- Feeling trapped in the YouTube analytics maze.
You're not alone.
Keeping up with YouTube's ever-evolving rules
for success can be very hard,
but we've got your back with this video,
so stick around as we give you three key metrics
to keep an eye on ones that will help your content perform
in a world that's all about views, not just subscribers.
Number one, click through rate.
Click through rate, often abbreviated as CTR
is a king of YouTube performance.
It is closely related to impressions.
Impressions means how many times people saw the thumbnail
of your video in a search list or as a recommendation.
The CTR is how many people saw it
and then couldn't help but click on it.
To find CTR, YouTube divides the number
of clicks you get by the number of impressions.
So say you got 10 clicks across a hundred impressions,
your CTR would be 10%.
How, when and where your videos appear
on a recommendation list is all down to YouTube's algorithm.
This is super important
because before you can even contemplate amping up your views
you need to entice people in.
So how does the YouTube algorithm match new viewers
to your content?
Well, in the words of YouTube themselves,
"We take into account many signals, including watch
and history if enabled,
as well as the channels that they've subscribed to.
We also consider their context,
such as country and time of day."
The only thing it is targeting
that's as sophisticated as all that
comes with a self-esteem warning,
because if your videos repeatedly
get the scroll-past treatment,
you know where the problem lies, and it ain't YouTube.
The more you get scrolled over,
the less the algorithm will push your video,
all of which makes getting a handle on your CTR
seriously important.
You may be watching this video right now asking yourself,
"Where the heck can I find my CTR stats?"
Don't worry, YouTube has made that super, super easy.
Let's step in the Studio.
YouTube Studio contains all the video metrics
you could ever imagine and some you probably couldn't.
While that might sound a little overwhelming to some,
remember, you just need to focus
on a few that matter, like CTR.
To find your CTR stats, log into the YouTube Studio,
either on your computer
or on your dedicated YouTube Studio mobile app,
from the left menu, select analytics
and then select content.
Under the alt tab, you can then see impressions
and how they led to watch time.
Simple as that.
As I mentioned, you can use the mobile app
or the computer based version.
I recommend the computer app.
It's just a little more detailed and easier to use.
But simply knowing your CTR is only half the story.
Let's dig into some tips to actually improve it.
Boosting your CTR and watch time is within your control,
and can be achieved with a few simple tweaks.
To set the scene, when CTR goes up, so do viewing stats.
Now, let's say you've just uploaded a video.
You log into YouTube Studio
and see it's performing pretty badly.
Once you're done crying about your scores,
try this simple trick,
wait a couple of hours
and change the thumbnail of your video.
The best thumbnails are attention grabbing
so make sure you're following these best practices.
Use high-def images, use contrasting colors,
turn the brightness up,
if you have a person in the shot, use eye contact.
Keep text short and sweet
and make sure the thumbnail gives a little context
about the video.
Sounds too simple, right?
Trust me, this kind of tweaking is exactly
what separates the pros from the pretenders.
Want to dig a bit deeper into how to get a better CTR?
Hit up the link in the description
for 18 free YouTube thumbnail templates.
Don't worry, you're welcome.
But now let's talk about CTR goals,
because when it comes to this, it's crucial you mask them
to where you are in your channel growth journey.
If you're new to the YouTube world
you won't get tons of impressions
so aim for your CTR to be higher, probably around 10 to 15%.
To do this, get to know your audience
and tailor your content to their interests.
It's worth remembering
that YouTube typically tests your video thumbnails
amongst your own subscriber base first,
then decides to share it more widely,
based on its performance,
all the more reason to make sure yours is irresistible.
If you are a bigger, more established player,
a better goal is to incrementally increase your CTR.
A healthy CTR for a larger channel is around 3%,
so I suggest you aim for 5%
while continuing to keep a high number of impressions.
This will gain you favor with the algorithm.
Across a big subscriber base,
these increases can take your impact to a whole new level,
which brings us to our second key metric,
average viewing duration.
Simply put, average viewing duration, or AVD,
means how long the average viewer watches your video
before deciding to leave, because there's really no point
in getting a great CTR,
only to find that viewers jump off early,
especially because if they do, the algorithm will spot that
and your video will become much less likely to discover,
and that's gonna negatively impact your impressions.
