I will keep it really simple.
You first have to understand that there are a few different kinds of traffics on youtube.
For Search: You gotta do some Youtube SEO, won't go into the details here because it's a money-making technique right now and it seems everyone talking about youtube is just regurgitating outdated information.
Do your keyword research, don't rank for dumb terms that get no traffic or terms that are too competitive ( The top videos are ranking on google as well and the content is definitely better than yours. )
You can have it figured out pretty easily like me if you put in the effort to test various variables like Search term, CTR, Watch time, Engagement, Tags, Titles ( I have already given you a big clue here, if you can't figure it out then maybe you are not cut out for this ).
Can a new video outrank an old video with thousands of likes and millions of views? Yes, on youtube it will take only a few days to do so.
However, Even if you rank in Youtube for search, it isn't sustainable if the niche is tough and your competition is ranking in google video, don't let youtube fool you with their search volume on G trends, the search volume on the big G is usually much more and your competitors will outrank you again easily.
For Browse either on Home or the side of other videos: It's basically just the watch time and the tags you use. How to get High watch time? Figure out a way to get High retention views from real people, none of those botting crap, you don't really need thousands of views, it's just a percentage. The volume is only needed to hedge the drop in percentage if your video is pure shit and people just stop watching at the start. In that case, don't even bother posting that video.
How to get legit views? Figure out Youtube SEO first, there is your starter traffic.
Yes, there are massive amounts of uploads on youtube but there is also a massive amount of viewers every single day, don't let anyone tell you it's impossible, they probably haven't tried.
What people say about posting quality content is correct, just that no one really connects the dots. Quality content gets you higher watch time longevity, allows your video to get recommended more often and thus achieving that "Viral" effect. Also, another trick is to just post a really short video so your percentage doesn't drop as drastically ( Depends on your niche ).
The key for both techniques to last is Watch Time. In short, you need awesome content.
So when will your video go viral? You have no control, the only control is time and probability.
The algorithm will decide to randomly test your video against a certain user profile and if the video CTR is good and watch time holds up, it will try again with another viewer who has the same interest profile, if it is clicked and holds up again it will keep testing with more users and gradually it will speed up.
Just pump out more short videos and wait, it will get faster on your 2nd viral video when youtube recommends your content to your subs + people who have previously watched your video. ( A trick here is to also use your unique brand as a tag so you get recommended more often ).
I have had a video blow up to 100k views within a day only to sizzle of at 300k because the watch time dropped, totally new channel btw.
In Conclusion
Use search to get initial traction for your videos so the recommendation algorithm kicks in to test your videos. If you use fake traffic it is not going to be recommended properly because these accounts do not have the right interests tag to them, your video will just be shown to other bots and fail the CTR test.
Alright, I predict some of you will still be clueless after this post, not taking Q&As for this. There is no free lunch in the world, this is a hell lot more clues than what I had when I first figured it out, if you do your homework and put some skin in the game you will figure it out as well.
