Main
→
Blog Creator Tools
→
Lifehacks for YouTubers
→
YouTube in 2025 for Creators

YouTube in 2025 for Creators

How Algorithm Changes Impact Video Presentation

YouTube is evolving faster than ever. The platform’s top priority is to keep audiences watching longer while making the viewing experience more enjoyable.

Yet every tweak to the algorithm sends ripples through the creator community: strategies that worked yesterday may already be obsolete today.

The Pitfall of ‘Copying the Leader’

For a long time, a popular strategy was to find a strong channel, replicate it step by step, and wait for success. In 2025, that approach no longer works.

On YouTube today, uniqueness equals understanding your specific audience segment—and creating exclusively for them

Today, YouTube is looking for more than just content—it demands uniqueness. And uniqueness comes from clear positioning and audience segmentation.

Segmentation means dividing your audience into groups with shared interests, needs, and ways of consuming content. This makes it possible to create targeted videos instead of trying to appeal to everyone at once.

Example of segmentation:

Work

"Have one egg and cabbage? Make this hearty meal in 15 minutes!" - a quick, practical recipe that answers the audience's request for "simple and hearty"

Doesn't work

"This ingredient lowers blood sugar. A recipe from Tibetan monks!" - this is already a "treatment" niche, and the algorithm may start offering the channel to a completely different audience. As a result, some of the videos will collect views, but the overall picture will be lost, and growth will stop

It’s important to note: both approaches can deliver results—but only if they operate in different segments. Mixing them is a mistake: the algorithm gets ‘confused,’ the channel loses focus, and growth slows down.

CTR: From Numbers to Strategy

Many authors are confused about click-through rate (CTR) metrics.

Average CTR on YouTube

from 2% to 10%

Most channels hold it

~ 4–5%

But if you want millions of views

you need to aim for 8% or more in the first 24 hours

As impressions increase, CTR always falls: with millions of views, 3% is considered a good result

Case

One cooking channel in 2024 maintained a CTR of 3–4%. After switching from ‘standard photos’ to AI-generated images combined with optimized titles, the CTR jumped to 9.2% within the first 24 hours. The result: videos started appearing in recommendations more often, and average reach doubled.

Thumbnail = 50% success

Thumbnails and titles need to work together. It’s not just about looking ‘nice’—they have to be ‘clickable’

Before

A typical photo of the author in the kitchen, holding a dish, white background. CTR — 3.4%

After

The neural network created a cinematic scene: a close-up of the dish, a dynamic background, accent lighting, emotion. CTR increased to 8.7%

AI-generated images are already outperforming standard photos and even many template-based collages. Their advantage: viewers immediately get an emotional ‘story,’ not just a picture.

Increased CTR after changing the cover

Translations: Popular Free Translators vs. AI-Powered Services

In 2025, multilingual content is a must-have growth tool. But translation quality is everything!

Translations from advanced AI tools like Creator Tools feel more natural, closer to native speech, and more likely to entice clicks. These nuances directly impact CTR in other countries.

Retention + Engagement: The New 2025 Link

Today, getting a click isn’t enough. The algorithm also evaluates how long viewers watch and how actively they engage.

Retention

There’s no single ‘standard’ for everyone. Metrics depend on format, length, and niche:

For short videos under 3 minutes, watch time should exceed 50%—viewers need to watch nearly to the end.
In highly competitive niches like cooking, aiming for 3 minutes of watch time is optimal. For a 3–4 minute video, that’s almost 100%.
In longer videos around 10 minutes, 30% watch time (roughly the same 3 minutes) is already considered competitive.

YouTube increasingly compares actual watch time in minutes across videos, not just percentages.

Engagement

The second key factor is engagement:

likes
comments
subscribes
and especially the author's responses to comments

Dynamic retention depending on the length of the video

This isn’t just a signal to the algorithm that the video is engaging—it’s also a tool for building a community. If engagement is low, the video ‘doesn’t take off,’ even with strong CTR and watch time.

Conclusions

Unique content tailored to your audience, without blindly copying top creators.
A starting CTR of 8% is a realistic benchmark for reaching millions of views.
Thumbnails and titles tell a single story, and AI-generated images give creators a clear advantage.
Translations via tools like Creator Tools allow you to enter international markets without losing the ‘liveliness’ of your text.
Watch time + engagement are the new key metrics. Without them, videos won’t make it into recommendations.

Competition is growing, but those who understand the algorithm’s mechanics and work systematically with their audience will grow faster than the rest

Go to Creator Tools Instruments