Want unfair growth? These YouTube algorithm hacks show you exactly how to create bingeable videos, spike CTR, and keep viewers watching to the end. I’ll walk you through retention loops, cliffhangers, comment triggers, and thumbnail split-tests so the algorithm works for you, not against you.
In this step-by-step breakdown, you’ll learn YouTube algorithm hacks that improve click-through rate, watch time, and session time—including title/thumbnail synergy, A/B testing, and community engagement that signals quality to YouTube. We’ll build a predictable system of hooks, expectations, and playlists that stack momentum across your entire channel. By the end, you’ll know how to apply these YouTube algorithm hacks to any niche, from the first 30 seconds to the end screen.
💬 Which tactic are you trying first—thumbnail split tests, retention hooks, or playlist chaining? Tell me in the comments so I can review your channel and suggest next steps!
✅Stay Connected✅
Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/FitWithTrey
Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/Treyshabba
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@FitwithTrey:6
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fitwithtrey/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trey.s.davis
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OnE1TimeR
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fitwithtrey
Snapchat: @treyshabba
💰 Affiliate Links
📷My Camera Gear📷
https://amzn.to/3clqA0r
https://amzn.to/2WHVt8H
🔥 TubeBuddy Best YouTube App 🔥
https://www.tubebuddy.com/treyshabba
🔥 VidIQ Best YouTube App 🔥
https://vidiq.com/treydavis
💰 Sofi Checking & Savings – Get $25 free 💰
https://www.sofi.com/invite/money?gcp=16a53d0f-b4b2-441d-9100-cfb506305260&isAliasGcp=false
💵 Sofi Investing – Free $25 in stock 💵
https://www.sofi.com/invite/invest?gcp=ab31edd8-701e-4109-9225-51b41e35d246&isAliasGcp=false
Coinbase Exchange – Earn up to $300 BTC
https://coinbase.com/join/YPUQLCY?src=referral-link
💳 Discover Credit Card 💳
https://refer.discover.com/s/TREY41
💳 American Express Credit Card 💳
https://americanexpress.com/en-us/referral/bluebusinesscash-credit-card?ref=TREYDmSB7&xl=cp15
Trading Tools – Get $15 off TradingView ➝ https://www.tradingview.com/pricing/?share_your_love=cryptonextsteps
✔ Help Us Reach 1000 Subscribers:
https://bit.ly/SubscribeTreyDavis
*ADDITIONAL INFORMATION*
Sports Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyyvmQHdCd6Y-d3TOIe_c4Q
Fitness Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUDL-gMqNuLmkakGAX2Rldw/
Agency Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEsKJRzT4wR-hL4jNarnelA
Reaction Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWPRtghgGBwT6d7TXjK-rZA/videos
#YouTubeAlgorithm #YouTubeHacks #YouTubeGrowth #CTR #WatchTime #Retention #ThumbnailDesign #YouTubeSEO #ContentStrategy #ViralVideos #CreatorTips #A/BTesting #TreyDavis #FitWithTrey
In this step-by-step breakdown, you’ll learn YouTube algorithm hacks that improve click-through rate, watch time, and session time—including title/thumbnail synergy, A/B testing, and community engagement that signals quality to YouTube. We’ll build a predictable system of hooks, expectations, and playlists that stack momentum across your entire channel. By the end, you’ll know how to apply these YouTube algorithm hacks to any niche, from the first 30 seconds to the end screen.
💬 Which tactic are you trying first—thumbnail split tests, retention hooks, or playlist chaining? Tell me in the comments so I can review your channel and suggest next steps!
