YouTube Analytics Guide: Analyze your channel data

Getting to grips with YouTube Analytics shouldn't become an obsession. By identifying the right performance indicators and putting them at the heart of your strategy, your channel will gain in relevance, without getting lost in a sea of data.

According to a recent Hubspot study, 77% of marketers have adopted YouTube to boost their brand's visibility . Admittedly, investing in video content on the platform can be more expensive than on other social networks, but it's well worth it if you know how to optimize your resources. That's why a thorough understanding of YouTube Analytics is so important. You'll be able to draw on tangible data to analyze how your audience interacts with your content, and make the right decisions to guide your strategy accordingly.

In this article, we present the tool's main features and the metrics to prioritize, enabling you to adjust your content in line with your audience's interactions and propel your YouTube channel to new heights.

How can I access YouTube Analytics?

YouTube Analytics is the console for tracking your channel's metrics . It is accessible via the Youtube website and a dedicated mobile application. 

To access YouTube Analytics from your computer :

1. Log in to your YouTube account and click on your profile icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen; 

2. Select YouTube Studio.

3. Welcome to your YouTube marketing analytics dash board.

4. Select Advanced Mode in the top right-hand corner. This will give you access to a detailed breakdown of metrics for your YouTube channel, for each of your videos, as well as more detailed analyses (such as traffic source, audience location, age, gender, etc.).

4. Download a report of your YouTube metrics. Choose the metrics you wish to track in advanced mode. Then click on the downward-pointing arrow in the top right-hand corner. Choose Google Sheets or a .csv file to generate your report.

To access YouTube Analytics from your smartphone :

First of all, you need to have YouTube Studio installed on your phone.

1. Open YouTube Studio and log in to your account.

2. Click on Analytics to access some summary metrics on the main dashboard.

3. At the top of your screen, consult the different tabs - Search, Presentation, Content, Audience - according to the specific data you want to know.

How can you use data to improve your YouTube channel?

To succeed on YouTube, you need to find the right balance: you don't have to be fixated on every number, but neglecting them means going forward blindly. With all the data social networks have to offer, it's a real headache to know what you should really be looking at. Some give you a superficial perspective, while others, like view time, click-through rate (CTR) and retention rates, offer finer, more strategic insights.

Using YouTube Analytics wisely will not only help you :

• Understand audience preferences: Use YouTube analytics to find out what resonates most with your viewers.
• Fine-tune quality and format: Adjust your video production according to analytic feedback to improve engagement.
• Publication calendar: Plan your publications according to your audience's viewing habits to maximize reach.
• SEO optimization: Improve the SEO of your videos for better visibility on YouTube.
• Increase traffic via CTAs: Write incisive calls to action and attractive descriptions to direct traffic to other platforms or communication channels.

YouTube's analytics tools are invaluable allies in understanding your subscribers' expectations and identifying targeted improvements. They're the key to capturing and holding their attention for longer.

Important data for your YouTube channel

There's a lot of data available in YouTube Analytics. Among those you can't ignore are :

1. Watch Time

Viewing time is the total number of minutes viewers spend watching your videos. This is a key metric, as YouTube's algorithm assumes that a higher view duration is a good signal of content quality. It will therefore give greater prominence to videos and channels with higher viewing times.

In the Watch Time report in Youtube Analytics, you can see the accumulated viewing time of your videos. But it's also possible to classify them by viewing time, grouping them by theme. 

2. Average percentage viewed

The average percentage viewed corresponds to the percentage of each video that the average viewer watched. It's a measure of your video's ability to hold viewers' attention in its entirety.

However, when YouTube considers that your videos are capable of capturing the attention of users, it moves them up the search rankings and recommendations.

3. Average viewing time

Average viewing time is the total viewing time of your video divided by the total number of plays (including re-watches). This metric measures your video's ability to engage users .

If your video fails to engage viewers, they'll quickly bounce off your video (watching other content or even leaving the platform). This can have a detrimental effect on your channel's visibility on YouTube. 

4. Revision rate

Reviews are the number of times viewers revisit certain parts of your video. If many people re-watch a specific part of your video, it's an indication that they're probably interested in the topic covered at the time.

You can find this data in the absolute audience retention graph. Re-views are generallyindicated by ascending curves on the graph.

5. Engagement metrics

Comments, shares, likes and dislikes give you valuable indications of the quality of your content and its relevance to your target audience. You can then determine which topics work best with your audience, or even draw new content/format ideas from the comments left by users. 

6. Click-through rate on impressions

Impression click-through rate measures your video's ability to entice users to watch it after viewing it on their homepage, recommendation section or trending tab. A high click-through rate means that your title was compelling, and that the subject of your video resonates with many relevant audiences on YouTube.

Perform with YouTube data analysis

Ultimately, YouTube Analytics isn't just about collecting statistics and monitoring fluctuating graphs; it's a strategic art that, when mastered, can transform the visibility of your videos and your YouTube channel. The judicious use of YouTube Analytics can raise the quality of your videos, reinforce your content strategy according to your audience's preferences, optimize your SEO with keywords for greater visibility and adjust your publishing strategies to maximize impact.

Invest the time to master YouTube Analytics and turn insights into action. That way, every video will become an opportunity to engage your audience more fully and achieve your marketing and sales objectives more effectively.