How YouTube's Home Screen Works : What viewers see first when they open the YouTube app or visit YouTube.com

Home is what viewers see first when they open the YouTube app or visit YouTube.com. It's the one-stop destination for YouTube, a place where we aim to deliver the most relevant, personalized recommendations to each viewer.

 

Cover Image of How YouTube's Home Screen Works :
 What viewers see first when they open the YouTube app or visit YouTube.com

It’s also a great place for your videos to be found by non-subscribers. Over 200 million different videos appear on Home each day for viewers around the world.

When a viewer visits home, YouTube displays videos from their subscriptions, videos watched by similar viewers, new videos, and more. The selection of videos is based on:

• Performance -- How well the video has engaged and satisfied similar viewers, among other factors.

• The viewer’s watch and search history -- how often the viewer watches a channel or topic and how many times we’ve already shown each video to the viewer.

Note: subscribers watch more from their subscriptions via Home than through the Subscriptions tab.

Tips for How YouTube's Home Screen Works

• Upload on a consistent basis to give your audience an expectation of when they can see your videos.

• Keep viewers engaged for longer and encourage them to come back for more. Whether it’s with a long video, or several short ones, the longer you keep people watching, the more your content may get surfaced.

• Keep doing what works. When you create something that's working for your audience, keep at it. We surface more of what your viewers like. Don't be afraid to experiment but do so mindfully. Observe feedback from your audience and give them time to adjust.

• See how often your channel appears on home, globally, by going to your YouTube Analytics Traffic Sources report and then clicking the ‘Browse features’ box. View the stats under ‘Home’.

• Avoid making content that violates YouTube policies: ensure you title videos accurately, use appropriate and non-spammy tags, and avoid misleading thumbnails.

• Remember, there are two feeds: Home and Subscriptions.

MYTH and TRUTH About How YouTube's Home Screen Works 

MYTH : "My videos aren’t showing in the feed."

TRUTH  : There are two feeds -- Home and Subscriptions. Videos on Home are personalized based on viewer preferences.

MYTH : "YouTube would be better if the Subscribers feed was the default."

TRUTH : We’ve tested this many times. Every time it dramatically reduces how much subscribers watch, and come back to YouTube.