✅Stay Connected✅
Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/FitWithTrey
Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/Treyshabba
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@FitwithTrey:6
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fitwithtrey/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trey.s.davis
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OnE1TimeR
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fitwithtrey
Snapchat: @treyshabba
💰 Affiliate Links
📷My Camera Gear📷
https://amzn.to/3clqA0r
https://amzn.to/2WHVt8H
🔥 TubeBuddy Best YouTube App 🔥
https://www.tubebuddy.com/treyshabba
🔥 VidIQ Best YouTube App 🔥
https://vidiq.com/treydavis
💰 Sofi Checking & Savings – Get $25 free 💰
https://www.sofi.com/invite/money?gcp=16a53d0f-b4b2-441d-9100-cfb506305260&isAliasGcp=false
💵 Sofi Investing – Free $25 in stock 💵
https://www.sofi.com/invite/invest?gcp=ab31edd8-701e-4109-9225-51b41e35d246&isAliasGcp=false
Coinbase Exchange – Earn up to $300 BTC
https://coinbase.com/join/YPUQLCY?src=referral-link
💳 Discover Credit Card 💳
https://refer.discover.com/s/TREY41
💳 American Express Credit Card 💳
https://americanexpress.com/en-us/referral/bluebusinesscash-credit-card?ref=TREYDmSB7&xl=cp15
Trading Tools – Get $15 off TradingView ➝ https://www.tradingview.com/pricing/?share_your_love=cryptonextsteps
✔ Help Us Reach 1000 Subscribers:
https://bit.ly/SubscribeTreyDavis
*ADDITIONAL INFORMATION*
Sports Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyyvmQHdCd6Y-d3TOIe_c4Q
Fitness Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUDL-gMqNuLmkakGAX2Rldw/
Agency Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEsKJRzT4wR-hL4jNarnelA
Reaction Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWPRtghgGBwT6d7TXjK-rZA/videos
#YouTubeAlgorithm #YouTubeHacks #YouTubeGrowth #CTR #WatchTime #Retention #ThumbnailDesign #YouTubeSEO #ContentStrategy #ViralVideos #CreatorTips #A/BTesting #TreyDavis #FitWithTrey
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Now, let me ask you a question.
00:02Are your videos getting more views than they were last week?
00:06Are you getting more engagement on your videos?
00:08Are your subscriber counts growing each and every week?
00:12Or are your videos completely stuck?
00:15Does it seem like your channel is absolutely dead and you don't know if it's you,
00:20if it's your videos, if it's your audience that you're trying to reach,
00:24or if YouTube just absolutely hates you, to be completely honest with you?
00:28Okay, now, if your views are stuck, I just want to let you know,
00:33it's not that your content is bad, it's that YouTube hasn't figured out who to show your content to.
00:40YouTube's algorithm doesn't promote random videos.
00:44They promote patterns, patterns that actually get views and engagement and likes and comments and shares
00:51and, well, keeps people on the platform itself.
00:57And in the next 10 minutes, I'm going to show you exactly what I did to, well,
01:02trick the algorithm to show it that I wanted to make good content for my audience
01:07instead of just posting random videos that, well, had no direction at all when it came to my channel.
01:15Because at the end of the day, we want the algorithm to work for you, not against you.
01:19This isn't supposed to be a treacherous, just, like, rage, anxiety-inducing time.
01:27We want this to work all in tandem.
01:30And, well, I think I have just the stuff for you, so make sure you stay to the end of the video.
01:37But if you are somebody that's new to the channel, make sure you hit the subscribe button and notification bell
01:40to get notified every time I post a video.
01:41And leave a comment in the comment section down below what your YouTube is about, like, what niche are you in?
01:48I would love to come check out some of your videos, so leave that in the comment.
01:51It helps out a lot.
01:52So the first thing that we kind of have to go over is the fact that there is a retention loop
01:56that you need to figure out when it comes to your videos.
02:00YouTube wants people to stay on the platform, whether that's watching your videos or somebody else's videos.
02:05So if they click on your video and they immediately leave the platform, YouTube assumes your video was the reason
02:14that they left the platform, even though there could be a lot of other circumstances and reasons that they actually got off.
02:20But the simple fact is they clicked on your video and now they are no longer on YouTube.
02:25And YouTube, to be candid, hates that behavior.
02:29And that's why if it is happening, your videos are not getting seen to the most amount of people possible.
02:35If you can hold a viewer for simply 30 seconds into your video, you're already miles ahead than majority of content creators.
02:45You kind of want to think of your content similar to Netflix.
02:48You want your audience to continuously think, oh, just one more episode, just one more video.
02:55Oh, I'll just stay until the end of this one.
02:58Oh, I will continue watching.
03:01Oh, I'm not going to leave the platform right now.
03:03This is getting too interesting.
