X, or Twitter, is one of the most vocal and engaging social media platforms out there. And your timeline always seems to know what you want to see next on your feed.
But how do only the things you like and are interested in pop up in your feed? It is the Twitter recommendation algorithm at work, and it shapes your experience in the site.
With millions of users, Twitter must deliver relevant content to each person. The recommendation algorithm decides what you see and when.
How does it work? A lot goes on behind the scenes, but basically, the algorithm aims to show tweets that engage you most, factoring in your past interactions, followed accounts, and trending topics.
Understanding this algorithm has a lot of perks, whether you're a casual user, a business, or a content creator. The algorithm has a hand in your content strategy and can boost your engagement.
Read on to know how the Twitter recommendation algorithm works and how you and master it to your advantage.
What is the Twitter (X) Algorithm?
Twitter algorithm is a set of rules that rank content on the platform, determining each post's value based on a set of rules. In essence, the algorithm is a central brain that powers what we see on Twitter and how we see it.
As per the company, the algorithm sifts through roughly 500 million tweets daily to pick a handful to display on a user’s timeline. These decisions are based on many factors, including location, virality, personal interests, recency, and whether or not the content is sensitive or spammy.
Why Does Twitter Use It?
Twitter’s algorithm makes your experience more personalized and enjoyable. It curates the most relevant and engaging tweets prioritizing content based on your interests, past interactions, and other key factors. So, instead of a random feed, you see what’s most important to you at the top.
The algorithm is also a big part of how Twitter makes money. It serves ads more likely to catch your attention by analyzing user behavior and preferences. For marketers, this is a great opportunity to reach potential customers and tap into Twitter’s ad revenue potential.
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How Does the Twitter Algorithm Work in 2024?
Twitter's recommendation algorithm is designed to curate the most relevant Tweets for users' "For You" timelines after distilling approximately 500 million daily Tweets into a personalized selection. The system is complex–multiple interconnected services and models extract information from Tweets, users, and their engagement data. Here's a breakdown of how the algorithm works:
Core Components and Process
1. Home Mixer
The core service responsible for constructing the "For You" timeline is called Home Mixer, which is built on Twitter's custom Scala framework known as Product Mixer. This framework connects various candidate sources, scoring functions, heuristics, and filters to create a cohesive feed.
2. Candidate Sources
Twitter retrieves potential Tweets from two main sources:
- In-network: These are Tweets from people the user follows. It uses a logistic regression model to rank these Tweets based on relevance.
- Out-of-network: These are Tweets from users the individual does not follow. The algorithm estimates relevance by analyzing engagements of people with similar interests or those followed by the user.
3. Real Graph Model
A key component in ranking In-Network Tweets is the Real Graph model. It predicts the likelihood of engagement between two users. A higher Real Graph score increases the probability of a Tweet appearing on a user's timeline.
4. GraphJet Engine
For Out-of-Network recommendations, Twitter uses GraphJet, a graph processing engine that maintains a real-time interaction graph between users and Tweets. This engine helps in traversing engagement graphs to identify relevant content.
5. Embedding Space Approaches
Embedding techniques generate numerical representations of user interests and Tweet content to assess similarity and relevance. One of the embedding spaces is SimClusters, responsible for identifying communities based on influential users and updates every three weeks.
Scoring and Ranking
Once approximately 1500 candidate Tweets are identified, they undergo scoring to predict their relevance for the user’s timeline. This process involves a neural network with around 48 million parameters that are continuously trained on Tweet interactions. Thousands of features are considered to output scores indicating the likelihood of various types of engagement (e.g., Likes, Retweets).
Heuristics and Filters
After scoring, heuristics and filters are applied for a balanced and diverse feed. This step integrates additional content like ads or follow recommendations with the selected Tweets before they are displayed on the user's device.
Performance
The entire recommendation pipeline operates at a massive scale, running about 5 billion times per day and completing each execution in under 1.5 seconds on average.
Twitter Algorithm Ranking Signals
The Twitter recommendation algorithm uses different ranking signals to decide which tweets appear in users' timelines. By understanding these signals, you can optimize your content for maximum visibility. Here’s a breakdown of the key factors:
- Recency
Wondering how Twitter works? One of the top signals is recency. Twitter loves fresh content, so it prioritizes more recent tweets. If you want to get your tweets seen, timing is everything. Posting when your audience is most active boosts your tweet’s visibility.
- Relevance
The Twitter algorithm looks at a user’s past behavior—likes, retweets, and who they follow—to figure out what content is most relevant to them. This ensures users see tweets they’re likely to engage with. If you want to know how Twitter trending works, relevance is a major factor.
The more a tweet resonates with a user’s interests, the more likely it is to appear on their timeline.
- Diversity
Twitter doesn’t want users to be stuck in a content bubble, so it values diversity in the timeline. You’ll see a mix of news, personal opinions, entertainment, and more. This keeps the feed fresh and engaging by exposing users to a range of perspectives. Diversity also helps content reach a broader audience.
