Before you read...

You, the YouTube creator, make incredible content. Your audience craves what you have. They can't wait to find your channel or see your latest activity. They're possibly your biggest fans (mom not included, of course).

But...they need to find you before they can enjoy what you have to offer. And how can they find you? How can you find them?

YouTube is the second-largest search engine, and home to billions of videos and viewers. Sometimes your unique voice can be hard for your audience to hear, and there must be a way they can connect with you, and you with them.

That's why we've drafted this Handbook. Sometimes various YouTube features are mysteries. Why isn't my video appearing in search results? What is watch time? How can my video appear on the homepage? What's the difference between What to Watch and My Subscriptions?

This Handbook is a guide to those and other important YouTube features, and presents some insights into how they work so you can understand how and why content is presented to your audience. It covers many questions creators have asked over the years, and aims to dispel some myths about how our systems work.

However, you should be aware that our discovery systems (commonly referred to as "algorithms") are always improving, and the point of the Creator Discovery Handbook is not to explain algorithms or specific tactics, but instead give you insight into the philosophies behind the features themselves, since philosophies have a much longer shelf life than algorithms.

Finally, this document is a companion to the Creator Playbook. This means that while the Creator Discovery Handbook explains how several features work, the Creator Playbook shares strategies and case studies for how you can optimize for them. Further, the Creator Academy offers free courses to help you practice these tactics for your own channel. Please include these resources in your channel and video marketing and audience development plans.

Ready to begin? Lights, camera, action!