How to viral Youtube videos? 2026

A video goes viral on YouTube due to several interrelated factors: a high click-through rate driven by compelling thumbnails and titles, strong audience retention with viewers watching the majority of the content, and significant engagement through likes, comments, shares, and saves. Additionally, longer average watch times boost recommendations, relevancy to trending topics enhances visibility, and consistent viewer satisfaction contributes to improved rankings. Shareability fueled by humor, shock, emotion, or controversy is also crucial. Once a video performs well, YouTube promotes it further through feeds and suggested videos, especially if the channel has established niche authority. Ultimately, a video's virality is driven by viewer behavior, with the algorithm responding to these patterns.