Algorithm, Search & Distribution
Suggested videos
Also called: suggested, suggested video, related videos, sidebar recommendations
On desktop these sit in the sidebar to the right of the player. On mobile they run underneath it and feed autoplay. YouTube chooses them from the viewer's own watch history, what similar viewers went on to watch, and how closely a candidate relates to whatever is playing. Studio reports the traffic separately, splitting your own videos from other channels'. People often try to win these placements with tags and keywords. The system starts from the viewer and works outward, so a video earns the slot by satisfying the audience that already clicked on it, and the practical lever is making things the same people will want next.