This is because YouTube isn't just looking
at the lure of your current video,
it's looking at the quality of each video you post as well.
It's also worth reminding you that a good AVD
or CTR doesn't rely on having a big following.
This is a key part of YouTube's drive to put merit
in the spotlight rather than just fan base.
Now, no matter who you are
and how many followers you have,
if you have a killer video, it can blow up in a big way,
and that opens the door to fast growth
and stratospheric increases in engagement,
which leaves us with one big question,
with the potential gain so big,
how can you improve your AVD?
Step one, benchmark it against your other videos.
Once again, YouTube Studio has your back here.
Login, and from the left menu, select content.
Then point to your video and select analytics.
Then in the overview tab,
scroll to top content in this period
and it'll show you your content ranked by views
over the last 28 days.
Let's say your latest video ranks number five
out of your 10 videos.
What can you do to get it higher in the rankings?
It's time to channel your inner Colombo.
With your detective's eye at the ready,
look for spikes and dips in your videos.
A spike is a period of high interest for the audience.
Maybe it's a section that they've watched multiple times,
and a dip means sections that have been skipped through
or not watched at all.
Now look at the sections that are spiking
and make sure you include more sections like this
in your videos going forward.
What happened in the spike could be a section
with strong graphics
and animations, or perhaps a concise breakdown
of information.
What happened in the dip may be a long speech
or a poorly lit static camera shot.
Figure it out.
Figure out what moves are hurting your AVD,
then fix or remove them.
And if you notice you're losing viewers
in the first 30 seconds of your video,
make sure you're following these best practices.
Share the hook for your video within the first 10 seconds
and make sure you jump right into the topic
within the first 30 seconds.
Remember, YouTube cares more about how many minutes
you regularly get people to watch a specific video for,
rather than the APV, which means how far they got
through that video as a percentage.
For example, YouTube will prioritize a 10 minute video
with a 35% APV in and AVD of three minutes,
over a five minute video with an APV of 50%
but an AVD of just two minutes.
And that brings us to our final metric, engagement.
This metric is as old as the internet hills
but it's still hyper-relevant today.
What do we mean by engagement?
Likes, comments and shares.
These also how much your audience actually cares
about your videos
and how much the topics you're covering resonate with them.
YouTube Studio makes it pretty easy to keep your eyes
on top of these two.
To see this data jump onto the content section,
select interactions, and then likes,
or click on likes and dislikes in the left hand column.
Time for quick caveat.
The number of comments can be deceiving.
If you haven't heard of the term, ratioed, before,
it means a video with a high ratio of comments to likes.
And why is that bad?
Well, in general, a stream of comments
that aren't accompanied by many likes mean that your video
may have caused a bit of a negative stir.
So always balance comments against likes,
and how can you boost your number of likes and comments?
Well, this may just be the simplest fix ever.
Just ask.
If the end of your video doesn't have a polite nudge to like
and subscribe, then you're seriously missing out.
You can even take it a step further
and ask your viewers for their take
on the topic you're talking about.
In marketing terms, we call this a call to action or a CTA,
and it really works.
According to some studies,
videos with a CTA garner up to three times
the amount of likes, comments,
and subscriptions than videos without them.
Just make sure to reply to comments quickly.
Remember, the goal here is to create
a buzzing hive of interactivity,
and if you leave comments unanswered for days on end,
your viewers will start to lose interest.
And there you have it.
Remember, subscribers is still an important metric
but it's not the king of metrics anymore.
The days of turning out video after video
after video are passe, they're gone.
And now it's all about posting incredibly valuable
and engaging content, however big your following is.
So make sure to keep an eye on your click through rate,
your average viewing duration, and your engagement.
Finesse what works, remove what doesn't,
keep providing value and watch your numbers explode.
Wanna start your journey towards a better CTR right now?
Check the link in the description
and get 18 free YouTube thumbnail templates
to help you experiment.
And of course, if you want to be the first to hear
about new releases from HubSpot,
don't forget to like and subscribe.
Happy creating folks.
Until next time.
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- Have you heard of HubSpot?
HubSpot is a CRM platform,
so it shares its data across every application.
Every team can stay aligned,
no out of sync spreadsheets or dueling databases.
HubSpot, grow better.
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