Struggling with TikTok views.

[pointlesseyes]

Hey!

I've been in the TikTok game for quite some time. I'm used to TT changing algorithm, however, I am trying to attack the USA market for the first time and I'm struggling quite a bit. I know it's not developed by different people then it is in the rest of the world (at least the algorithm), however, I was used that about 2% of shares+saves x views ratio is basically viral video. Now almost all of my videos are basically stuck between 500 views even with pretty good engagement rates.

Some video stats
- 503 views, 48 likes (9.5%), 11 comments + 8 shares + 12 saves (about 4% saves & shares to views ratio)
- 353 views, 22 likes (6.2%), 5 commets + 10 shares + 3 saves. (about 3.7% saves & shares to views ratio)

Other videos follow the similar route. I don't think it's setup issues as that'd put me into 0/100 views jail, and I have different setups to be specific

1. Setup
- iPhone 13 mini, ISP Proxy, No SIM

2. Setup
- iPhone 14, 4G Mobile Proxy, USA SIM

3. Setup
- iPhone 14, 4G Mobile Proxy, No SIM

4. Setup
- iPhone 13, No Proxy (Only local routed proxy via hotspot, but in my country), USA SIM

I have all of these as I was testing what actually works to avoid the initial shadowban or country issues. All of these also have 99% USA audience by analytics on videos, so they all work. I'm warming the accounts the same way I do on non USA (or UK) accounts, so few days of scrolling FYP, then niche, likes & follow & start posting with 1 post day and scale to 2-3 per day.

Am I retarded n missing something? I just don't get it, I was always driven by the views to saves/shares % ratio to determine whether the content is good, but by these % I'd have at least few thousands in every other country I am targeting, but it simply doesnt work for USA n UK.

 

[CryptoGuider]

is the time on the phone set to us time zone

 

[pointlesseyes]

is the time on the phone set to us time zone

Yep, the whole setup is

1. Factory reset the iPhone & in setup set the region to USA, log into USA iCloud Account (Newly created on the same proxy).
2. Turn off bluetooth, location services & change the timezone to the one corresponding to the proxy location
3. Wait for everything to install, let the phone rest a little. Verify with whoer.net that everything is alright, and there are no DNS leaks.
4. Install TT, Login with Apple & start warming it up.

But as mentioned, I don't think this should be a setup issue. As that'd put me down to 0 or views below 100. Am I not correct? It was like this the last time it happened to me.

 

[CryptoGuider]

Yep, the whole setup is

1. Factory reset the iPhone & in setup set the region to USA, log into USA iCloud Account (Newly created on the same proxy).
2. Turn off bluetooth, location services & change the timezone to the one corresponding to the proxy location
3. Wait for everything to install, let the phone rest a little. Verify with whoer.net that everything is alright, and there are no DNS leaks.
4. Install TT, Login with Apple & start warming it up.

But as mentioned, I don't think this should be a setup issue. As that'd put me down to 0 or views below 100. Am I not correct? It was like this the last time it happened to me.

tbh i think tiktok has changed there algo around recently because on my setup ive been doing for the past year i was getting minimum 2k views per post and now im only getting 250-500

 

[pointlesseyes]

tbh i think tiktok has changed there algo around recently because on my setup ive been doing for the past year i was getting minimum 2k views per post and now im only getting 250-500

Yeah I also think so, that'd also make sense why USA + UK is making me struggle while all other geos where it's still driven by the chinese algos are okay. I was thinking about switching to IG, but been reading that there are some serious issues as well rn.

 

[CryptoGuider]

Yeah I also think so, that'd also make sense why USA + UK is making me struggle while all other geos where it's still driven by the chinese algos are okay. I was thinking about switching to IG, but been reading that there are some serious issues as well rn.

yeah maybe reels is the move forward bro the past few weeks im stuck 250-500 and im trying different things still doing the same content and the views are awful i used to get minimum 2k a post now its just random 100-500 max so im not sure whats going on with tiktok at the moment

 

[IPSLD X (TWITTER) SHOP]

Your engagement is actually good, but on TikTok US distribution is driven primarily by watch time and completion rate, not likes or shares. Getting stuck around ~500 views usually means the video doesn’t retain viewers long enough or lacks a strong hook in the first 1-2 seconds.


Also, the US audience is very context-sensitive - humor, pacing, and trends need to feel native, not adapted. Try shorter videos (7-12 seconds), faster delivery, and clearer niche positioning.


This isn’t a shadowban - it’s a retention bottleneck you’re very close to fixing.

 

[pointlesseyes]

yeah maybe reels is the move forward bro the past few weeks im stuck 250-500 and im trying different things still doing the same content and the views are awful i used to get minimum 2k a post now its just random 100-500 max so im not sure whats going on with tiktok at the moment

I'll try warming up some IG accounts and will see how it goes.

