YouTube’s primary Search experience is pretty good. They allow the ability to filter on top of the search results based on the video length, quality, duration, upload date, etc.
However, they need to handle Search better in other areas within the app.
YouTube Channels
YouTube offers the ability to search within channels. However, there’s a catch. YouTube allows adding many tabs within a channel, such as videos, playlists, podcasts, live, community, etc. When the number of tabs exceeds 7, the Search bar disappears into the slider. A user has to manually control the right slider to see the Search bar.
Since Search is a valuable action, it’s best shown upfront, in the top fold, next to the Subscribe button.
YouTube Library – Liked videos, Watch Later and Playlists
On the other hand, sections like Liked videos, Watch Later, or Saved Playlists do not have a Search option but provide the ability to sort videos. History, one of the other Library categories, has a refined search experience, though. I’m unsure if this decision was intentional, but it’d be good to know why.
Allowing users to search for videos within a channel, playlist, or any section in a library will be valuable and help them get to the video on top of their minds faster.
It’s absurd that a company that has built the world’s best search engine has reservations about the search experience in some areas of its app.
Do you have a different perspective on this? 😃
Akkshaya Varkhedi 