[GUIDE] Use these 2 features to make the YouTube algorithm favor your channel more

For new or small YouTube channels, you can take advantage of the following two features to help your channel grow in the right direction:

Audience Grouping​

You can find this feature in YouTube Studio → Analytics → Audience.
It helps you identify the three main groups of viewers on your channel:

• New viewers: People watching your channel for the first time.
• Casual viewers: People who’ve watched within the past 5 months.
• Regular viewers: Loyal viewers who’ve been watching for over 6 months.

Below this section, there’s also “Popular with Different Audiences”, where YouTube shows you:

• Which videos new viewers are watching,
• Which ones casual viewers are watching,
• And which ones your regular viewers love the most.

How to use it:
If your videos tend to lose views after the first 24 hours, it usually means you’re making content that only new viewers enjoy — not your regular audience.
When regular viewers don’t engage early, YouTube doesn’t get a strong signal to keep recommending your video.

Solution:
Focus on creating videos that your casual and regular viewers are already watching the most.
When they watch within the first 24 hours, YouTube recognizes it as “high-quality content” → and starts recommending it more widely to new audiences.

Video Overlap (Viewer Format Preference)​

Still under the Audience tab, you’ll find “Formats your viewers watch on YouTube”, which shows what content types your audience prefers most:

• Videos (long-form)
• Shorts (short-form)
• Live (live streams)

YouTube displays this as a percentage bar. A full bar = your audience watches that format a lot. A short or empty bar = they’re not very interested.

How to use it:
If your chart shows that viewers prefer Shorts and long videos but rarely watch Lives, then focus your energy on those two formats and skip the livestreams.
On the other hand, if your audience engages well with lives, consider adding regular live sessions to retain them.

These two insights may seem simple, but they’re incredibly useful for small and growing channels.
They help you understand Who your audience really is, What they like watching and Which format they prefer most.
By aligning your content strategy with this data, you’ll earn stronger algorithm signals, better recommendations, and consistent long-term growth.

Thats actually really solid advice. Most small creators ignore the analytics section, but those two features give a clear roadmap. Knowing whos watching and what format they prefer saves tons of wasted effort.

I’ve found that checking these metrics weekly really helps me spot trends early djusting content based on what regular viewers love keeps engagement steady and grows reach naturally.

I never paid much attention to which format my regular viewers liked most, but now I am starting to mix it up and its already making a difference.

Quality underrated tips!

Thanks

This is solid advice. Just a quick note, if a video dies after 24 hours, it’s not always because regular viewers don't watch it. Sometimes YouTube just don't show it to them due to low CTR or weak retention.