How the TikTok FYP algorithm actually works
TikTok tests every upload on a small audience before deciding whether to widen distribution. The test is brutal but fair: completion rate, rewatches, shares and comments per view all feed a score, and that score decides whether your video reaches 300 people or 300,000.
Early velocity is the most under-discussed signal. Two videos with identical completion rates will not perform identically if one collected its views over an hour and the other over a day. Momentum tells the system that people are actively choosing your video right now.
This is why free TikTok views and free TikTok followers have an outsized effect on TikTok compared with other platforms. A boost applied within minutes of publishing raises the early-velocity signal during the exact window that matters.
Keep videos short enough to be rewatched. Anything under 15 seconds can plausibly loop twice, and a loop counts as extra watch time — the cheapest completion-rate boost available.
Finally, post consistently for at least three weeks before judging results. TikTok needs a body of work to understand what audience your account belongs to.
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