Seed merit is the boost or traffic surge that social media algorithms give your content when you are early to a trend or a topic that is beginning to grow. When you publish before something becomes popular, you benefit from seed merit, because platforms are more likely to promote your content as the trend takes off.
For example, imagine you were one of the first creators to post a video about “portable bathtubs.” Later, if “portable bathtubs” suddenly became a major trend and everyone started talking about it, your early content would gain seed merit. As a result, the algorithm would push that video more — along with future content you create on the same topic.
This seed merit advantage can lead to massive growth and extremely high traffic, especially when you identify a trend early. Many multi-million-dollar businesses owe much of their success to seed merit, because the early exposure they received helped them scale rapidly.
The seed merit traffic surge can come from multiple sources, including:
For example, imagine you were one of the first creators to post a video about “portable bathtubs.” Later, if “portable bathtubs” suddenly became a major trend and everyone started talking about it, your early content would gain seed merit. As a result, the algorithm would push that video more — along with future content you create on the same topic.
This seed merit advantage can lead to massive growth and extremely high traffic, especially when you identify a trend early. Many multi-million-dollar businesses owe much of their success to seed merit, because the early exposure they received helped them scale rapidly.
The seed merit traffic surge can come from multiple sources, including:
- SERPs (search results) across social media platforms — especially Google
- Main homepage feeds and recommendation sections on social platforms
- Trending and topic-based hashtags
- “Original sound” recognition on TikTok and similar content signals