Which websites use recommendation algorithms ?
Today’s online experience is all about personalization: no more chronological order or popularity lists without consideration for the user and their interests. Websites can rely on powerful tools to guarantee a personalized experience to their users: recommendation algorithms.
What is a recommendation algorithm ? Why some sites use recommendation algorithms ? Which websites use recommendation algorithms ? Find out everything you need to know about the subject.
What is a recommendation algorithm ?
Before going into detail about which websites use recommendation algorithms, we need to understand what these tools really are.
Recommendation algorithm: predicting user behavior
A recommendation algorithm is a computer tool that, thanks to the processing of a set of data on users, will be able to establish a set of criteria and evaluation. This will allow users to be grouped according to certain behaviors and predict recommendations that may be suitable for other users in the same group.
The recommendation systems of this type of algorithm are constantly evolving thanks to the machine learning. In addition, each user behavior will allow to improve them to aim more and more right each time.
Why some sites use recommendation algorithms ?
Depending on the websites and their primary purpose, the use of recommendation algorithms can have several interests. Some multiply the use of different algorithms in order to fulfill several missions.
Here are some of the benefits website owners look for with a recommendation algorithm:
- Improve user experience;
- Increase key performance: this is the heart of the interest of a recommendation algorithm. By recommending the right things to its users, the website will be sure to keep them longer or make them buy more. Thus, viewing time, reading time, average basket… everything is increased thanks to an efficient recommendation algorithm;
- Managing and analyzing a large volume of data easily and quickly: processing a large amount of user data by hand is no longer an option to get reliable results quickly. An algorithm will make it much easier to filter, manage and analyze data.
If websites used to be based on simple rankings or popularity lists, recommendation algorithms have truly revolutionized the online world. For site owners and users alike, the experience is improved and everyone wins !
Which websites use recommendation algorithms ?
As you can see, recommendation algorithms are nowadays pillars of websites, so that we can find them very often online. Here are some examples of major websites that use one or more recommendation algorithms.
Social networks
Social networks are now known to use recommendation algorithms to keep users on their sites longer. Indeed, with content that is carefully analyzed to please a user, he will move from content to content and thus consume more content, no matter what kind of content it is. The days when users could browse a news feed in chronological order are long gone. Today, social networks are in the age of recommendation algorithms.
Youtube
The recommendation algorithm of Youtube is based on several criteria in order to recommend the right type of content to its users. Thus, it analyzes the viewing time, the display time, the size of a Youtube channel or the different subscriptions of the user.
All these criteria will allow Youtube to recommend relevant content. This will evolve depending on how you consume content on the site, whether it is recommended or not.
Note: it should be noted that you can educate the recommendation algorithm of Youtube yourself if you do not like a recommended video. On the “…” next to a recommended video, you have the choice to click on “Not interested” or “Do not recommend the channel”.
The Twitter recommendation algorithm is based on many factors directly related to a tweet, but also to the account itself.
Visually, for users, the Twitter news feed can thus show “popular images” or tweets “liked” by one or more accounts they follow (“A, B, C and X other people liked this”).
In addition, the recommendation algorithm can include a tweet from an account by mentioning that many of the accounts you follow also follow this account.
Not all content will be visible to all users as soon as it is published, and Facebook is one of the first websites to have implemented this.
Depending on the “success” of a publication (initial reach), the algorithm will recommend more or less content to the audience.
Other sites that use recommendation algorithms
Of course, social networks are not the only ones to use a recommendation algorithm to improve the user experience of their site.
So, here are some other websites that use recommendation algorithms:
- Amazon,
- Google Discover,
- Netflix,
- Spotify.
However, it is likely that the list of websites that use recommendation algorithms will grow from year to year, especially on online stores.