YouTube Expands Shorts To More Surfaces On Mobile & Desktop

YouTube begins displaying Shorts videos on more surfaces on mobile and desktop, including a dedicated carousel in the trending section.

Expanding the visibility of Shorts has the potential to amplify their reach, as they can now be discovered in more places throughout the YouTube website and app.

This marks the first meaningful update to Shorts this year, which is notable as there’s been a lull when it comes to rolling out new features.

YouTube Shorts launched in 2020 with much hype behind it, followed by a series of rapid updates through the following year.

Updates have since slowed down, though it looks like Shorts is back on YouTube’s radar again.

These updates may put Shorts on the radars of many new viewers as well. Here’s a look at what’s changing.

YouTube Shorts Shelf In Trending Page

YouTube’s trending page is getting a carousel dedicated to short-form videos — or what the company refers to as a Shorts shelf.

With the addition of the Shorts shelf, short videos will be filtered out of the list of trending videos.

Now, Shorts will appear at the top of the page in their own carousel.

The goal behind this change is to improve the overall experience of the trending page, though it also has the effect of making Shorts more discoverable.

The Shorts shelf will surface the most popular videos in a user’s location.

YouTube is beginning to roll this out across the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, France, Indonesia, and MENA (Middle East & Nort Africa) with more regions to follow.

YouTube Shorts On Desktop & Mobile Web

Shorts are gaining more visibility on desktop and mobile browsers with the addition of a new tab and homepage carousel.

With this update YouTube aims to create a more consistent experience for Shorts across surfaces.

Previously, Shorts were more discoverable in the YouTube app compared to the YouTube website.

Now it’s easier for people to discover and watch Shorts across the desktop, tablet, and mobile web.

Source: YouTube Creator Insider

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