hand if you have a short that's

double the length so not 30 but 60

seconds most of your most engaged

viewers will watch that shot all the way

to the end the difference is is an

Engaged viewer watching your show all

the way to the end on a longer shot

gives you one minute of watch time as

opposed to just 30 seconds so a way to

think about this is that the longer

short has the opportunity to get more

watch time and a higher average view

duration than a shorter shot just

inherently it does due to length now

obviously there are outliers you can see

it in my data for example this shot is

one of the worst performing shorts on

this channel and it is 51 seconds a

reason for that could be as you can see

the average view duration for this short

isn't actually so great but regardless

in general if your content is really

high quality you're going to have better

results if you create a longer short

between 50 and 60 seconds versus a

shorter short but we're just getting

started here because the study found

something really interesting with a stat

you might not have ever heard of called

vvsa AKA viewed versus swiped away

essentially if you go to say one of your

shorts through content and then come

down to the analytics of it by clicking

on say this button and then come across

to the reach tab what you'll see is this

little box box here how many choose to

view which is your vvsa think about it

for those of you who know click-through

rate for long form videos it's basically

like your click-through rate but for

shorts because on shorts most people

don't really click on them they find

them in the shorts feed so one of the

big colors for shorts is not how many

clicks it can get but rather whether or

not people will actually watch it versus

swipe away from it so essentially what

this measures is the percentage of

people who actually watched your short

when they came across it in the feed

versus the people who'd kind of just

landed on it and swiped away from it

because they weren't that interested so

this is a decent metric to look at if

you want to gauge the quality of your

shorts hooks whether or not you're able

to actually really grab someone's

attention the first couple of seconds

because if you can't do that you're not

going to watch the remainder of the

short and they're going to swipe away

and that's obviously bad but let's get

some real numbers on this now if we come

back to our data and we have a look at

this column here which is a viewed

versus swiped away we just get a quick

gauge of it you can see that on average

for these lower performing shots the

viewed versus swiped away is about 70 so

on average 70 of people watch the a

short rather than swiping away from it

and that's decent which explains why

even the lowest performing shorts on

this channel still manage to get a large

amount of Impressions and Views however

if we change this and again we sort by

the highest performing shorts what we

can see is the viewed versus swiped away

stat changes a little bit so now we can

say it's gone up 10 and on average it's

80 and that might not seem like a big

change but when you're competing against

so many shorts and you're trying to be

the Pinnacle you're trying to be the

best in your Niche so you get served

first a 10 difference can be a big

difference and the study found some

interesting insights on this if we have

a look at this graph this is kind of

laying out all the different videos and

shorts that this study analyzed based on

vvsa what you can see down here in this

corner if we move across this line you

can see that if you have a vvsa less

than 40 like chances are your short is

not going to get more than 10 000 views

on the other hand if you're having a

vvsa between 70 and 90 your shorts could

be getting hundreds of thousands of

views as you can see in this kind of

green section here now does just having

a high vvsa guarantee that your shot is

going to get hundreds of thousands of

views not necessarily for example if we

come to the channel you're watching

right now which I'm going to out myself

here but um and we come down to one of

the few shorts that I've posted click on

it we come across to reach you can see

this short has almost 90 percent vvsa

and yet this short only has 10 000 views

so it's not a guarantee that you're

gonna get hundreds of thousands of views

but based on the data we can see I would

still think it's useful to look at this

stat and kind of treat it as a you must

check this box in order to have the

chance to go viral in other words you

can see if you're getting less than 40

vvsa like the chances of you really

blowing up are pretty much nil however

if you're getting more than that that

doesn't guarantee you're gonna blow up

but at least the door is open and

there's a potential assuming you do some

of the things we talk about later in

this video and also the things we talked

about earlier but with all this being

said obviously we can see that the

competition for shorts is getting

tougher and tougher it's no longer the

wild west so a short even worth doing

well if we have a look at more data from

Paddy's study what we can see here the

number of Subs gained per 10 000 views

for YouTube shorts versus long form

videos and what you can see is really

interesting is that audio overall across

all of the channels that Paddy studied

on average long form videos actually got

more subscribers per view than short so

per 10 000 views long form videos got 22

subscribers if a short got 10 000 views

it was only going to get about 17

subscribers however something that might

be important to note here is that on

average it's probably going to take you

a lot more time to create a long form

video than a short so that's kind of

something that you'll want to take into

account looking at these numbers figure

out how long it takes you to create a

YouTube show on average how long it

takes you to create a long-term video on

average and use your own Common Sense

assuming you want to do shorts that is

as to like whether or not it's actually

worthwhile you're doing that assuming

your goal is to get subscribers and what

about making money we've all seen those

videos about how to make ten thousand

dollars a day with YouTube shots and you

actually go and post a YouTube shot for

those of you who are monetized you'll

probably have found that your YouTube

shorts generate more like 10 cents per

day but recently shorts were properly

monetized by YouTube and what we can see

here in Paddy's graphs are the before

and after so before shorts were probably

monetized they were earning on average

per thousand views about 0.27 cents now

however after monetization they only got

0.061 cents which is more than double

the amount they were earning previously

now it's still nowhere near that of a

long form video which is pretty easy for

a long form video to be you know between

one to two dollars per thousand views in

some niches it can be way higher than

that but what we can see is that shorts

are making more money than they once

were chances are hopefully this number

is going to continue to go up again look

at these numbers how much YouTube shorts

make on average per thousand views then

look at on average how much long-form

videos make per thousand views which

again is different on every Niche but

could like as a baseline you could look

you know between one to two dollars per

thousand views and again figure out how

much time it takes you to create shorts

and how many views your shorts get

versus how much time it takes to create

long form videos and how many views they

get and then work out for yourself which

ones are giving you the best test Roi

the return on your time invested and you

can see Paddy also expects that shorts

will start making more money in the next

few months but I highly doubt they will

ever Challenge long-form videos but

still again just work out your numbers

so I hope this information was helpful

for you again padding his team of

Legends here for putting together this

study so big thanks to him but if you

want to learn more our Nitty Gritty

specific techniques and hacks that you

can use to create better shots that will

increase your attention increase your

vvsa and a whole lot more check out the

video on screen where I share 28 YouTube

short attacks that can feel a bit

illegal to know