Understanding your audience is the first step in creating a must-see YouTube channel.
And there’s no better place to go for useful information than your YouTube Analytics.
Do you want to know which of your videos are worth watching again and over again? Do you want to know where the majority of your viewers come from?
The answers are only a few mouse clicks away.
However, while YouTube’s own analytics engine is a gold mine of information, its complexity can be confusing for newcomers.
That’s why we’ve put up this guide that delves into the fundamentals of YouTube analytics, such as:
- General Reports
- Watch Time and Audience Reports
- Engagement Reports
- Earnings Reports
Table of Contents
Why measuring YouTube Analytics is so important
We need to emphasise the importance of your analytics before we go into the nitty-gritty.
Because YouTube’s (and other social media’s) algorithm is unexpected. On the platform as well, the competition is fierce.
Anything you can do to improve the performance of your channel is a positive. You can focus your YouTube Analytics on the following:
In terms of views, viewing duration, and audience and interaction, the best-performing videos are
Relevant content themes for your target audience (think: how-tos, tutorials, vlogs, webinars)
What effect do video elements like thumbnails, titles, and length have on your video’s performance?
In brief, YouTube Analytics can give you with a thorough roadmap to help you sell your videos more effectively.
YouTube Analytics: General Reports
If this is your first time seeing YouTube Analytics, go to the YouTube Analytics website directly.
Alternatively, you can use YouTube Studio’s “Analytics” tab.
Again, don’t be intimidated by the platform! To begin, we’ll go through the fundamentals.
The Executive Summary Report
This report provides a high-level overview of your most recent video performance. Consider it YouTube’s equivalent of the Google Analytics homepage.
The Overview Report tells you whether or not your numbers are up to date and is easy to grasp at a glance. You can get a quick overview of your overall success by looking at engagement measures like watch time and views.
When you don’t have time to go further into your YouTube channel metrics, this is a terrific “just the facts” report.
Real Time Reports
There are no surprises here. This report displays an estimate of view count data for your most recent videos, as well as real-time people-watching. This report can tell you whether any new videos are enjoying a rise in interaction if you’re regularly releasing video material.
Two graphs are displayed in the Realtime Report: one hour-by-hour and the other minute-by-minute. The viewers’ local time zones are referenced in both graphs.
YouTube Analytics: Watch Time and Audience Reports
These two reports are, without a doubt, the most crucial in terms of YouTube promotion.
Because if your content is being devoured by viewers with long watch times and great retention rates, you know you’re on the right route. These measures aren’t the be-all and end-all of YouTube Analytics, but they’re critical for fine-tuning your video approach.
The Report on Watching Time
This report compiles information from all view sources to provide a complete picture of viewer retention. The YouTube homepage, the platform’s embedded player, and the mobile YouTube app are all examples of these sources. Individual video watch time statistics can also be compared.
The following are some notable watch time metrics:
- Average View Percentage: The percentage of a video that is seen while it is being played back.
- Average View Duration: The average length of video playing in seconds.
- Minutes Estimated Users viewed videos for the chosen channel, video, or playlist for the specified number of minutes.
- Uniques: The number of people who watched a video for the first time. Users who use several devices or browsers will be over-counted because this is estimated based on the amount of unique cookies.
- Viewer Percentage: The number of people that were logged in while watching a video or listening to a playlist.
- Views: The amount of people who have watched your videos or channels.
- Watch Time: The amount of time that has passed since you last checked your watch.
The Audience Retention Report
This report can assist you figure out if your viewers are sticking with your videos.
You can start looking for common threads throughout your top-performing content based on these indicators and percentages. On the other hand, you may see a link between videos with lesser retention.
The absolute audience retention curve allows you to determine which parts of the video are the most popular, in addition to big-picture patterns. YouTube advises paying special attention to the opening 15 seconds of each video because that is when the majority of viewers will leave. You can also use relative audience retention to examine how your video stacks up against similar-length YouTube videos.
Organic traffic, traffic for paid skippable video advertisements, and traffic for paid display ads all contribute to retention. The following are some of the report’s notable metrics:
Organic traffic refers to video views that occur as a consequence of a user’s intent. If a viewer searches for a video, clicks on a suggested video, or browses a channel, it is considered organic traffic.