03:04And the way that you can do that is by simple cliffhangers or, I guess, mini cliffhangers throughout your video.
03:10Asking questions to your audience, asking them to comment in the comment section down below.
03:15Basically, just trying to have a dialogue in the comments with your audience because that engagement and conversation can lead to not only your video being recommended to people that are similar to the people that are commenting on your video,
03:29But it shows YouTube that you're engaging with your audience so when it eventually pushes your content to more people and they do comment and like and subscribe, they know that you're actually going to respond to them.
03:42They know that you're actually going to communicate with them.
03:44They know that you're actually going to grow a community around that subset of people.
03:48And one of the ways you can really do this is by setting up a hook or really, I guess, an expectation when it comes to your videos.
03:54Obviously, you clicked on this video because you wanted to learn how to tailor YouTube's algorithm to work for you, not against you.
04:02But if my hook at the beginning was, hey, I'm going to teach you how to cook an amazing breakfast today, and my video was all about how to retain people for your YouTube video,
04:14there would be a huge disconnect between what people expected and what they would probably be pretty upset at my video because I did not simply give them the expectation that I set at the beginning of the video.
04:26So if your video is about growing on social media, the first thing that you should be addressing is how to grow on social media or throughout this video, I will teach you how to grow on social media or these five steps helped me grow my accounts.
04:43Let me show you how to do it.
04:44Those are clear set expectations.
04:47When somebody clicks on your video, they know exactly what to expect, and they're not going to be blindsided throughout your video because that's what can really tank your retention.
04:56Now, the second thing that we're going to go over comes to your click-through rate, and this is really where the magic comes in because there's a huge compounding effect when you get your title right, you get your thumbnail right, and you get the description of your video correct.
05:13Now, this is really where the magic happens, and that's the relationship between your title and your thumbnail because, well, if you don't know, those two things are probably the most important
05:25when it comes to somebody actually clicking on your video.
05:29YouTube shows your video to a small subset of people to basically test your video.
05:34If everybody in that small subset clicks on your video, watches it all the way to the end, YouTube's going to assume that your video is very good,
05:43and the people that they are promoting it to really like your content.
05:46So, of course, they're going to show it to more people that fit the description of those people that really liked your video.
05:52And then on the flip side, if they show your video to a subset of people and everybody leaves after five seconds,
05:59YouTube's going to assume that your video is not very good, so it's not going to show it to more people.
06:04Now, when it comes to your click-through rate, it's really going to vary depending on your niche, your industry, what kind of videos you're making.
06:10You really want to shoot for a click-through rate anywhere between 5% and 10%.
06:14That's kind of the standard when it comes to not only YouTube but across pretty much all social media sites,
06:19and if you can get above 10% for your click-through rate, you have the workings of a viral video,
06:26and you can expect some views to really pour into your channel.
06:30Now, when it comes to thinking of your thumbnail, your thumbnail has to tell a story.
06:35You don't necessarily want to give all the information away in your thumbnail.
06:39You don't want to try to post your entire script in your thumbnail for somebody to read it.
06:43The thumbnail is just supposed to make the viewer curious about what your video could possibly be about
06:50before they read the title of your video to get a little bit more clarity.
06:54And the cool thing about YouTube is this is something you can actually test by doing a split test when it comes to your actual thumbnails.
07:01YouTube allows you to test up to three thumbnails at a time to see which thumbnail is going to work or produce best for your video.
07:08So, I would highly recommend using the thumbnail tester on your actual YouTube account
07:14because you don't know which one's actually going to perform well unless you test them.
07:19So, I personally would do like a cartoon variant of my YouTube thumbnail.
07:25I would do one that I create in Canva, and then I will also do another one that I have either an editor make
07:32or maybe I pay for a thumbnail just to see which one performs best
07:35because you'd be very surprised to see which ones actually perform well.
07:40It'll be the thumbnails that you think are absolutely atrocious that perform the best
07:44and not necessarily atrocious.
07:46Like, when I look at them, I'm like, ooh, that's a bad thumbnail.
07:49But sometimes I'll look at them that my editor makes, and I'll be like,
07:52I don't know if that's something that I would have made.
