---
title: 'The Entire Shorts ALGORITHM Explained 2026'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=EcrL6keiEbo'
video_id: 'EcrL6keiEbo'
date: 2026-06-17
duration_sec: 445
---

# The Entire Shorts ALGORITHM Explained 2026

> Source: [The Entire Shorts ALGORITHM Explained 2026](https://youtube.com/watch?v=EcrL6keiEbo)

## Summary

This video explains how the YouTube Shorts algorithm works, focusing on why Shorts often get a spike in views then go flat. It covers the seed audience testing process, key metrics like viewed vs. swiped away, and tips for improving retention and hooks.

### Key Points

- **Seed Audience Testing** [0:37] — The algorithm selects a random seed audience to test your Short. If they engage, it pushes to more similar viewers; if not, views stop.
- **Viewed vs. Swiped Away** [2:24] — The key metric is 'viewed vs. swiped away' (percentage of viewers who intentionally stop to watch).
- **Benchmark for Viral Shorts** [3:19] — Paddy Galloway's study of 5,000+ Shorts found viral Shorts have 70-90% viewed percentage; 60% or less underperforms.
- **The 3-Second Hook** [4:29] — The first 3 seconds are the hook, equivalent to a long-form video's title and thumbnail. Use curiosity-sparking lines or visuals.
- **Retention vs. Watch Time** [6:19] — Shorts algorithm prioritizes audience retention (90-100% ideal) over average view duration, but longer Shorts with good AVD can still perform.
- **Best Short Length** [7:05] — Let the story dictate the length; some niches need quick shorts, others benefit from storytelling.

