YouTube analytics? Pfft, who needs that? Just throw some videos up there and hope for the best, right? Wrong! If you're serious about growing your channel and reaching new audiences, you need to pay attention to your analytics.
YouTube Analytics is a powerful tool that can help content creators understand how their videos are performing on the platform. It provides insights into various metrics, such as audience demographics, watch time, engagement, and more. But don't worry, it's not as complicated as it sounds. In fact, using YouTube analytics is almost as easy as eating a whole bag of chips in one sitting (which, for the record, is not recommended). In this blog post, we will discuss how to use YouTube Analytics to gain insights into your channel's performance and improve your content strategy.
Accessing YouTube Analytics
So how do you use YouTube analytics? To access YouTube Analytics, log in to your YouTube account and click on your profile picture in the top right corner of the screen. From there, click on the "YouTube
Studio" option, and you will be directed to your channel's dashboard. In the left-hand menu, click on "Analytics" to access the Analytics dashboard. Once you're in the Analytics dashboard, you'll see a variety of general reports, including an overview of your channel's performance, your top videos, and your audience demographics.
Understanding the Metrics
The most important metrics to pay attention to are:
Watch time: This metric tells you how long viewers watch your videos.
Views: This metric tells you how many times your videos have been viewed.
Engagement: This metric tells you how viewers interact with your videos, such as likes, comments, and shares.
Audience demographics: This metric tells you who is watching your videos, such as age, gender, and location.
The Watch Time and Audience reports are the most important. Here, you can see how long viewers are watching your videos, where they're coming from, and even what devices they're using. Engagement reports are also key, as they show you how viewers are interacting with your content. You can see which videos are getting the most likes, comments, and shares, as well as track your subscriber growth over time.
Analyzing Your Performance
Once you understand the metrics, you can start analyzing your channel's performance. Look for patterns in your audience demographics, watch time, and engagement. For example, if you notice that your videos perform well with a particular age group or location, you can tailor your content to that demographic.
Maybe your viewership spikes on Tuesdays, or your viewers in Spain are really loving your videos. By knowing this information, you can structure your content and posting schedule to maximize your reach.
There are a ton of other metrics you can also use to help drive viewers to your videos. For example, you can do keyword research and learn which search phrases or words people are searching for when they come across your video. Find the terms that are most effective and include those regularly in your videos and their descriptions.
You can also group similar videos together and analyze them as a group. For example, take all your longer (30+ minute) videos and see if you can find any insights as to why they perform in a particular way.
Be sure to click on and use as many analytics features as possible, so you can best understand your viewers and optimize your channel.
Using YouTube Studio Beta or Third Party Analytics Providers
YouTube Studio Beta is a new version of the YouTube Studio that provides more advanced analytics features. To access it, click on the "YouTube Studio Beta" option in the left-hand menu of the dashboard. From there, you can access more detailed metrics, such as traffic sources, revenue, and more.
TubeBuddy and VidIQ are two popular third party options that offer advanced analytics and optimization features.
Improving Your Content Strategy
Using YouTube Analytics, you can improve your content strategy by understanding what works and what doesn't. Look for videos with high watch time and engagement and try to replicate that success in future videos. You can also experiment with different types of content and see how they perform.
You can also use YouTube analytics to spy on your competitors. By adding their channels to your dashboard, you can see how they're performing and what strategies they're using to grow their audience. (Just don't get too obsessed, okay? We don't need any YouTube stalker scandals.)
In conclusion, YouTube Analytics is an essential tool for content creators who want to understand their channel's performance and improve their content strategy. By analyzing metrics such as watch time, views, engagement, and audience demographics, you can gain valuable insights into your channel's performance and make data-driven decisions to improve your content.