- Media files
It’s no secret that tweets with media elements (like videos, images, GIFs, or polls) tend to perform better. The algorithm gives a little extra love to tweets that include media, so make sure to include visuals in your content.
This is part of why Twitter added features like the ‘Popular Videos’ section—it’s another way to push engaging, media-rich content to the top of timelines.
10 Tips to Beat the Twitter Algorithm
Want to make waves on Twitter? Here are 10 easy tips to help you work with the Twitter algorithm, not against it:
1. Get verified
Believe it or not, getting that blue check seriously boosts your visibility. Verified accounts are prioritized, so if you're eligible, apply! Since Elon Musk’s takeover, he’s emphasized that verified accounts will get more attention in feeds.
2. Tweet at the right time
Timing is key on Twitter. You’ll get more engagement if you tweet when your followers are active. Keep an eye on when your audience is online and plan your tweets around those times. Fun fact: an old, but still relevant study, found that tweets sent at 9 PM in the U.S. get the most retweets and favorites.
3. Be consistent
Consistency is your friend on Twitter. Regularly posting quality content signals to the algorithm that you’re active, which increases your visibility. The more you interact and share valuable tweets, the better your chances of showing up on more feeds.
4. Use hashtags wisely
Hashtags expand your reach, but less is more. Stick to a few relevant tags to avoid looking spammy. Well-placed hashtags can boost your brand’s visibility and make your tweets easier to find in trending conversations.
5. Add visuals
Tweets with visuals—photos, videos, or GIFs—get way more engagement than text-only tweets. Adding visuals is a great way to make your content stand out. In fact, a study revealed that 96% of users focus on visuals alone on the platform.
6. Encourage engagement
Getting likes, retweets, and replies boosts your tweet's chances of reaching more people. Encourage your followers to interact with your content. Don’t forget—Twitter now factors in bookmarks too! The more engagement, the more your tweet gets pushed up in the feed.
7. Use Twitter polls
Twitter polls are a fun and easy way to get your followers talking. They’re a quick win for engagement and even help you gather valuable insights or conduct simple market research. Polls make it easy for users to interact with just a click, which boosts your tweet's visibility.
8. Jump Into relevant trends
Joining trending conversations increases your tweet’s visibility, but make sure the trend aligns with your brand or message. Pro tip: if a trend doesn’t fit your brand, you can easily mute it to keep your feed relevant and clean.
9. Reuse top content
Have a tweet that performed really well? Repackage it and post again! You’ll reach new people who may have missed it the first time and boost engagement all over again.
10. Use Twitter Analytics
Make the most of Twitter’s built-in analytics to see what’s working and what’s not. Tracking your engagement patterns lets you fine-tune your strategy—be it timing, content type, or topics—to keep your tweets performing their best.
Twitter’s Algorithmic Choices
Twitter’s algorithm decides what you see on your timeline, and while it's designed to enhance your experience, it hasn’t been without controversy. The algorithm has faced criticism for amplifying fake news, conspiracy theories, and other harmful content.
In response, Twitter has taken steps to address these concerns by being more transparent about how its algorithm works.
For example, Twitter has made part of its source code available on GitHub. This open-sourcing of the Twitter algorithm has allowed researchers and developers to inspect the platform’s inner workings.
Twitter is also experimenting with custom algorithm controls, which means that users choose their algorithm instead of just relying on Twitter’s default Home Timeline algorithm. Twitter is building a platform that feels more user-driven and transparent while continuing to evolve content moderation.
Impact of the Twitter Algorithm
On users
The Twitter recommendations algorithm personalizes your timeline through machine learning. It predicts which tweets will catch your attention and increase engagement which makes the platform feel more relevant and enjoyable.
But not everyone loves it. Some users find the algorithm a bit unpredictable—sometimes showing tweets from accounts they don’t follow over those they do. Plus, it often creates an echo chamber by consistently displaying content that mirrors with your existing beliefs.
On advertisers
The Twitter recommendation algorithm is a blessing for advertisers. Since Twitter relies heavily on ad revenue, the algorithm helps target ads to users most likely to engage with them. This makes campaigns more effective.
Advertisers pay based on metrics like impressions and interactions, so careful targeting and engaging content are key to avoiding ad fatigue. Interestingly, a Deloitte survey found that 60% of consumers prefer more personalized ads. Get your targeting right, and you’re set.
Beat the Algorithm and Boost Your Engagement
Beating the Twitter algorithm is not impossible if you know exactly what to do. To recap, create high-quality content your target audience wants to see and engage with. This means staying current with the latest trends, using relevant hashtags, and regularly engaging with your followers.
This can be exhausting, but how about having software that eases it for you?
Highperformr is a powerful AI-powered social media management tool that makes managing Twitter, and other social platforms a breeze. It can help you optimize your entire Twitter workflow–from creating relevant and engaging Tweets to posting at the right time–from one unified platform.
Plus, with its extensive analytics suite, you can continuously track your engagement metrics, even without X premium, and identify areas for improvement.
