Introduction
IntroductionIt’s all about understanding how the TikTok algorithm works so you can drive more TikTok views and go viral in 2025. The platform is constantly changing and understanding what matters will help your content get in front of more people.
This gives creators a genuine opportunity to grow their audience faster than ever. In this article, we will discuss how the TikTok algorithm selects which videos to show and what you should do to get noticed.
How the TikTok Algorithm Works in 2025
If you want to increase your TikTok views in 2025, you should understand how the algorithm filters out content. The TikTok algorithm is more complex and thorough than most know. Each video goes through a process of analyzing many factors to serve that content on the app using user interaction signals.
TikTok looks at what users like, how users interact, what your videos include, videos similar to yours, and your device information to determine who, how, and what your videos appear.
User Interaction Signals
User interactions with your videos will play a large part in your video’s development. In fact, TikTok measures interactions based on 5 critical actions:
- Likes signify viewers liked what they viewed.
- Comments are valuable because they prompt conversations.
- Shares expand where the video is viewed.
- Watch time indicates how long users stay watching.
- Re-watches indicate a high level of interest or curiosity.
When users engage with your video frequently and in-depth, the algorithm takes notice. In general, higher rates of interaction get your video pushed to larger audiences, and higher rates of engagement will form your goals to create content that engages your viewers to like, comment, share, or watch more than once.
Video Information and Content Analysis
The algorithm will examine aspects of your video to classify your content accurately. This will assist TikTok in pairing your content with the users who would likely find enjoyment in your content. The aspects typically include:
- Hashtags that connect your video with trending or niche topics.
- Captions that provide context and keywords.
- Sounds that could be trending or popular audio.
- The video and audio itself are analyzed with AI to see what is happening in the video.
Using appropriate hashtags and captions will increase the likelihood of your video displaying on searches and posting on related feeds. When you use appropriate sounds and create clear and focused content, you will assist the algorithm in identifying how to tag your videos and promote them to users.
When all the aspects come together, you will be providing opportunities for greater exposure.
Device and Account Settings Impact
TikTok also customizes content delivery against your account and device settings. These settings also influence your account’s initial content exposure and whom sees your video:
- Language preferences provide videos to users in their preferred language.
- Location settings provide a higher priority of videos to users that are either local or globally assigned.
- The device also provides an algorithmic preference based on the swiftest way to provide videos, especially phone models or operating systems that could provide a better viewing experience.
So that is to say, your videos will perform differently based on where you are, where your audience is, what languages are used, and what devices are being used.
It’s beneficial to optimize your content according to your target audience’s settings; this provides the opportunity to increase knowing how these three aspects—user signals, video information, and device information—work together to create a space to create videos that use the TikTok algorithm.
This knowledge creates a better opportunity to reach more users and when the opportunity arises, go viral.
Strategies to Increase TikTok Engagement and Go Viral
Simply uploading videos will not help you expand your reach on TikTok. To maximize opportunities for greater social reach, you need to clearly identify a strategy and plan that complement how TikTok works while also finding ways to keep your videos fresh and new.
Below, you will find ways that you can experience your TikTok views growth by providing more than just the quality of the content, but also when you post and how much fun you have interacting with your audience.
Creating Engaging and Original Content
You only have seconds before users scroll past your video. With that understanding, you must be able to create good-looking quality videos fast. Get started with bright visuals, clear audio, and clean cuts; all allow each video clip to pop.
Develop stories that resonate. Individuals tend to recall information when it helps invoke feelings or teaches them something new. Your video has a better chance at quickly going viral if you are able to blend organic moments with trending topics and challenges.
It is fine to be part of trends, but don’t copy others directly. Find a new way to use trending sounds or follow a challenge–that way, it continues to feel new and original to your audience and the algorithm.
Optimizing Posting Times and Frequency
Certainly timing is important, especially to maximize TikTok views. Uploading content at times when your audience is active means your videos will have a better likelihood of receiving a quick push through the feeds. Use your TikTok Analytics to see the times and days to post for when your audience is most active.
Another big part of the best times is consistency. Posting consistently, ideally every day once or twice will keep you top of mind and create momentum. When you post sporadically, you give the algorithm less data on the value of your account, and growth slows.
Try testing out different days and times to post over a week or two to see what works best. Once you discover the best schedule to follow, stick to it. Regular uploading helps build a loyal following who will return each time to see what you are going to post next.
