- Headline news folks,
analytics are now available for YouTube Shorts,
which clears a lot of things up
but also raises a ton more questions.
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Let's deal with the basics first.
In the YouTube studio
if you mouse over a video,
you can click on the analytics button.
On this screen over to the right,
you can see the real-time stats for the video
where it now does show views coming from YouTube Shorts.
Now, if you've been following this story since day one,
you can now see that the direct and unknown views
are separated and no longer attached to Shorts views.
On top of this,
you can go to the analytics page for your entire channel
and click the see more button
to dive into your channel data.
One of the quick filters here is for traffic sources,
which if you click we'll chop up the views on your channel,
by all the different ways people can watch your content,
which now includes YouTube Shorts.
And with that being said,
let's put this analytic to the test.
Over the last 28 days,
what is the total percentage of views on your channel
that have come from YouTube Shorts?
And is it more or less than you expected?
Let us know in the comments below.
Now, for those of you
who haven't been following this story since day one,
let me very briefly explain YouTube Shorts.
They are a new way of consuming content
in the YouTube mobile app.
The videos have to be in a vertical video format
of less than 60 seconds.
And lots of small creators are getting tons of views
through this new feature.
For the long explanation
and for everything we know up until this point,
check out the playlist over here.
Now you're all up to speed.
Let's find out why this metric is actually useful.
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Well, first and most obviously you now actually know
just when your videos are watched as YouTube Shorts,
rather than trying to guess.
And this does have implications
when it comes to monetization.
That's because views that come from the traffic source
of YouTube Shorts can not be monetized
and they don't count towards 4,000 hours of watch time.
However, if that same video
that appeared as a YouTube Short
is watched as a regular video on the YouTube app.
It does count towards monetization and watch time.
Let me explain that one a little bit more.
Let's say I'm watching a video,
but something catches my interest on these Short shelf.
When I viewed this video,
the creator earns one view from a traffic source of shorts.
They don't earn any ad revenue
nor does it count towards watch time for monetization.
However, if I watch that same video
as if I was watching it from the channel page,
so it plays as a regular video,
the video still earns a view, but it can get ad revenue.
And the watch time goes towards
4,000 hours for monetization.
And yes, I agree with you.
This is totally confusing
and until YouTube make it more clear,
I will continue to say so.
And the contrasting ways that these videos are consumed
is most evident on channels
that are dedicated to being YouTube Shorts channels.
And it just so happens, we have one.
We're up to 600 subscribers on the vidIQ Shorts channel.
Every single video on this channel
is less than 60 seconds long and in vertical video format.
And the analytics that have come out of this channel
are already very intriguing.
That's because although views from YouTube Shorts
are the single biggest contributor to views on the channel.
More than half of the views for the channel
come from outside of YouTube Shorts.
That means that all of these watch time hours
count towards monetizing the channel.
And when you look at the total watch time for the channel
versus the watch time hours
that have been recorded for monetization,
you're left scratching your head.
Yeah. Yeah.
I think in my own head now I understand all of this,
but have I explained it enough to you.
If the answer's yes,
give us a like on this video.
If it hasn't then I'm sorry,
I've failed you as a YouTube educator.
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It should be noted these Shorts numbers
are also accessible from the mobile studio app.
Simply go to the hamburger menu,
tap analytics, then go to the discovery tab
and you'll be able to see the traffic sources
and any views you get from YouTube Shorts.
However, it is the desktop analytics
that I want to return to
because it's what YouTube still doesn't tell you
about YouTube Shorts,
which continues to frustrate me.
You have no idea how much YouTube
is sharing your content on the Short shelf
and no idea how often people tap
on one of your Shorts videos,
and in their own words in the YouTube studio,
they state, you can increase the chances
of YouTube suggesting your content,
If you improve your click through rate
and overall watch time duration.
But let's hear the counter argument to that.
None of this really applies to YouTube Shorts.
Yes, some viewers will discover your content
through that YouTube shelf,
but I would assume that most of the time,
people are going to discover your content
as a swipe through the videos
in that YouTube Shorts media player format.
Viewers don't know what's coming next
but YouTube decides for you
and for a creator that is hugely important.
How do you get YouTube to make your video
the next that's going to appear
on that YouTube Shorts media player.
A suggestion metric like this doesn't exist on YouTube.
And I doubt it ever will.
From the views alone,
it's pretty obvious when YouTube starts testing your content
as a Short, but we have no idea why.
Nor any idea why YouTube often turns off that tap
just as quickly.
And so with all of this being said,
that's why I continue to predict
that while I think YouTube Shorts has a long-term future
because YouTube needs to compete in that TikTok space.
I don't think it's going to look like this
in 12 months time.
It continues to feel like a very light version of an app
buried within the YouTube app.
And the only way to access it
is to jump through a few hoops.
And that's a bit clunky for users.
And YouTube so far have communicated it in such a way
that creators are interpreting YouTube Shorts
through their traditional YouTube funnel of interpretation,
rather than treating it as a brand new video platform,
which essentially it is.
Dare I use the word standalone video platform.
I'll let you decide in the comments below.
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