“What’s the secret to pleasing the algorithm?” YouTube’s Creator Liaison answers this and more in new Shorts series

We think creators can always have more insight into the platforms on which they make their livings. So it’s cool that YouTube Creator Liaison Rene Ritchie, in addition to regularly uploading his own long-form videos, appearing on Creator Insider to talk about policies and features, and writing weekly blog posts about notable creators, is now posting Shorts answering creators’ most-asked questions about growing a YouTube channel.

Since Aug. 19, Ritchie has posted six Shorts, each featuring a different question, with answers from both himself and YouTube’s Senior Director of Growth and Discovery, Todd Beaupré.

The topics they’ve addressed so far include:

• How does thumbnail A/B testing work?
• Does the algorithm look at your video file name?
• Does thumbnail A/B testing include CTR?
• Does the algorithm care what video category you choose?
• What’s the secret to pleasing the algorithm?
• How important are tags to the algorithm?

As you likely know, The Algorithm is often talked about as a mysterious, mercurial force that can skyrocket or tank a creator’s career based on whether or not their content checks some unknown boxes. This isn’t quite true, which Ritchie makes clear in his video about “pleasing the algorithm.”

“The algorithm follows the audience, so please the audience,” he says. “Check your Audience tab in Analytics, see which videos are growing your audience. Make more videos like those and videos people who watch those videos would just love to watch next. And then the algorithm will take care of itself.”

All the topics he and Beaupré have addressed so far can benefit both newbie and veteran creators. Thumbnail A/B testing is a fairly new feature, for example, so even seasoned creators may not know exactly how it works or how important it is for getting a bead on what draws viewers. Questions like “Does my file name matter?” have long circulated on Reddit threads full of creators helping creators. Having these questions answered in one centralized place, with authoritative voices from YouTube giving definitive advice, will benefit creators trying to establish and grow their channels.

We’re not sure if Ritchie plans to continue these videos. We think it’d be cool, especially if he featured other YouTube execs and employees. For now, though, creators can check out those six vids, and if they’re looking for more channel growth advice from authoritative sources, we recommend checking out free content from folks like Nick Nimmin: