One of the biggest analytics misconceptions I see from creators?
They look at their Suggested traffic source and panic.
“Why is YouTube suggesting my video after something completely unrelated?!”
“Does the algorithm not understand my niche?”
Let’s clear this up.
Suggested Traffic Isn’t About You — It’s About the Viewer
When you click on a video on YouTube, the sidebar isn’t tailored to the creator of that video. It’s tailored to you as a viewer.
Say you open YouTube and watch a tech video.
Your Suggested sidebar will probably look something like this:
- A few videos from that same tech creator.
- A few videos on similar tech topics from other creators.
- A few videos on completely different topics — maybe cooking or football — because YouTube knows you’ve watched those before.
If you then click on a cooking video, here’s what happens:
The creator of that cooking video will see in their analytics that their video was suggested from a tech video.
To them, it might look unrelated… but to you, it makes perfect sense.
The Variety Factor
Most viewers don’t watch a single niche forever.
They bounce between topics based on mood, curiosity, and what catches their eye.
That means most creators will see a wide variety of “from” videos in their Suggested traffic analytics. This isn’t a sign of a broken recommendation system. It’s a sign of a smart one.
The Real Takeaway
The Suggested traffic source isn’t about the algorithm misunderstanding your channel or your audience.
It’s the algorithm doing exactly what it’s designed to do:
Serve videos that match the interests of the individual viewer — not just the topic of the current video.
When you see “unrelated” videos leading into yours, don’t stress.
That’s not failure.
That’s the algorithm winning.
Theory of YouTube 