07:55It's not really something that fits into my wheelhouse,
07:57but sometimes my audience just absolutely loves it.
08:00So, you really want to test out different variants.
08:02Don't do the exact same thumbnail in the exact same layout like three different times.
08:08I mean, sure, that might work if you've already figured out what thumbnail works best for that video,
08:13and then it's just small tweaks.
08:15But you really want to just try a diverse selection of thumbnails just to see which one works best.
08:19Maybe you have some that don't show your face in it at all.
08:22It's just text on the screen.
08:23Maybe you have one that only has pictures and elements on the screen.
08:27No text.
08:28And maybe the third one is just a combination of both.
08:30It's just something you kind of have to play around with, but trust me,
08:33it's going to save you a lot of headache in the future if you do test them early on
08:37so you know which one's actually going to perform well for your video.
08:40And then I also want you to think,
08:42based on the industry or the niche that you're making content in,
08:47what do other videos in that niche that perform very well,
08:52what do their thumbnails look like?
08:53Because you can definitely get some inspiration.
08:55If everybody in your niche has very similar thumbnails,
08:59it's probably because those thumbnails work really well.
09:03So that's something you'd probably want to test.
09:05But then also, you kind of want to think outside the box when it comes to your thumbnails.
09:10If everybody in your niche has a very specific thumbnail that they use,
09:14maybe you want to test that one.
09:16But then you also want to test something that's like exactly the opposite.
09:20Because maybe everybody's just following everybody else.
09:25And really, if you're a little bit different when it comes to the algorithm
09:27and just showing a different type of thumbnail,
09:30maybe you can capitalize on the monotony that is the niche that you're in.
09:34So now that you understand what your viral hook is,
09:37you understand that you need to be testing different thumbnails,
09:39and that, well, to be honest with you,
09:42they have to actually be good based on the other videos that are in your niche.
09:46We are going to talk about probably the most important thing outside of those two
09:51when it comes to your engagement triggers.
09:54What this means is when you initially post a video,
09:56any engagement that you get on that video,
09:59you want to make sure you're responding to that video within minutes if you can help it.
10:04I'm sure you probably have YouTube on your phone.
10:07So when somebody comments, they like, they subscribe to you,
10:10you should get that notification.
10:11And you want to make sure that basically as soon as you get that notification,
10:15you're responding to that comment.
10:17You're saying, hey, thanks for becoming a subscriber.
10:20Oh, I saw you like the page.
10:22Thank you so much.
10:23Which one's your favorite video?
10:24Because YouTube sees all additional engagement as the better your video does.
10:31Now, if you post a video and that video gets two comments,
10:34and now you reply to those two comments,
10:37and they also reply to those comments,
10:39you now have six different types of engagement on your video.
10:45So YouTube's going to say, hey, from the very small sample size,
10:48with these six comments on this brand new video,
10:51we should push it out to more people.
10:52So just making sure that you're staying active
10:54and engaging with other people in your comment section is really, really important.
10:59You also want to make sure that you're not only liking, you're hearting, you're commenting,
11:06but you're also asking questions in your video that are open and deep.
11:11You don't want to ask yes and no questions.
11:13You might want to ask, hey,
11:15which type of content do you think is going to perform best next year on YouTube?
11:20Do you think it's long form or short form?
11:22And in the comments, tell me, you know, why you think so.
11:25Because you can really stir conversations and discussions in your comment section.
11:31And like I said, you're just feeding YouTube good analytics
11:35that say your video is liked by a lot of people.
11:38Now, another thing that we've kind of coined is session time hacking.
11:46And I know it sounds kind of weird,
11:48but basically what that means is when you figure out what your niche is,
11:51you want to create content that is binge watchable in that niche.
11:55So let's say, for instance, you are in a HVAC business
12:00and you posted a video that's how to lower your bill this winter
12:06when it comes to your HVAC system.
12:07And that gets a ton of views, gets a lot of engagement.
12:11The next thing you should do is probably start a playlist
12:14with all types of different videos and different hacks
12:18to lower your bill in different type of seasons for your HVAC unit.
12:23Because you put out a video, it's done really well,
12:26it got a lot of engagement, and you know from that,
12:29people are looking for that type of content.
