If you’re a content creator, then you know that your audience is everything. With millions of creators trying to capture the attention of billions of viewers, understanding your audience is an essential factor in making successful content on Youtube. In this blog post, we'll explore the world of YouTube audience metrics and see how it can make or break the performance of your channel.
Contents
HOW TO ACCESS THE AUDIENCE TAB
Follow these steps to access the audience tab:-
On computer
Sign in to YouTube Studio.
In the left Menu, select Analytics.
From the top menu, select Audience.
You will be able to view different metrics and customise them using the date range on this tab.
On android/ iphone
Open the YouTube Studio app.
From the bottom menu, tap on Analytics.
From the top menu, tap on Audience.
BASIC METRICS TO TRACK IN THE AUDIENCE TAB
Unique Viewers
Unique viewers on YouTube refer to the number of individual people who have watched your videos during a specific date range (that can be customised). It does not include repeat views from the same viewer.
For example, if one person watches your video 10 times, it will count as 10 views but only 1 unique viewer. Therefore, unique viewers give you an idea of how many people have come across your content.
Returning Viewers
Returning viewers on YouTube refer to people who have already watched your videos and have returned to view more of your content.
Returning viewership indicates the quality and relevance of your content. It indicates if your viewers enjoy your content and find it relevant enough to come back for more.
New Viewers
New viewers on YouTube refer to people who have not watched your videos before and are discovering your channel for the first time. Viewers who have not watched your channel in over a year are also considered new viewers.
New viewership on YouTube points out the effectiveness of your marketing and promotion strategies.
Average Views per Viewer
Average views per viewer on YouTube refer to the average number of times a viewer watches your videos during a specific time period.
To calculate the average views per viewer, divide the total number of views on your videos by the number of unique viewers during a specific time period. For example, if your videos received 10,000 total views during a month and had 5,000 unique viewers, the average views per viewer would be 2.
Average views per viewer gives an insight on the engagement levels of your audience. If the average views per viewer are high, it indicates that your viewers are engaged with your content and are likely to come back to watch more.
A low average views per viewer could signify that your content is not resonating with your audience and that you need to work on your promotion and distribution strategies.
Subscribers
Subscribers on YouTube are your viewers who have chosen to follow your channel because they find your content relevant and engaging. A high number of subscribers can also positively impact your video's visibility and ranking on YouTube.
Watch-time from subscribers
Watch time from subscribers on YouTube is the total amount of time that your subscribers have spent watching your videos. It provides insights on the effectiveness of your content strategy. To increase watch time from subscribers, it is essential for you to consistently produce high-quality, engaging content that resonates with your audience.
YouTube also shows you the watch time from people who have not subscribed to your channel. If this percentage is high, it means that YouTube is recommending your videos to a larger audience and your content strategy is working.
To increase watch time from both subscribers and non-subscribers, you can try optimising your video titles, descriptions, and tags for search, creating engaging thumbnails, and promoting your videos on social media platforms.
Subscribers Bell Notifications
Under the "Subscribers" section of the Audience tab, creators can see the number of subscribers who have turned on notifications for their channel. This includes the number of subscribers who have enabled all notifications and the number who have enabled personalised notifications.
Creators can also see the percentage of views and watch time that come from subscribers who have enabled the bell notification feature compared to those who haven't.
Gender demographics
The Gender demographics metric of YouTube lets creators analyse their audience based on their gender to create tailored engaging content. Gender demographics can vary from video to video, and it informs you if your videos are reaching the target audience.
Country/Region demographics
The country or region demographics give you an insight on which countries most of your viewers are from. By understanding the demographics and interests of their audience in each country or region, creators can tailor their content and engagement strategies to build a better connection with your viewers.
They can create content that resonates with the interests and behaviour of their audience, use language and cultural references that appeal to them, and engage with them through local events and collaborations.
Moreover, creators can use this information to optimise their monetization strategies and target ads to viewers in specific countries.
ADVANCED AUDIENCE METRICS IN YOUTUBE
Traffic Sources
The "Traffic Sources" section provides valuable information on how viewers discover and access your content on the YouTube platform. This metric helps you to identify the sources of traffic that drive the most views and watch time to your videos, and optimise their content strategies accordingly.
This metric is divided into four categories:
External
External traffic refers to viewers who discover your content through sources outside of YouTube, including search engines, social media platforms, or other websites. This can include viewers who click on links to the videos from blog posts, social media posts, or other websites.
Suggested
Suggested traffic refers to viewers who discover a creator's content through YouTube's recommendations, such as suggested videos, channels, or playlists. If a majority of your views are from suggested sources then your videos are doing well in YouTube’s algorithm.
Suggested traffic also includes viewers who click on thumbnails of your videos that appear in the sidebar or end screens of other YouTube videos.
YouTube search
YouTube search traffic refers to the viewers who find your content after searching for specific keywords or phrases on the YouTube platform. When viewers enter a search query on YouTube, the platform's search algorithm analyses all the content on the platform to identify relevant videos and channels that match the search query.
The algorithm takes into account factors such as video titles, descriptions, tags, and captions, as well as user engagement signals such as watch time, likes, and comments. By optimising their videos for search, creators can improve the visibility of their content on the platform.
Channel Pages
Channel Pages shows the sources of traffic that come from viewers who have visited your channel’s page and browsed through your videos. Optimising your channel’s page layout can improve the viewer’s experience and encourage more engagement.