Views for adverts that play automatically before a video and may be skipped after five seconds.
Views from display adverts, such as those found in search results or on other video viewing pages, in which the user watched the video.
Retention stats give you practical advice on how to improve your YouTube videos.
Perhaps the first few seconds of your videos are lacking in “punch.” Perhaps you get off to a good start but then lose views halfway through. These are the reasons why you should check your YouTube Analytics on a frequent basis.
The Playback Locations Report
If you work with collaborators or partners, this report is for you. You can check where your films are being played, whether it’s directly on YouTube or through embedding.
For example, you can check how many views are generated through embedding videos on other websites as well as directly on YouTube. If it was viewed on YouTube, you can tell whether it was from the video’s individual page or from a channel’s page.
Simply put, playback reporting shows where your videos are being seen, whereas traffic sources show how people are finding your material. The following are some of the report’s notable metrics:
YouTube Watch Page: The video was seen from the video’s unique page on YouTube. It’s the exact YouTube URL where you may see the video.
These are views directly on a channel page (for example, youtube.com/user/SproutSocial).
YouTube Other: Some browsers prevent YouTube from detecting where a video was seen on the platform. These views most likely came from the YouTube watch page.
External Websites and Apps Embedded: When your video was embedded on another website or app, how many times did visitors watch it? (see example below).
To be clear, the YouTube Watch Page simply refers to the URL of a video that was viewed (on YouTube rather than on a website, for example).
YouTube Traffic Sources Report
The Traffic Sources Report is another important report to keep an eye on. It displays which websites and YouTube features users used to find your content.
Knowing if viewers are searching directly on YouTube, clicking thumbnails from Suggested Videos, or clicking links from social media sites tells you if your optimization and promotion methods are working.
The traffic sources highlighted in this report include:
- YouTube search
- Suggested videos
- Browse features
- Playlists
- YouTube channels
- YouTube advertising
- Video cards and annotations
- Notifications
- Other YouTube features
- External sources
- Direct or unknown sources
YouTube Devices Report
Last but not least, you should add the devices report to your list of reports that you pull on a regular basis. This report details the various platforms and operating systems that viewers use to watch your films, including PCs, mobile phones, tablets, game consoles, and televisions.
This information can help you improve your advertising and outreach efforts. It also has an impact on the type of content you share. If mobile devices account for the majority of your views, you might want to consider replacing those 20-minute lessons with shorter, bite-sized content.
The value of a platform like Sprout Social comes from analysing “where,” “when,” and “how” people are listening in. Our YouTube publishing tools, for example, let you optimise your content and post time based on audience involvement. You may also quickly share your video material from social media to YouTube and vice versa.
YouTube Analytics Engagement Reports
Of course, when it comes to video performance, views aren’t everything. YouTube video analytics can be broken down into a number of different reporting parameters, including:
- Likes
- Dislikes
- Comments
- Subscriptions
- Sharing
These indicators are ranked according to the type of content you’re producing.
A tutorial video, for example, might be utilised as a customer support tool with back-and-forth comments welcomed. In the meantime, a video made mainly for entertainment purposes will try to get as many likes and shares as possible.
The Subscribers Report in YouTube Analytics
After all, aren’t we all obsessed with our following counts? This report is YouTube’s counterpart, detailing how many followers you’ve acquired and lost across various types of content, places, and dates.
In other words, this report informs you exactly which material is bringing in subscribers and where they’re coming from. You’ll also be able to see where you’ve lost subscribers.
The Likes and Dislikes Report
Although this report is self-explanatory, it is worth mentioning. It displays the overall change in your videos’ likes and dislikes. It subtracts the number of likes and dislikes taken from the total number of likes and dislikes.
However, if your videos start receiving dislikes out of nowhere, you should be concerned. Trolls and potential competitors may occasionally express disapproval, but you shouldn’t expect a deluge of hate for no reason if you aren’t baiting them.