12:31So if you make a playlist, link it to that original video,
12:35people are going to leave that video wanting more of that same content.
12:40And now they're binge watching your entire channel.
12:42Now, not only did you get watch time from one video,
12:45but that one person is now watching the majority of your content.
12:49And YouTube loves to see that because not only does it show them
12:54that one of your videos is good, but now your channel as a whole
12:58should be promoted more because you make good quality content.
13:02And then probably the most important thing outside of actually making the video
13:07and responding to the comments, and it's just kind of, I guess,
13:10outside of the platform, is that consistency actually matters.
13:14Yes, you can post a video and go absolutely viral,
13:18but that doesn't mean that your channel is going to grow
13:21just because you had a viral piece of content.
13:24YouTube really promotes predictability.
13:26When you're posting at the same times every day,
13:29when you're making content that is very similar
13:31in terms of the topics that you actually go over,
13:34YouTube begins to use the algorithm in a way to promote you
13:39to the people that are going to like your content
13:41because you've already addressed the other steps
13:44that we are talking about in this video.
13:46Your thumbnail is good.
13:47You have a viral hook.
13:48You're engaging with all the comments and the likes
13:50and the subscribers on your video and your channel.
13:53Now YouTube can compile all of that data and say,
13:57okay, we understand who is looking for your content.
14:01And if you're consistently putting out new content and good content,
14:05YouTube will continue that cycle until you become,
14:09well, exactly where you want to be when it comes to content creation.
14:12Whether it be a side income, whether it be growing your business,
14:16whether it be leaving your full-time job, it's very doable.
14:20But as you've probably heard before, consistency is key.
14:25And not only that, but it's going to take YouTube some time
14:28to figure out your audience and the people that are actually going
14:32to support your content.
14:33This is not a thing where you can post three days in a row
14:36and YouTube's going to understand everything about the content
14:40that you produce, they understand your business,
14:42or anything like that.
14:43This is a 30 to 60 to 90 to six months to a year long of strategy,
14:51planning, looking at analytics, changing your video types,
14:55or maybe the content that you're producing,
14:57or maybe how you produce them.
14:59Because every single tweak that makes your video better,
15:03YouTube then sees that, it understands it,
15:06and then it updates its algorithm for you specifically
15:09to get you more views.
15:11Do you understand what I'm saying?
15:12The better you understand the algorithm,
15:16the better your videos will be,
15:17and the algorithm will do its best to show your video
15:21to people that really enjoy your content.
15:23You really want to make sure that you're not just chasing views,
15:27that you're chasing a community,
15:31that you're building a support system of people
15:34that like your content, that engage with your content.
15:37Yes, sure, having a viral video is really cool.
15:41Getting a million views on a short or a TikTok
15:44or an Instagram reel is really nice.
15:47But if you had a million people that watch your video
15:51every time it comes out,
15:53I promise you that will feel better
15:55than having a viral short or reel or TikTok.
16:00Because consistently being able to do that
16:03over and over again is how you become successful
16:07on this platform.
16:08And don't be afraid to go into your analytics
16:11and really see what's working well for your channel.
16:14YouTube gives you all the information
16:16that you could really ask for
16:17when it comes to growing your channel.
16:18Hey, where do my retention fall off in my videos?
16:22Hey, what does my click-through rate look like?
16:24Hey, out of these three thumbnails that I tested,
16:27which one performs best?
16:29Why does it perform best?
16:30So we can make sure that we use that going forward.
16:33And these are really the main takeaways
16:35that I was able to implement in my channel
16:38to go from 200 views a month
16:41to now over 20,000 views a month.
16:44I know, which is really crazy to see
16:46how fast it kind of spiked up
16:47once I started making these very simple changes,
16:50to be honest with you.
16:51So if you found this video helpful,
16:53make sure you hit the subscribe button
16:54and notification bell.
16:55You can be notified every time I post a video.
16:56And leave a comment in the comment section down below
16:58on if these tips helped you at all.
17:01Because I think if you implement them,
17:02you will definitely see growth in your channel.
17:06And just like that, I will see you in the next one.
17:07Peace.
17:16Peace.
17:17Peace.
17:17Peace.
17:18You
Be the first to comment