Over the past few months, we’ve noticed some changes in YouTube’s recommendation algorithm. While support for long-form videos seems to be increasing, short-form content is seeing a serious drop in click-through rates. So what do you think this points to? Should creators now focus more on long videos? Or is this just a temporary trend? What’s your experience been like?
Is YouTube's algorithm changing? What's going on, buddy?
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All my friends keep asking, 'What's going on with YouTube lately?' Honestly, I’ve been stressing over the algorithm changes too these past few months. The most obvious shift, in my opinion, is how much weight YouTube now gives to longer videos. The old algorithm cared a lot about 'watch time'—how long viewers stayed—but now it feels like they’ve introduced this 'keep-them-watching' metric. So a 10-minute video with 7 minutes watched outperforms a 3-minute video with 2.5 minutes watched, even if the shorter one had higher relative retention. My channel’s seen a serious boost in watch time for my 20-minute talks, while my short reaction videos are getting fewer clicks.
The reason’s probably YouTube’s focus on increasing ad revenue. Longer videos mean more ad space and keep users on the platform longer. My advice to creators? If you can produce long-form content, invest in it. I’ve started stretching my vlogs to 15-20 minutes and adding more depth to my explainers. But not everyone can crank out long content on every topic, so if you’re stuck with short formats, you’ve got to maximize retention in those first 15-20 seconds. Hook ‘em fast—ask a question, dive straight into the topic, or make it visually engaging.
For now, these changes seem like a temporary wave since YouTube’s surveys show users prefer longer content. But this platform’s always shifting, so we’ve got to stay flexible. My take? Mix it up—try both long and short formats. I post two long videos a week and a few short ones, balancing the algorithm’s short-term and long-term expectations.