Some marketers may be obsessed with metrics – they are tracking too many of them. Maybe we think we can prove that any marketing campaign will produce results if the name has a noticeable percentage. But deep down, we all know that some metrics are more revealing than others.
There are a ton of KPIs that offer minimal insight. Fortunately, we’ve created this guide to help you navigate YouTube Analytics and measure the metrics that really matter. It saves you from drowning in the sea of analytics where most marketers only have a lifebuoy, and helps you not only stay afloat but swim safely to land.
Read on to learn which YouTube metrics actually matter and how they can improve your video strategy.
YouTube Analytics: The 15 Metrics That Actually Matters
1. Observe the time
Playback time is the total number of minutes that viewers have spent watching your videos. This is an important metric as YouTube increases videos and channels with higher playback times in search results and recommendations. YouTube does this because the more playback time a video has, the more responsive the algorithm will assume that it is.
The playback time report shows you how much playback time your videos have accumulated. You can also organize each of your videos by watch time and group your videos by subject, style, and length to determine the most interesting types of videos.
2. Average percentage displayed
Average percentage of videos viewed is the percentage of each video that the average viewer has seen. It measures your video’s ability to grab viewers’ attention. And when YouTube realizes that your videos can grab people’s attention, they’ll be rewarded with higher search and referral rankings. You can find this metric in your time report.
3. Average viewing time
Average view time is the total playback time of your video divided by the total number of times the video has been played, including repetitions. This metric measures your video’s ability to engage viewers. If your video can’t appeal to viewers, they’ll quickly jump off your video, giving you a nondescript average view time. However, if your video can appeal to viewers, your average view time and total watch time will increase at the same time, which will improve your search and recommendation rankings. You can also find this metric in your time report.
4. Target group loyalty
Audience engagement shows you the percentage of viewers viewing and leaving your video in every single moment of the video. YouTube boosts videos with high audience engagement in their search rankings and suggestions as these videos can effectively grab viewers’ attention.
Audience engagement can also influence your future video strategy. The most interesting parts of your video could be your next best video topics. Watching your video during a steep drop in engagement will teach you what might be boring your viewers and can remove those elements from current and future videos.
There are two graphs displayed in the YouTube Audience Report: the absolute retention curve and the relative retention curve. The absolute retention curve shows you how well your videos are retaining viewers. Relative retention shows you how well one of your videos is holding viewers compared to all other YouTube videos of similar length.
Photo credit: YouTube
5. Watches again
Repeat plays are the number of times that viewers re-watch certain parts of your video. If a lot of people are re-viewing a certain part of your video, they are likely interested in the topic your video is about at that moment. These topics can serve as feed for your future video strategy. You can find this data in the chart for absolute audience engagement. Repetitions are usually indicated by rising curves in the graph.
Photo credit: YouTube
6. Commitment
Comments, stocks, likes, and dislikes provide marketers with a lot of valuable qualitative data.
Comments can paint a clear picture of the emotional impact your video has on viewers. Approvals can be used to measure how much viewers value your content and your brand. Because people share content that affirms their ideal self-personality, people who share your video are publicly showing that they trust and support your brand. You can use likes and dislikes to determine which video themes are best for your particular audience. You can find your videos’ engagement metrics in the YouTube engagement report.
7. Impressions click rate
The impression click-through rate measures your video’s ability to encourage people to view your video after it appears on their home page, in the recommendation section, or in the trending section. A high click-through rate means that your title was convincing and that the topic of your video resonated with many relevant target groups on YouTube.
A common trend in impression click-through rates is that they usually increase immediately after your video is published. Your subscribers will see the video at the top of their homepage and will likely click on it. However, once your video spreads beyond your core audience, your click-through rate will drop and then stay at a stable rate.
You can also pair this metric with Average Ad Percentage and Average Time spent to see if people actually watch your video after they click on it. High CTR is great, but if people leave right at the beginning of your video, your title or thumbnail can be misleading. Preparing viewers for what’s to come is crucial because if your title or thumbnail is inaccurate they will feel deceived and lose confidence in your brand.
A low CTR but high engagement can mean that the video has a small but specific audience that is excited about the content. Go to the Analytics tab in YouTube Studio to examine this metric.
Photo credit: YouTube
8. CTR of the card
Cards are insertion fields that encourage people to take a desired action during a video, such as For example, watch another video, subscribe to a channel, or click on another website. The click-through rate of each card indicates what action your viewers prefer while watching your videos. That way, you can put the most attractive card in any of your videos, potentially increasing your watch time, subscriber growth, or website traffic.
By analyzing the click-through rates of cards, you can also determine the optimal timing, placement and duration of your cards in future videos. You can find the click rates of your cards in the card report.
Photo credit: YouTube
9. Playlist engagement
Playlists are a great way to organize your videos in a digestible way. It helps your viewers to easily consume videos on their favorite topics and encourages them to keep watching, which increases the playback time for your channel.
You can reveal your commitment to playlists by analyzing two metrics in YouTube’s Playlist Report: Views per Playlist Start and Average Playlist Time. Views per playlist start is the average number of video views your playlists are capturing, and the average time in playlist is the average time viewers watched the videos in your playlist. If these two metrics are performing poorly, start your playlist with videos with the highest retention rate.
10. Unique viewers
Unique viewers is the estimated number of people who will watch your videos over a period of time. This metric really helps you understand the real size of your audience.
You can also use this metric to measure your subscriber’s engagement with your videos. When your unique viewers are lower than your subscriber count, your subscribers won’t see as much of your video as they could be. Ask them to set up notifications for your new videos so they can get more active. You can find this metric on the “Views and Audience Reach” tab in YouTube Studio.
11. Views per unique viewer
Views per Unique Viewer is the number of times the average viewer views your video. This metric shows you if people are not getting enough of your video and watching it over and over again. Video themes with many views per unique viewer can also be your most popular content themes. If you cover them in more depth, you can generate more views, times, and subscribers.
Photo credit: YouTube
12. Who is watching your videos?
The YouTube demographic report shows you the different types of people who watch your videos, broken down by age, gender, and geographic location. This data tells you who your most engaged audience is and who your audience should be. With this data you can also take the opposite approach. When you’re not reaching the audience you want, twist your video strategy and cover topics that would attract them.
Photo credit: YouTube
13. Subscriber Growth
Subscribers are your most loyal fans. You have made a public commitment to your brand, content and values. And they are most likely your evangelists too. Subscribers are important to your channel too, as YouTube sends them notifications of your new videos and posts them on their homepage. This means your videos will be viewed more often, which will generate more views. Subscribers also see twice as many videos as non-subscribers. The more subscribers you have, the more time you watch your videos.
YouTube’s Subscriber Report shows you which videos, locations and time periods are gaining and losing subscribers. You can use this data to find out which video topics resonate with your subscribers and where you can address new subscribers. By prioritizing your subscribers’ needs, you will create the videos they crave, extend your watch time, and increase your search rankings.
14. Traffic sources
External referrals like social media or websites that have your videos embedded and YouTube referrals like Search, Recommended Section, and Home page are all sources of traffic. The Traffic Sources report shows you how viewers found your videos and which sources get the most views and watch times. You can use this data to better optimize your video advertising strategy.
Photo credit: YouTube
15. Keywords
In the YouTube Search Report, located below the Traffic Sources Report, you can see the most popular queries that will lead viewers to your videos. If these queries are slightly different from the subject of your video, consider updating your video to fill those gaps in content and add the keywords to your metadata. If there is a big difference, consider making a new video about these popular queries.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in July 2018 and has been updated for completeness.