Your engagement is actually good, but on TikTok US distribution is driven primarily by watch time and completion rate, not likes or shares. Getting stuck around ~500 views usually means the video doesn’t retain viewers long enough or lacks a strong hook in the first 1-2 seconds.


Also, the US audience is very context-sensitive - humor, pacing, and trends need to feel native, not adapted. Try shorter videos (7-12 seconds), faster delivery, and clearer niche positioning.


This isn’t a shadowban - it’s a retention bottleneck you’re very close to fixing.

Thanks, thought so as I heard something about the retention x completion before. A question though, what's a good % in this case? I have around 20% on one video, the others have around ~40%. And how would i work for carousels, I suppose it'd need to be like 6 out of 7 on average viewed?

 

[IPSLD X (TWITTER) SHOP]

Спасибо, я так и думал, потому что раньше слышал что-то о соотношении удержания и завершения просмотра. Однако вопрос: какой процент будет хорошим в данном случае? У меня около 20% на одном видео, на остальных — около 40%. А как мне работать с каруселями? Полагаю, нужно, чтобы в среднем просматривалось 6 из 7 видео?

For TikTok, your numbers are decent but not yet “scaling level.”

Rough benchmarks: 20% completion = weak, 40% = average, 50%+ = strong, and 60–80%+ is where videos usually start getting pushed hard (especially if rewatch rate is present).
For carousels, yes - the goal is deep consumption: ideally 70–80% of slides viewed (so ~5–6 out of 7), plus pauses or swipes back.


If you want to break past 500 views, focus on tightening the first 1–2 seconds and making the ending loop smoothly - that alone can push completion from 40% to 60%+.

 

[pointlesseyes]

For TikTok, your numbers are decent but not yet “scaling level.”

Rough benchmarks: 20% completion = weak, 40% = average, 50%+ = strong, and 60–80%+ is where videos usually start getting pushed hard (especially if rewatch rate is present).
For carousels, yes - the goal is deep consumption: ideally 70–80% of slides viewed (so ~5–6 out of 7), plus pauses or swipes back.


If you want to break past 500 views, focus on tightening the first 1–2 seconds and making the ending loop smoothly - that alone can push completion from 40% to 60%+.

Lovely information, thanks! Will try to make the hook better.

 

[pointlesseyes]

For TikTok, your numbers are decent but not yet “scaling level.”

Rough benchmarks: 20% completion = weak, 40% = average, 50%+ = strong, and 60–80%+ is where videos usually start getting pushed hard (especially if rewatch rate is present).
For carousels, yes - the goal is deep consumption: ideally 70–80% of slides viewed (so ~5–6 out of 7), plus pauses or swipes back.


If you want to break past 500 views, focus on tightening the first 1–2 seconds and making the ending loop smoothly - that alone can push completion from 40% to 60%+.

By the way, are we talking about the 'Watched full video' or 'On average, viewers watched x% of your video' statistics, just so I know what to look for when deciding whether the video format is good or bad.


I've changed the hook to a different one than I am using in other countries and so far it's on 630 views though, we'll see in a few days if it goes above 1k.

 

[Cruscate]

It looks like you got all your set-up right. Sometimes, the algorithm is unpredictable. Strange results these days for me too.

 

[Rawspele]

tiktok is just fd up. they just find a way to figure out the device's actual location.

 

[pointlesseyes]

It looks like you got all your set-up right. Sometimes, the algorithm is unpredictable. Strange results these days for me too.

Yeah, what was once the easiest platform to explode on seems to be the worst one currently.

tiktok is just fd up. they just find a way to figure out the device's actual location.

Possible, but I don't really think so. It's rather an algorithm update than detection one. I saw a real creators are struggling lately as well.

Anyways an update: I got over 2.5k views -> which is a huge deal after stucking ALWAYS under 500 views. Seems like an unfortunate algo update in the EN speaking countries.

 

[oliviarhodes]

If there are more than 300 views, the issue lies with the content. Check the view depth and the average watch time; for a viral video, the average watch time should be more than half the video's length.

 

[pointlesseyes]

If there are more than 300 views, the issue lies with the content. Check the view depth and the average watch time; for a viral video, the average watch time should be more than half the video's length.

I think it still has to be a mix of some sort, as I have videos with 70% avg watch time and they've flopped (under 500 views, but above 300). I dont understand these new TT signals much tbh.

 

[danielkang]

i will suggest you to set your time usa time zone in your mobile

 

[pointlesseyes]

i will suggest you to set your time usa time zone in your mobile

As mentioned above, that's already part of my setup.

 

[Mai thanh]

I think because TikTok's advertising is quite strong, they prioritize videos with ads, so average content gets less engagement. As for the settings, I think they're pretty good.

 

[zcy330]

your setups seem solid, so focus more on the content hook n retention rather than technicals.