YouTube gives a built-in analytics platform that can assist you perceive your channel’s efficiency.
In case you’re used to Google Analytics, YouTube Analytics is rather a lot simpler to make use of and perceive.
However discerning the explanations behind efficiency on YouTube could be tough.
On this article, I’ll begin off with the fundamentals of YouTube Analytics: easy methods to discover your information. As I’m going, I’ll draw your consideration to a few of the particulars that may provide help to analyze your video and channel efficiency.
How Do I See YouTube Analytics?
Attending to your analytics is straightforward. Simply observe this course of:
- Sign in.
- On the high proper, click on the round icon containing your profile image.
- From the dropdown menu, choose “YouTube Studio.”
You’ll land in your channel dashboard, pictured beneath.
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Screenshot from SEJ YouTube Analytics, January 2023
The dashboard exhibits you a fast overview, together with efficiency particulars about your newest video or livestream, and top-level channel data.
You may get a top-level concept of views, watch hours, and income throughout the entire channel during the last month. You’ll additionally see latest feedback, subscribers, and beneficial studying.
It’s a very good overview, however you’ll must go deeper for actually useful information.
What Info Can YouTube Analytics Present?
On the floor, YouTube Analytics might really feel fundamental for those who’re accustomed to Google’s different instruments. It does characteristic energy beneath the hood, but it surely’s designed to be beginner-friendly on the floor.
In case you’re already conversant in the fundamentals and on the lookout for extra customization choices, skip all the way down to Superior Mode.
Channel Analytics
You’ll be able to work together with parts on the dashboard to take you on to the place you wish to go or use the left-hand menu to navigate.
Let’s begin with the menu.
Click on on Analytics.

The primary tab in Analytics offers you particulars and graphs displaying metrics calculated on your complete channel.
So, it pulls information from all of your particular person movies to show right here.
On the graph, you may click on every metric on the high to see its corresponding graph. You’ll additionally see a real-time view of exercise in your channel, and a fast checklist of your top-performing content material.
Again on the high, you may click on every tab to see graphs and associated information.
For instance, beneath Content material, you’ll see views, impressions, click-through charges, and common view period. Common view period is the common period of time {that a} single viewer watches a video.
Within the Content material tab, you’ll additionally see information about the place impressions and views come from, whether or not it’s YouTube search, YouTube options, exterior, and so on.
On the Viewers tab, you’ll see information about returning and distinctive viewers, subscribers, and fundamental demographic details about viewers. The tab additionally offers you perception into what different channels and movies your viewers like to look at.
The Analysis tab incorporates a really fundamental key phrase analysis instrument. You’ll be able to see search phrases associated to the time period you enter. It’s going to let you know broadly concerning the quantity – “high,” “low,” and so on. is all you get.
It’s going to additionally establish search phrases the place it thinks there’s a “content gap” – and you’ll see searches that your viewers make.
Let’s return to the principle display screen.
Do you see up within the high proper nook, it says Advanced Mode? Underneath each graph, you might need additionally observed a See Extra button. All of those hyperlinks result in the superior interface.
In case you’re annoyed by how fundamental the information appears, that’s the place you may customise the metrics in your charts. Go forward and skip to the Superior Mode part if that’s what you want.
Video Analytics
Again in the principle menu on the left-hand facet, click on on Content material to start out taking a look at your particular person movies.

This tab lists your entire uploaded movies and livestreams. You’ll see data like views, feedback, and likes.