## Transcript

How does the YouTube Shorts algorithm
exactly work? Why do Shorts get a spike,
but then the graph becomes flat? How
will the algorithm decide whether your
Shorts will get views in millions or
thousands? The answer to all these
questions will be found in this video.
Let's begin. So, we know that big
YouTubers keep getting views on their
Shorts, but in your case, the views are
100 or 1,000. But after that, the graph
becomes completely flat. So, let's
understand why this happens. Todd
Sherman, who is the product lead of
YouTube Shorts, which obviously means
that he can tell us a lot about the
Shorts algorithm. In an interview, he
told that whenever you upload a Short,
the algorithm finds a random seed
audience for a Short. This seed audience
is basically a small group of viewers
with whom the algorithm wants to test
your Shorts. Because the algorithm
doesn't know much about your channel and
its content yet. The word random is
important here, because it's possible
that the seed audience isn't your target
audience. The algorithm randomly
selected these audiences to test your
Short. So, let's say that seed audience
doesn't engage properly with your Short.
So, after a while, YouTube stops pushing
your content to audience, which means
there will be almost no views. Let's
assume that by chance that seed audience
is your actual target audience. And if
your content is good, then naturally
viewers will engage well with your
Shorts. This is the positive signal for
the algorithm. After this, the algorithm
finds more viewers that match the seed
audience. If this new group of viewers
also engage properly with your Short,
then your Short will be pushed even
more, and this will keep on repeating.
So, now you must be understanding how
the algorithm of Shorts exactly works.
Almost every Short creator has a
question in their mind that if our Short
was performing well in the initial
phase, then why did the algorithm stop
its views? You have to understand that
the algorithm of long video and short
video is not the same and can never be
the same. In case of long-form video, a
view means that the viewer is
intentionally choosing to watch the
video. However, this is not the case
with shorts because here there is no
concept of thumbnail. Here the viewer
watches the video through the short
feed. This means that if the algorithm
wants to know if your video is good or
not, then the algorithm has only one
option. That is testing your videos to
seed audience. The next question that
will come to your mind will be what are
the important matrices which algorithm
decided that your short has performed
well and has been shown to other people
besides the seed audience. The first
metric, how many choose to view? Just
like in long video, we have CTR.
In the shorts, we have how many choose
to view metric, also known as viewed
versus swiped away. This metric tells
you how many percentage of viewers
intentionally stopped to watch to your
short and how many swiped it without
watching the video. The percentage of
viewers who stopped intentionally to
watch your video, only their views will
count. Your next question will be how
much should this viewed versus swiped
away percentage be? So, you must know
Paddy Galloway. He's a YouTube
strategist and he has worked with a lot
of big creators including Mr. Beast. So,
last year Paddy and his team conducted a
study where they studied more than 5,000
shorts across 33 YouTube channels in
different niches. According to his
study, shots whose viewed percentage was
60% and less than that, those shots
didn't perform as well. The best
performing shorts which went viral,
their viewed percentage was on an
average between 70 to 90%. Again, this
is just a study. So, I recommend you to
not obsess over these numbers. But yes,
you can take a rough idea from this that
if your viewed percentage is 80% or more
than that, then there's a high chance
that your short will go viral. Even I
personally, all the viral shots I've
seen, their viewed percentage is above
75%.
Now, I know that the maximum creators
who are watching this video, their
viewed versus swiped away ratio is not
that good. So, now let's understand how
to improve this number.
So, as I said, in the case of long
videos, we have CTR. Similarly, in the
case of shorts, CTR is equivalent to how
many choose to view. If we want to
improve CTR, we work on the title and
thumbnail of the video. That is, the
thing that the viewers see first. So, if
we talk about shorts, then which is the
thing that the viewers see first? You're
right, the first 3 seconds. So, it's not
wrong to say that the first few seconds
of your short, that is, its hook, plays
the same role as in the case of long
videos of the title and thumbnail. Now,
in a long video, we have 30 seconds to
hook the viewer. In shorts, we have only
3 seconds. This is why in both these
formats, creating a hook is very
different. But even though long-form and
shorts need different types of hooks,
the foundation of both is the same. That
is, you have to spark curiosity in the
viewer's mind in some form.
You can create this curiosity with a lot
of things. For example, depending on the
type of video you're creating, you can
say some lines in your hook, which will
immediately stop any viewer who is
mindlessly scrolling. For example, in
the start of the short, you can say,
"I'm sure you don't know about ABC."
Here, simply replace ABC with something
about which you have a video. Example,
"I'm sure you don't know about this
YouTube setting. I'm sure you don't know
about this recipe. I'm sure you don't
know about this new Minecraft update."
And this will work as a very good hook.
But it's not necessary that you say
something in your hook. Because the more
powerful a line is to grab the viewer's
attention, the more powerful and
intriguing visual. Let's take a look on
Mr. Beast's shorts. Can you slice a
bullet with a katana? Yes, sir. In this
short, Mr. Beast shows the visual of the
first 3 second, in which bullet almost
hit the katana.
But just before the climax, that scene
has been cut so that viewers can watch
the video till the end. But if you
really want to make your shorts viral,
then just creating a hook is not enough.
You also need a good audience retention.
When we make long videos, the focus of
YouTube is on watch time. Because the
algorithm wants your content to keep the
viewer on the platform for as long as
possible. That's why if a video is 1
hour long and an average viewer is
watching it for just 15 minutes, even if
its retention is bad, the algorithm will
promote that video a lot because it
keeps the viewer on YouTube for 15
minutes.
But in the case of shorts, it's
different. Here, YouTube doesn't care
about AVD. Instead, the algorithm looks
at audience retention. If the audience
retention is 25%, then it won't work.
The best-performing shorts have a 90% or
100% retention, or even more if the
viewer watches the short again. But it's
not like the shorts algorithm doesn't
care about AVD. According to a study by
Paddy Galloway, shorts with more AVD
performed better as compared to others
with lower AVD.
So, keep this in mind if you're thinking
of making 5-second shorts to get 100%
retention and go viral. I'm sure after
hearing all this, you're confused as to
what's the best length for shorts.
Should we make 10- to 15-second shorts
to get good retention? Or according to
Paddy's study, should we make long
shorts? I'll give you the answer that
YouTube employees gave, and that is make
a short that aligns with your story.
Some niches will have quick, instantly
rewarding shorts, while in other niches,
you can use storytelling to build a
narrative arc with a beginning, middle,
and end, and you can make longer shorts.
So, yeah, the best length for YouTube
shorts is in which you can perfectly
deliver your content.