5 YouTube Analytics Metrics You Should Know and Track

Going Viral is arguably the quickest way to catapult your YouTube channel, but it’s easier said than done. Most of us will have to grow our channel the ‘old-fashioned’ way, by producing high-quality content consistently.

But how do you know what type of content will your viewers like? Only learning how viewers engage with your videos can help you evaluate your success and fix any problems. And the key to doing that? Data.

YouTube provides a clear insight into the key metrics that will help you understand your channel’s performance and strategize to grow it quickly.

Here are 5 to start with:

1. Impressions

First, what are impressions? Impressions are the number of times potential viewers saw your video thumbnail on their screen. And why are they so important? Impressions is a visibility indicator metric, as it shows whether your video is showing up to people.

Tip: Use keywords relevant to your video in the titles and descriptions to make sure they appear in search results.

2. Click-Through Rates

Impression CTR is how often viewers click on your video after they saw the thumbnail. This metric gives you more insight into the pulling power of your thumbnails and titles.

Your CTR is the most important growth metric. Only after a viewer clicks on your video will your channel see views or engagement. Improving your CTR will have a direct impact on the growth of your channel.

3. Watch Time

Watch time is the number of hours/minutes viewers spend watching your videos. There are 2 key reasons to track your watch time, first, it helps you understand what type of content your audience prefers and second, it’s the #1 ranking factor for your video. This metric helps you improve your visibility as YouTube’s algorithm pushes videos that have higher watch times up the ranking.

4. Audience Retention

The Audience retention chart shows the pattern of how viewers watch your video. It shows how long they watch it, where they drop-off and times where they are engaged with most.

Audience retention is key to your next video strategy. It helps you see where you lost most of your viewers and fix it.

5. Traffic Sources

Traffic sources are from where your viewers find your video. Traffic sources can be within YouTube or from external websites or direct traffic.

This metric helps you strategize your marketing efforts.

It also gives you search terms that your video showed up for, which can help you improve your organic reach.

I hope you have a better understanding on your channel analytics after reading this blog.

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