YouTube Analytics is like a control panel that can give you both a bird’s eye view of what’s working on your channel and disclose deeper insights that have been shown to be vital for your channel’s growth. Not sure where to begin? Consider focusing first on a few key statistics (that interest you) like views, watch time or subscribers. Do the trend lines go up? Are the numbers what you expect? Try reviewing just a couple of reports first to gauge if you’re on course, then dive deeper to see how easy changes to your channel can help move you closer towards a goal.

If you want to grow a channel on YouTube, getting an audience to watch your videos is critical. When you can hone in on what your viewers love and hook them in so they want to come back and watch more, you may see increases in watch time. A loyal community of viewers may also help promote your videos to new viewers through their own social networks, and give you instant feedback on what they do and don’t like. It takes time to build up these relationships, but it can be rewarding as your channel grows.

Your four key questions answered

Curious on how you can measure success with YouTube Analytics? Here are a few key questions to get you started.

• How is my channel doing? You can check your watch time, views, subscribers to see if you’re making progress against the goals you set.
• Who is watching and what are they interested in? Find out more about the people who watch your videos to give you insight on how to tailor your creative and promotional strategies to more effectively reach them.
• How engaged is my audience with my videos and channel? Are they sharing and liking it? See how much your viewers watch and what piques their interest within each video.
• How much money am I making with my channels and are they meeting business goals? Determine which of your videos generate the most revenue, when your channel makes the most money and more.
  • TIPS
    • You can use realtime to see how many views you have watching right now.
    • See your top 10 videos are trending.
    • Learn which videos are being shared the most.
    • Look at your history and try to set goals for watch time, views, and subs for the next 90 days.