Encouraging Interaction to Boost Visibility
TikTok’s algorithm favors videos that generate new engagements; whether it’s likes, comments, shares or simply viewed many times. Here’s a more organic way to shape engagement by:
- Asking viewers to comment, provide their thoughts, or answer simple/uncomplicated questions.
- Encouraging conversations with stickers, polls, or prompts.
- Creating videos that entertain/surprise enough to be shared.
- Creating videos with looping or questions that encourage re-watching.
When a video gains lots of engagement quickly, TikTok tends to push it to more feeds. Even small prompts and phrases like “double tap if you agree” or “tag a friend who needs to see this” can drive activity.
By combining traditional strong content at the start of your videos, with good timing in your posts, and offers of engaging your audience, you build a cycle of engagement to grow your videos and will reach many, many more users. This approach will help set you on the path to going viral.
Common Pitfalls That Limit TikTok Views
It’s just as important to know what is limiting your TikTok videos as much as it is to know what’s expanding your reach. You can know everything there is to know, and still fall into these pitfalls that can limit your views.
Each of these common mistakes plays into how the algorithm understands your content, and what visibility your videos receive. Avoiding these common mistakes can allow you to position yourself to reach many people.
Posting Low-Quality or Unengaging Content
If your videos look blurry or shaky, or your audio is muffled, the audience is not going to welcome a long stay; they are likely going to stop scrolling! TikTok loves videos that create intrigue and are able to retain watch time!
If you are continuously making low quality videos, not only are the audience not spending much time watching your video, but the algorithm is taking note of that too, it is obvious to it that your video is not worthy of being shown to others.
Engagement matters and is not just views! You need your views to watch, like, comment, share, and rewatch! Excitement is what you need in your content to develop engagement in the first place. If you cannot create curiosity and emotion, then you are missing out on a possibly greater potential of being seen more.
You want to focus on both visual quality, and audio. You want to create videos that entertain, educate, or act as astonishment! You can keep it simple and add some flourish with editing or add-ons, but it should not be a lot!
When you can use quality content with quality feel, it keeps our audience engaged, and at the same time sends the algorithm a signal to open up the visibility of your video.
Ignoring Trends and Algorithm Updates
TikTok’s algorithm is constantly changing, and trends arise and fade quickly. If you’re using the same style or simply ignoring new features, you’re falling behind. If you’re not adapting, your videos may no longer align with what the current TikTok algorithm prefers and will get views on fewer feeds.
Trends exist for a reason, and they bring an added energy and exposure level, which hopefully will attract a bigger audience to your content. It’s important to stay current and, if applicable, be a part of a popular challenge or use trending sounds so your videos will appear in more feeds.
If you do not participate in a trend or simply do not want to partake in one, you lose out on the opportunity for interest and engagement that has already been created for you.
Keep an eye on how TikTok as a platform is changing and adjust your strategy at least on a monthly basis. Using old news tactics on a constantly changing platform is going to limit your reach. The algorithm is always going to favor accounts that stay current on trends and take action with new tools.
Overusing Hashtags or Irrelevant Tags
Utilizing hashtags allows TikTok to categorize your video, and show it to the right audience. If you’re stuffing your TikTok post with too many hashtags then you are actually doing the complete opposite. It appears spammy, and can also confuse the TikTok algorithm.
Additionally, when people view your post in a feed it’s going to lower the chances of your content appearing in the right feeds. Ideally, the algorithm will be able to figure out who your audience is based on your hashtags and overall video.
Using unrelated hashtags is equally problematic. Trying to jump on the momentum of a popular hashtag that doesn’t relate to your video, seems misleading and dishonest. The TikTok algorithm picks up on lies and will reduce your reach because the algorithm wants to show users content they want to see that relates to their interests.
When utilizing hashtags when posting, only focus on a select few that are relevant to the topic of your video or represent the trend you are joining. If you learn how to appropriate use hashtags combined with TikTok’s algorithm, it will place your video with the right audiences and you’re going to receive more views on TikTok!
Conclusion
If you know what TikTok’s algorithm is built off of in 2025, you definitely have a leg up in your ability to grow your TikTok views and maybe go viral. Just concentrate on producing high-quality and entertaining videos that create an action.
The more timely you can keep your content with trends and relevant hashtags without going overboard, the better. Keep in mind when your audience is primarily active and be consistent, so you can build momentum.
Building a following and being successful on TikTok takes consistency and strategy regarding how the platform connects content and viewers. Adjust your strategy and how you reach people as TikTok expands and grows.
