The TikTok algorithm
TikTok does not show videos to your followers first. It shows every video to a small test audience, measures how that audience behaves, and expands or stops the video based on what it sees. Understanding that loop is the difference between guessing and diagnosing.
This topic breaks the recommendation system into its parts: the signals it reads, how a video moves between audience pools, what suppression really looks like, and how to measure any of it against your own niche rather than against anecdotes.
Start here
What a recommendation system is and how TikTok applies one.
Key terms
Stop guessing what the algorithm wants
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Other topics
Short-form video metricsWhat each metric measures, which ones predict reach, and how to compare them honestly across platforms.Social data APIsHow social platform data is accessed programmatically: official APIs, their limits, and what sits outside them.Social commerceHow selling works inside short-form feeds: TikTok Shop, affiliate mechanics, and the metrics that govern them.Content strategyThe repeatable parts of short-form: hooks, formats, series structure, retention editing and cadence.Trends and trend detectionWhat a trend is mechanically, how one spreads, and how to spot it while it still has room to run.Platform mechanicsHow TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts differ in specs, limits, surfaces and behaviour.The creator economyHow money moves through short-form: payouts, brand deals, UGC, clipping and agency models.