In this series, we’re breaking down the best ways to drive engagement on your YouTube channel using tools available through YouTube Analytics.
One of the most rewarding tools for creators available in YouTube Analytics is the Absolute Audience Retention feature. Think of the tool like a camera lens that zooms in closely to see the finer details of a picture…or in your case, a video. Use it to track how your video performs with viewers moment by moment.
Why should you care about Absolute Audience Retention?
YouTube’s algorithm is built to prefer videos with consistently high audience retention and watch times. Using Absolute Audience Retention to make better content and production choices will translate to better stats that will help get your videos recommended in YouTube’s search and discovery tabs.
It’s more than a stat
A large part of a creator’s success is whether or not they’re able to retain their audience throughout their video. A video with 100% audience retention means that viewers are watching from start to finish.The Absolute Audience Retention tool shows views per moment as a percentage of video views. But two of its coolest stats track exactly when viewers jump off your video and moments that are rewatched. These two stats are super informative of what content works and what doesn’t – examine those moments where there is a higher jump-off rate. Did the topic change? Was a topic getting dragged on too long? Rewatched sections indicate that you’ve piqued viewer interest – why not create new content similar to the most rewatched moments?
Specifically, you’ll want to pay attention to the first 15 seconds of your videos. If you notice a lot of viewers jump off in the first 15 seconds, then this is a strong indicator that either your title, description, and/or thumbnail don’t reflect the video content or that the content needs to be reworked to draw your viewers in.
Watch Time is King
Once you’ve posted a video, Absolute Audience Retention can help you make decisions about post-sharing edits. If you notice that a lot of viewers are jumping off early, you can add a card a few moments before the highest jump-off point that directs them to other videos so you can continue to score some watch time points. Remember, YouTube’s algorithm prioritizes users’ total watch time over singular watch time!
YouTube Analytics goes beyond simply giving you stats of your channel. We’re here to help explain how they work specifically for creators like yourself and how they can shape content on your channel!
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Growing Slowly 🙂
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