- Does the YouTube Algorithm Really Hate Small Creators, or Is It Just Us?
- IMG-20251003-WA0000(1).jpg (89.28 KiB) Viewed 15 times
.I’ve been grinding for months now. Some videos do decent, but then I’ll upload something I swear is my best work ever, and it just dies. Barely 20 views. No push. Nothing. And the worst part? The analytics will show “impressions: almost zero.” Like, how am I supposed to get clicks if the video isn’t even being shown?
What They Tell Us vs Reality
They say:
- Optimize your titles with keywords.
- Use strong thumbnails.
- Keep people watching (audience retention is king).
- Encourage likes, comments, and shares.
Like, is it just me or does the algorithm really push people who already have views? It’s like the rich get richer situation.
My SEO Experiments
I actually tried an experiment. I uploaded two videos:
1. One with a super optimized title, tags, and description (like textbook SEO).
2. Another with a lazy title, barely any tags, and no SEO effort.
Guess which one did better? The lazy one
. Why? Because for some reason it got picked up by “Suggested” on a random viral video. So now I’m sitting here thinking… is SEO really that powerful, or is “Suggested” traffic actually more important than search?Suggested vs Search Traffic
From what I’ve seen, search traffic (where your SEO really matters) is cool but kinda limited. Suggested traffic (YouTube recommending your video next to a bigger one) is where the magic happens. But how do you get into Suggested if your videos don’t get views in the first place? That’s the chicken-and-egg problem I keep running into.
The Watch Time Trap
Another thing I’ve noticed—sometimes YouTube doesn’t care if your video gets clicks if people click off in the first 20 seconds. Like, I had a video with 60% click-through rate (thumbnails were
), but my average view duration was trash. So YouTube basically punished me.It’s so frustrating because I can get people to click… keeping them watching? That’s another skill entirely. Honestly, I didn’t realize how much “storytelling” matters on YouTube until the analytics started humbling me.
Do Tags Even Matter Anymore?
Real question is, do tags actually do anything in 2025? Because I feel like I’m wasting time filling out 500 characters of them. Half the gurus say “tags are dead, YouTube barely uses them now,” and the other half say “tags help with misspellings and context.” I personally haven’t seen a difference.
Thumbnails: The Real SEO?
Lowkey, I think thumbnails are more important than tags, maybe even more than titles. Like, you could have the most boring title ever, but if your thumbnail is eye-catching, people will click. I tested this once—kept the same video and changed the thumbnail three times. Every time, the CTR shifted like crazy.
It almost feels like thumbnails are the real SEO, because without clicks, nothing else matters.
Does the Algorithm Test Us?
Here’s a theory I’ve been hearing: YouTube “tests” your video with a small group, and if they watch and engage, it pushes it further. If they don’t, it buries the video.
If that’s true, it explains why sometimes a video just dies instantly. Maybe the first test group wasn’t the right audience, and boom, you’re doomed. I don’t know if that’s fact or just another rumor, but it makes sense.
Big Creators Have It Easier
Look, I get it. Big creators worked for years to build their base. Respect. But it’s also way easier for them now. They upload anything, and it gets pushed because they already have fans clicking fast. That tells the algorithm “this video is hot,” and then it snowballs. Meanwhile, small creators are grinding for one lucky break.
Sometimes it feels like luck matters more than strategy. One right video at the right time can change everything.
What Actually Works?
From my little experiments and what I’ve seen:
- Thumbnails > tags.
- Suggested traffic beats search.
- Retention + watch time decide if you blow up.
- Titles need to be clicky, but not clickbait-y (hard balance).
- Posting consistently seems to help, but it’s exhausting.
Your Turn
So I’m curious: what’s your take on this?
Do you think the YouTube algorithm actually hates small creators, or are we just bad at SEO and retention? Have you had a video that randomly blew up even though you didn’t optimize it at all? Or maybe the opposite, a perfectly optimized video that flopped?
I wanna hear real stories, not just “guru advice.” Because honestly, the more I test this, the more I think YouTube is just vibes sometimes
.