By identifying the traffic sources that drive the most views and watch time to their videos, creators can improve their content strategies to reach a larger audience.
For example, if a creator sees that a major portion of their traffic comes from external sources, they can focus on creating content that is shareable and easily discoverable on other websites. If you see that a significant portion of your traffic comes from YouTube search, you can optimise video titles, descriptions, and tags to rank higher in search results and reach more viewers.
Audience retention
Audience retention measures how long viewers are watching your videos.
The graph in the Audience Retention report shows the percentage of viewers who are still watching a video at different points in time, from the beginning of the video to the end. You can use this graph to identify patterns in viewer behaviour and determine which parts of your videos are most engaging or causing viewers to drop the video.
For example, if a creator notices a significant drop-off in audience retention at a particular point in their videos, they can review that section of the video to determine if it needs to be shortened, reworked, or removed altogether.
Creators can also use audience retention data to test different video formats or styles and see which ones are most effective at keeping viewers engaged.
Members
Members refers to the viewers who have become members of a creator's channel. YouTube membership is a feature that allows viewers to support creators by paying a monthly fee in exchange for perks, such as exclusive content, badges, and emojis.
By tracking their members in YouTube Analytics, you can gain information on the effectiveness of your membership program. You can make data-driven decisions to improve the content and perks that are tailored to the interests and preferences of these members. You can also track if members have cancelled their membership.
Engagement
The engagement metric measures how viewers interact with a creator's content. It includes actions such as likes, dislikes, comments and shares. Engagement data can also be used to identify opportunities for audience growth and retention.
For example, if a creator notices that a particular video has a high engagement rate but a low subscription rate, they may want to add text prompts asking viewers to subscribe to their channel.
You can use engagement data to understand which types of content are most engaging and resonating with your audience. This data can be used to test different content formats or styles and see which ones are most effective at driving engagement.
Age demographics
Age demographics is the age range of the content creator's viewers.
By regularly monitoring age demographics you can gain valuable information about the viewers' age ranges and preferences, and use that information to create more targeted content.
For example, if your audience is primarily younger viewers, you might want to create content that is more popular to that age range, such as gaming or music, or try changing the pop culture references in your videos.
If your audience consists of older viewers, you may want to create content that is more informative or educational. Age demographics is useful in identifying potential opportunities for growth.
Devices
YouTube analytics uses the IP address information of your audience to analyse the types of devices they are using to watch your videos, such as mobile phones, tablets, computers, or smart TVs.
You can find information on the top devices used to view your videos, which can be valuable in understanding how viewers are accessing your content and tailoring it to better suit their needs.
For example, if your audience is using mobile devices to watch your videos, you might want to create content that is mobile-friendly, such as vertical videos or shorter videos.
Similarly, if the audience is using smart TVs to watch your videos, you should create content that is optimised for larger screens and higher resolutions.
HOW CAN YOU USE YOUTUBE AUDIENCE METRICS TO GROW YOUR CHANNEL
Understanding your audience and interacting with them plays a major role in growing your channel. By communicating with your audience through comments, social media, and live streams, you can build a sense of community among your viewers, and create a loyal following. This community will eventually help in bringing more traffic from different sources by sharing or referring your videos.
It is important to be consistent with your content to show your audience that you are committed to providing them with high-quality videos. This consistency can come in the form of a regular upload schedule, consistent branding and a clear niche for your channel.
Many famous YouTubers like Bhuvan Bam, Mr. Beast create Q&A videos. This helps in being transparent with your audience about your goals, creative process, and challenges, which allows you to build trust and show your authenticity. By sharing your successes and failures, your audience can relate to you on a personal level and feel more invested in your journey.
YouTube audience metrics helps you to analyse audience demographics like age, location and gender. This means that you can customise your content so that there is something for everyone. You can input captions in different languages or use certain references to make sure that your content is relevant for a diverse group of people.
These metrics provide valuable insights into your audience's behaviour and preferences. By using this data to optimise your content and engagement strategies, you can attract new viewers, keep your current audience engaged, and ultimately build a successful YouTube channel.
HOW TO USE YOUTUBE AUDIENCE METRICS FOR A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
A business should consider using YouTube if they want to reach a large and engaged audience to:-
Build brand awareness
Demonstrate products and services
Increase website traffic
Engage with customers
YouTube audience metrics help you identify where your viewers are coming from, their behaviours and activities with your channel. This allows you to customise your marketing strategy to reach more potential viewers.
It also highlights which social media platforms or websites to focus on for promoting your videos.
By revamping your content for higher engagement, you can increase your video's visibility and improve ad revenue and sponsorships. Audience metrics can provide businesses with valuable insights into their target audience. Metrics such as age, gender, location, helps businesses to survey their audience and generate customised advertising efforts, leading to increased revenue overall.
Businesses can adjust their content strategy to better meet the needs and preferences of their audience by going over metrics like watch time, retention, age, gender, and interests etc.
CONCLUSION
Leveraging YouTube audience metrics is the differentiating factor between a good content creator and a content creator who is left behind.
These metrics will allow content creators to understand their audience, build a sense of community and foster interaction with all their viewers. These are important factors in building a loyal following on the platform, and ensuring that there is increased engagement and growth. Ultimately, the effective use of YouTube metrics can help content creators identify opportunities for growth, build a successful channel, attract new viewers, and achieve their goals on the platform.
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