Algorithms

Ranking signal

An input a recommendation system uses to predict whether you will value a post: watch time, completion, saves, sends, your history with the account, topic, recency and language. Platforms publish rough lists but never the weightings.


Where this is taught

10How Algorithms Actually Work
Ranking signals per platform — documented, not mythology — and what that means for your content.

Related terms

Cold start

The problem a system has ranking content from an account it knows little about. It resolves by testing your post with …

Content velocity

How quickly a post gathers engagement in its first hour or so relative to how many people saw it. Fast, strong early s…

Engagement bait

Explicitly asking for interactions with no value attached, such as like if you agree or tag three friends. Platforms h…

Engagement pod

A group that agrees to like and comment on each other's posts to fake early momentum. It breaches most platform terms,…

For You Page (FYP)

TikTok's main feed, built almost entirely from predicted interest rather than who you follow. This is why new accounts…

Ineligible for recommendation

The documented state where a post still appears to followers and on your profile but is withheld from Explore, the For…

Beyond the definition

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