YouTube analytics basics

You can use analytics to better understand your video and channel performance with key metrics and reports in YouTube Studio.Note: Some data, such as geography, traffic sources, or gender, may be limited. Learn more about limited data in YouTube Analytics.

Analytics in YouTube Studio

Get to YouTube analytics

Analytics in the YouTube App (for Shorts, Videos, Live Streams, and more!)

YouTube Android app

  1. Open the YouTube app .
  2. Tap your profile picture and thenYour channel.
  3. From the middle menu, tap Analytics to view the following reports within the All, Videos, Shorts, and Live tabs:
  • Views: The number of legitimate views on your content.
  • Likes:The number of likes on your Shorts content.
  • Watch time: The estimated amount of time viewers watched your content.
  • Subscribers: The number of viewers who have subscribed to your channel.
  • Top Shorts: Your most popular Shorts.
  • Top videos and live streams: Your most popular videos and live streams.
  • Top remixed: Your content used to create Shorts.
  • Your audience:Your audience by age, gender and geography.
  • Channels they watch:Your audience's online activity across other channels on YouTube.
  • Videos they watch:Your audience's online activity outside of your channel.

YouTube Studio app for Android

  1. Open the YouTube Studio app .
  2. From the bottom menu, tap Analytics .

You can also view reports at the video level:

  1. Open the YouTube Studio app .
  2. From the bottom menu, tap Content .
  3. Select your video and In the Analytics section, tap VIEW MORE.

Within YouTube analytics, you'll see different tabs that help you understand your data.Note: Some reports may not be available on mobile devices.

Overview

The Overview tab shows you a summary of how your channel and videos are performing. The key metrics card shows your views, watch time, subscribers, and estimated revenue (If you're in the YouTube Partner Program).Note: You may see personalized overview reports that show comparisons to your typical performance. These insights will explain why your views may be higher or lower than usual.

In this tab you'll also see reports for:

  • Typical performance: At the channel level, it's a comparison of your channel's typical performance. At the video level, it's a comparison of your video's typical performance.
  • Your top content in this period: Your content ranked by views over the last 28 days.
  • Realtime: Your performance over the last 48 hours or 60 minutes.
  • Stories: Your performance over the last 7 days from your latest Stories.

*At the video level, you'll see key moments for audience retention and your Realtime report.

Content (channel level)

The Content tab gives you a summary of how your audience finds your content, what your audience is watching, and how they interact with your content. You can view the following reach and engagement reports within the All, Videos, Shorts, Live, and Posts tabs:

  • Views: The number of legitimate views on your content for videos, Shorts, and live streams.
  • Impressions and how they led to watch time: The number of times a thumbnail was shown to viewers on YouTube (impressions), how frequently those thumbnails resulted in a view (click-through rate), and how those views ultimately led to watch time.
  • How viewers found your content/videos/Shorts/live streams: How your viewers found your content within browse features, Shorts feed, suggested videos, YouTube search, external, channel pages, direct or unknown and others.
  • Key metrics card: A visual overview of your views, average view duration, impressions,  impressions click-through rate, subscribers, likes, and shares.
  • Key moments for audience retention: How well different moments of your video held viewers' attention. You can also use typical retention to compare your 10 latest videos of similar length.
  • Top videos/Shorts/posts: Your most popular videos, Shorts, and posts.
  • Remixed: Your remix views, total remixes, and top remixed content.
  • Post impressions: The number of times your post was shown to viewers.

Reach (video level)

The Reach tab gives you a summary of how your audience is discovering your channel. The key metrics card shows your impressions, impressions click-through-rate, views, and unique viewers.

In this tab you'll also see reports for:

  • Traffic source types: How viewers found your content.
  • External: Traffic from websites and apps that embed or link to videos from your channel.
  • Suggested videos: Traffic from suggestions that appear next to or after other videos and from links in video descriptions.These videos could be your own videos or someone else's.
  • Playlists: Traffic from the most-watched playlists that include your videos.
  • Impressions and how they led to watch time: how many times your video's thumbnails were shown to viewers on YouTube (Impressions), how frequently those thumbnails resulted in a view (Click-through rate), and how those views ultimately led to watch time.
  • Bell notifications sent: The number of bell notifications sent to subscribers who get notifications from your channel.
  • YouTube search: Traffic from search terms that brought viewers to your content.

Engagement (video level)

The Engagement tab gives you a summary of how long your audience is watching your videos. The key metrics card shows your watch time and average view duration.

In this tab you'll also see reports for:

  • Audience retention:  How well different moments of your video held viewers' attention. You can also use typical retention to compare your 10 latest videos of similar length.
  • Likes (vs. dislikes): How viewers feel about your video.
  • End screen element click rate: How often your viewers clicked on an end screen element after seeing it.
  • Top tagged products: Products you tagged in your video that received the highest engagement.

Audience

The Audience tab gives you a summary of the sort of viewers watching your videos. The key metrics card shows your returning & new viewers, unique viewers, subscribers, and total members.

In this tab you'll also see reports for:

  • Videos growing your audience: Your audience's online activity across your channel. Data is based on your new viewers across all devices in the last 90 days.
  • When your viewers are on YouTube: Your audience's online activity across your channel and all of YouTube. Data is based on your viewers across all devices in the last 28 days.
  • Subscriber bell notifications: How many of your subscribers get all notifications from your channel. The tab also shows and how many can actually get those notifications, based on their YouTube and device settings.
  • Watch time from subscribers: Your audience's watch time divided between non-subscribers and subscribers.
  • Age and gender: Your audience by age and gender. Data is based on signed in viewers across all devices.
  • Other channels your audience watches: Your audience's online activity across other channels on YouTube. Data is based on your viewers across all devices in the last 28 days.
  • Other videos your audience watched: Your audience's online activity outside of your channel. Data is based on your viewers across all devices in the last 7 days.
  • Top geographies: Your audience by geography. Data is based on IP address.
  • Top subtitle/CC languages: Your audience by subtitled language. Data is based on use of subtitles/CC.

*At the video level, you'll see reports for watch time from subscribers, top geographies, top subtitle/CC languages, and age and gender.

Revenue

If you're in the YouTube Partner Program, the Revenue tab helps you track your earnings on YouTube. The key metrics card shows your estimated revenue, RPM, and playback-based CPM.

In this tab you'll also see reports for:

  • Monthly estimated revenue: How much your channel has earned in the last 6 months. For ongoing months and months without finalized payments, revenue is estimated and subject to change.
  • Revenue sources: How you're making money with YouTube.
  • Transaction revenue: Estimated net revenue from transactions, such as paid content and Super Chat. The estimate includes deducted partner charged refunds for the selected date range and area.
  • Top-earning videos: Videos with the highest estimated revenue for the time period.
  • Ad types: The format of the ad and its buying platform. This breakdown is only available for YouTube ad revenue and impression-based metrics.

*At the video level, you'll see reports for revenue sources, transaction revenue, and ad types.

Research (channel level)

The Research tab gives you a summary of what your audience and viewers across YouTube are searching for.

In this tab you'll also see reports for:

  • Searches across YouTube: The top search topics you explored and volume made by your audience and viewers across YouTube over the last 28 days.
  • Your viewer's searches: The search terms and volume your audience and viewers of similar channels are searching on YouTube over the last 28 days.

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