From right here, you may click on on any particular person video to view and regulate its particulars.
That is the place you may regulate all of your video’s particulars and metadata, together with;
- Title.
- Description.
- Tags.
- Thumbnail.
- Class.
- Viewers and age restriction.
- Language and captions.
- Date and placement.
- Remark coverage.
- Add subtitles, end screens, and cards.
You’ve additionally obtained a brand new menu on the left; YouTube has a fundamental video editor that you should use.
However let’s concentrate on the Analytics tab. Click on on that.
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Screenshot from SEJ YouTube Analytics, January 2023
The primary Analytics display screen is just like your channel analytics overview. You’ll be able to see views, watch time, new subscribers attributed to this video, and the video’s income for those who’re a companion.
Under the principle graph, you’ll see particulars about engagement and retention. These will look just a little bit completely different relying on the kind of content material.
- For livestreams, you’ll see particulars about feedback and engagement through the stream.
- For movies, you’ll see “key moments for audience retention,” which embody view period, the common proportion of the video customers considered, and a really helpful viewers retention chart.
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Screenshot from SEJ YouTube Analytics, January 2023
By very helpful, I imply that the viewers retention chart might be the one most vital chart you have got entry to for a person video.
Why?
In case you’re an search engine optimization professional, it’s time to be taught to assume upside-down, as a result of YouTube’s algorithms prioritize person engagement alerts far above metadata when evaluating movies.
The top YouTube ranking factor is “viewer satisfaction,” which is measured with a couple of completely different metrics.
This graph provides distinctive perception into how viewers work together together with your video. The tooltip, pictured above, is a superb information for locating insights about your video.
- In case you discover a pointy dropoff initially of a video, your introduction might most likely be higher, otherwise you didn’t instantly present viewers how your video addresses their wants.
- Spikes within the chart let you know that these moments are significantly good or shareable. The timestamp exhibits factors at which individuals rewatch or share the video.
- Dips within the chart are exit or skip factors for viewers. They’re very useful for locating locations the place it is advisable to enhance or reduce content material.
This chart will at all times transfer down and to the fitting. However, typically, the much less sharply it does so, the extra partaking your video is.
The opposite tabs throughout the highest present you extra information concerning the video.
- Attain exhibits impressions, CTRs, views, and site visitors sources.
- Engagement exhibits whole watch time, common view period, likes and dislikes, and end-screen CTRs.
- Viewers exhibits details about your viewers, resembling fundamental demographics, whether or not they’re subscribers, returning or new viewers, and so on.
And as with the channel analytics information, every graph has a See Extra button, which we’re lastly prepared to have a look at!
Superior Mode
Superior Mode is the place the magic occurs. You may get to it by clicking See Extra on any chart, or Superior Mode within the high proper nook of your analytics dashboard.
The See Extra perform may be very cool, as a result of it mechanically exhibits you a extra superior model of the chart you’re presently taking a look at.
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Screenshot from SEJ YouTube Analytics, January 2023
Simply take a look at all these metrics!
You’ll be able to examine any two metrics, customise the date vary and chart timeframe, apply filters, examine movies to 1 one other immediately, and the checklist goes on. That is the “get out what you put in” a part of YouTube Analytics.
The extra time you spend familiarizing your self with the system and the way your content material performs, the extra insights you may glean.
Within the high proper nook, there’s a “compare to” menu that provides you many highly effective comparability instruments.
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Screenshot from SEJ YouTube Analytics, January 2023
You’ll be able to export any superior mode view on to Google Sheets or a .csv file.
Take a look at Google’s guide to Advanced Mode.
How Do I See YouTube Analytics For Different Channels?
Competitive research is a bit more tough.
YouTube Analytics solely provides information on your channel and people you’ve been invited to. To get aggressive analytics on different channels and movies, it is advisable to set up third-party instruments.
TubeBuddy and VidIQ are two of the preferred third-party YouTube instruments. They each supply free extensions that may give you details about movies and channels you don’t personal.
They’ll additionally function key phrase analysis aids and supply extra information, plus quality-of-life options in your personal channel dashboard.
Do not forget that there’s solely a lot that digging right into a competitor’s information can do for you on YouTube. You ought to be analyzing the content material of their movies, at first.
Conclusion
YouTube Analytics is straightforward sufficient for novices to navigate with ease, there’s a whole lot of energy if you already know the place to look.
To draw efficient conclusions out of your analytics, it helps to do not forget that YouTube algorithms work in another way from Google search algorithms.
Whereas Google says that user engagement metrics will not be rating elements in Google search, person engagement metrics are a few of the most vital rating elements on YouTube.
YouTube search and YouTube suggestions additionally run on completely different algorithms.
Analytics might help you perceive a video’s efficiency primarily based on completely different YouTube options.
In case you’d reasonably work with the information your self, you may at all times load up Superior Mode, decide your chart options and comparisons, then export it.
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