YouTube Report on Videos Playlists
This report reveals how many times visitors added or removed your videos from their playlists. This covers both default and custom playlists, such as “Watch Later” or “Favorites.”
It’s a good bonus to know which playlists your videos appear in. If you discover that others are constantly queueing up your long-form tutorial videos, for example, it may be time to make more.
Average Time in Playlist: The estimated average amount of time a user spent watching videos in a playlist after it was created, in minutes. This only applies to playlist views on the internet.
Playlist Starts: The number of times a playlist has been started by its viewers. This only applies to playlist views on the internet.
Videos Added to Playlists: The total number of times a video was added to any YouTube playlist, including the video owner’s playlists and playlists from other channels.
Removed Videos From Playlists: The number of times videos have been removed from any YouTube playlist.
Views Per Playlist Start: The average number of video views each time a playlist was started.
The Comments Report
The number of people who have commented on your video is summarised in this report.
The YouTube comment section, like social comments, is a place where you may converse with your viewers. It’s also a good place to get unedited feedback on how people react to your work.
If individuals express their affection for you in the comments section, make sure you answer appropriately. When it comes to customer assistance and educational videos, response time is crucial.
YouTube Sharing report
This report reveals how many times your material has been shared on YouTube, as well as other social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Sharing is an apparent part of promotion, especially if you’re distributing material like product trailers or breaking news. This report is one to keep an eye on if you’re actively scheduling and promoting your YouTube content across your social platforms.
The Cards Report
Despite common misconception, watching videos does not have to be a completely passive experience for the audience.
Marketers may utilise Cards to make their YouTube videos more engaging as an alternative to the now-discontinued Annotations. You can add an image, title, or call-to-action depending on the Card type.
This report displays how viewers on desktop, mobile, and tablets interact with cards in your videos. The following are some of the report’s key metrics:
The number of times each card has been clicked.
The ratio of card clicks to card impressions is used to compute the clickthrough rate for cards.
The number of times cards were displayed made an impression. When the card panel is opened, each of the video’s cards receives a card impression.
Teaser Click Rate: The ratio of clicks on card teasers to the total number of card teaser impressions, which is determined as the clickthrough rate for card teasers.
Teaser Clicks: The number of times a card teaser has been clicked. The last teaser displayed to the user is credited with card symbol clicks.
Teaser Impressions: The amount of times teasers were shown on cards. Multiple teaser impressions can be generated by watching a video.
Earnings Reports on YouTube Analytics
Over the years, YouTube has experienced its fair number of “Adpocalypses.” Businesses who publish meaningful, ad-friendly content, on the other hand, should keep an eye on their earnings.
If you’re a YouTube Partner with an AdSense account, you’ll have access to a few more reports on how much money you’re making.
The Estimated Earnings Report
This report breaks down earnings from partner content, transactions, YouTube Red, and advertisements. The following are some of the report’s notable metrics:
Ad Earnings: For the given date range and location, the total expected earnings (net revenue) from all Google-sold advertising sources.
Earnings: For the selected date range and location, the total expected earnings (net revenue) from all Google-sold advertising sources as well as non-advertising sources.
Red Partner Revenue: The total expected revenue for the specified report dimensions from YouTube Red subscriptions. It accounts for both music and non-music content earnings.
YouTube warns that revenue estimates in YouTube Analytics may be inaccurate.
The Ad Rates Report
This research compares and contrasts the performance of various ad kinds over time. The following are some of the report’s notable metrics:
The format of the ad in question, as well as the platform on which it is purchased.
Ad Impressions: The total number of ad impressions served that have been confirmed.
Monetized Playbacks: The number of times a viewer sees at least one ad impression while watching your video. If a visitor is served a pre-roll ad but exits the ad before your video begins, this is considered a monetized replay.
The anticipated gross income per thousand playbacks is calculated using a playback-based CPM.
Final Thoughts of YouTube Analytics
However, evaluating your channel’s statistics is essential not just for refining current content but also for determining what to generate in the future.
Consider how technologies like Sprout Social can help you improve your video strategy beyond YouTube.
Our platform enables you to effortlessly integrate your YouTube strategy with your social initiatives, from cross-publishing to asset management and beyond.