Telegram similar channels: how to use the recommendations
Telegram shows users lists of similar channels in several places. It picks the channels by similarities in their subscriber bases. Telegram has not published any way for an owner to get a channel into these lists. Still, the lists are useful to owners and advertisers, because each list shows which channels have similar audiences.
Where Telegram shows similar channels
Similar-channel lists appear in three places:
| Where | What you see |
|---|---|
| Right after you join a channel | A pop-up with channels like it |
| A channel's profile | The Similar channels tab, next to the media and links tabs |
| Global search, Channels tab | A Similar channels section based on all the channels you already follow |
Users without Premium may see a shorter list, while a Premium account shows the full one.
How the list is built and what an owner controls
Telegram selects the channels automatically and does not publish the details: how similar audiences must be, how the order is set, how often the list changes. So an owner has no published way to request a place in another channel's list or to choose which channels appear in their own. A promise of such a place cannot be checked against any public rule.
What an owner controls directly is whether the channel is public: a private channel never shows up, however many subscribers it shares with others. The owner can influence everything else only through the audience, though this is an inference from the selection mechanism rather than a published rule. If subscribers also read channels on your topic, the recommendations are likely to stay on that topic. If many came from giveaways or were bought, the list may drift toward unrelated channels.
Using the list to pick channels for ads
For an advertiser, the list in a channel's profile is a ready set of channels with a similar audience. Open it on your own channel and on channels close to your offer. The channels that come up are candidates for placement, and a Premium account shows more of them.
Each candidate still needs a check before you add it to channel targeting in Telegram Ads. Look at whether its topic fits your offer, whether it posts regularly, whether its language matches your ad and whether its recent posts get views.
Testing each channel or channel group in its own ad
The Similar channels list only shows that audiences are similar. It does not show which channel will bring subscribers who stay. We recommend launching a separate ad for each channel or for a small channel group with comparable reach and CPM. Our report breaks results down by ad, not by the channel where an ad was shown, so channels can be compared only through separate ads.
In Adstat, turn on a separate invite link for each ad. Subscriptions and unsubscribes are counted through it, and from them and the spend our report calculates the cost of a subscriber who stayed. Then move the budget to the ads where that cost is lowest.
Questions and answers
How do I get my channel into similar channels?
There is no published way. Telegram picks the list automatically by similarities in subscriber bases, so a place in other channels' lists most likely depends on the audience your channel attracts.
Why does a colleague see more similar channels than I do?
Users without Premium may get a shorter list, while Premium accounts see the full one. The list in search also depends on the channels each person already follows.
Can a private channel appear in the list?
No. The list holds public channels only.
Is the Similar channels list the same as channel targeting in Telegram Ads?
No. The list is Telegram's suggestion to users, built from similar subscriber bases. Channel targeting is the advertiser's own choice of channels where an ad appears. The list is simply a convenient source of candidates for that choice.
Is there something similar for bots?
Yes. A bot's profile has a Similar bots tab.
What to do first
- Open the Similar channels tab on your channel and write down the channels it shows.
- Do the same on two or three channels closest to your offer, from a Premium account if you have one.
- Check each candidate for topic, regular posting, language and views on recent posts.
- Launch a separate ad, each with its own invite link, for each channel or small channel group with comparable reach and CPM.
- After the test, move the budget to the ads with the lowest cost of a subscriber who stayed.