"Impressions" wtf are they?

[LimeyRider]

I keep looking at 'impressions' on the analytics page and I've got a shed load on the count, but the description it gives makes no sense to me... so I don't really know what they are, is it better to have a lot, or few? And what do they count for/do?

Apologies for the (probably) dumb question, but it's been bugging me since day 1 of starting my channel

 

[Drakhen99]

I think each impression is a time one of your videos is shown to a potential viewer. Whether it be the home page, suggested, whatever.

You'll get a lot of those, but they don't count for anything except how attractive your title/thumbnail combo is - it'll show in the CTR - the Click Through Rate, or the % of potential viewers that click on one of your videos.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

-John

 

[MotoMaddox]

Per youtube:

Impressions are counted if the thumbnail is shown for more than 1 second and at least 50% of the thumbnail is visible on the screen.

...but, they are only counted if the video thumbnail is displayed on:

• YouTube on computers, TVs, game consoles, Android, iPhone, and iPad
• YouTube Search
• YouTube homepage (includes auto-play)
• YouTube feeds (subscriptions, trending, history, Watch Later)
• "Up Next" recommendations on the right side of the video player (includes autoplay)
• Playlists

 

[LimeyRider]

Ahhh ok, thanks for clearing that up!

 

[AlanSmith7]

Just take your time then you will better understand the analytics of youtube.

 

[LimeyRider]

Just take your time then you will better understand the analytics of youtube.

Slowly getting my head round it all, very slowly

 

[R-Rated]

YouTube tries to give the impression of transparency but at the same time not tell us everything they know

Here is a good visual representation:

 

[Moto Mengy]

Just take your time then you will better understand the analytics of youtube.

I never even look at mine. I know I should and I could probably learn something, but eh, I motovlog for fun and looking at my analytics isn't "fun" to me.

 

[LimeyRider]

I never even look at mine. I know I should and I could probably learn something, but eh, I motovlog for fun and looking at my analytics isn't "fun" to me.

Yea, the numbers and graphs aren't overly appealing, that's for sure. I'll stick to being mostly clueless with that side of things

 

[lonerockz]

So I launched my first video and am now trying to understand the analytics. My click-through rate is hovering around 10%. Which seems good? My numbers are so small its hard to know if this is significant or not.

Does anyone know if this includes external web pages that aren't on YouTube? I advertised my video on some of the MotoFourms I'm a member on, and I'm wondering if my "impressions" include that. Right now, 50% of my traffic is external.

Is there a way to see the search terms that people searched to find my video?

My Average view duration is about 1/3 the length of the clip. I'm assuming that means only about 25% or so of folks actually watch the whole thing. Is that good or bad?

 

[Drakhen99]

So I launched my first video and am now trying to understand the analytics. My click-through rate is hovering around 10%. Which seems good? My numbers are so small its hard to know if this is significant or not.

Does anyone know if this includes external web pages that aren't on YouTube? I advertised my video on some of the MotoFourms I'm a member on, and I'm wondering if my "impressions" include that. Right now, 50% of my traffic is external.

Is there a way to see the search terms that people searched to find my video?

My Average view duration is about 1/3 the length of the clip. I'm assuming that means only about 25% or so of folks actually watch the whole thing. Is that good or bad?

There's a lot to unpack there. Watching some of the channels like VidIQ, Nick Nimmon, and Think Media may help... but I'll try to help as well.

The analytics pages need enough data [75-100 views] before they become useful, or populated by YT for that matter. It may also be time-based. You won't see much of anything until 2 or 3 days after a video publishes.

10% CTR is very good, and over time will drop as YT puts your video in front of more people.

Impressions count every time your video thumbnail is shown to someone, so external, internal, up next, suggested, subscription feed, they all count.

The search terms is part of the analytics pages for the video, and will be populated after a while, if you get enough views.

if your AVD is around 33%, then that's OK - most shoot for 50% [I do]. My videos usually get 35-50% AVD. If YT pushes it out to a wider audience, the CTR and AVD will plummet, since YT is trying it outside your normal audience - not everyone is gonna like your video or click on it, but that's OK. More what you're looking for is the retention graph, which shows dips and peaks - the peaks are good, valleys are where people clicked off or skipped around. Try to do that stuff less, I guess?

-John

 

[Theodor]

Ok, so here is my stab at saying the stats are a hoax.
Opened my latest video stats, out of curiosity to see if the different style thumbnail is doing anything. First thing that I saw is that the two counters of impressions do not match. Difference is not big, but still there.

But what really made me rise my eyebrows is this

25% of the suggestions should be from my own previous video? Here is where the math does not match. In order to get an impression count, my video should be suggested, in another words, thumbnail shown. 25% of impressions would be 250-274. which means my other video, that has recommended the video being analyzed, should have at least half of that number of views. One impression from sidebar one from end screen, right?
Last video that has even 100 views, is from several months ago.

 

[Drakhen99]

I think the 2 analytics pages are different because of processing. YT usually takes 1-2 days to process impressions and other data. Views and Impressions on the Overview and Reach pages may be up to date, but the analysis below can be delayed. If you publish a video today, it'll be Saturday before it has analyzed the data and will give you the graphs and stuff.

As for your video suggesting the other one - that can be part of the delay as well, but it's also that 30.8% of your views are from suggested views, which IIRC, are not on the home page, but would be under Other in the 2nd pic.

-John

 

[Kofla]

Since I only vlog for fun, I never pay attention to those things.

 

[Drakhen99]

Since I only vlog for fun, I never pay attention to those things.

100% AGREED!

I find far more value in reading the comments I get on videos, and looking at the retention graph. I've learned from those what works and what doesn't, and my retention has gone up, which has then led to more impressions and thus more views.

-John

 

[MotoWolfUK]

Since I only vlog for fun, I never pay attention to those things.

I vlog for fun too but have checked mine a couple times only to see up dip things and then down dip things and then feel weird about it like uhh ok :3

 

[Drakhen99]

I will say this last thing from my soap box:

If you enjoy being a YouTuber, enjoy it. Have fun with it. Try new things. Don't pay close attention to the stats, unless you're sure it won't affect you mentally. Then, try to improve upon your videos in each one, somehow, someway. If YOU are happy with your video, then who cares about the rest of it?

-John

 

[SOGGY BAWS]

There's a lot to unpack there. Watching some of the channels like VidIQ, Nick Nimmon, and Think Media may help... but I'll try to help as well.

The analytics pages need enough data [75-100 views] before they become useful, or populated by YT for that matter. It may also be time-based. You won't see much of anything until 2 or 3 days after a video publishes.

10% CTR is very good, and over time will drop as YT puts your video in front of more people.

Impressions count every time your video thumbnail is shown to someone, so external, internal, up next, suggested, subscription feed, they all count.

The search terms is part of the analytics pages for the video, and will be populated after a while, if you get enough views.

if your AVD is around 33%, then that's OK - most shoot for 50% [I do]. My videos usually get 35-50% AVD. If YT pushes it out to a wider audience, the CTR and AVD will plummet, since YT is trying it outside your normal audience - not everyone is gonna like your video or click on it, but that's OK. More what you're looking for is the retention graph, which shows dips and peaks - the peaks are good, valleys are where people clicked off or skipped around. Try to do that stuff less, I guess?

-John

Great summary. I'm a huge fan of VidIQ, Both Nimmons, and Think Media. Love the VidIQ Channel reviews, been attending every Tuesday at 15:00 GMT for several months now. "Bring on the claw!!".

Glad to hear 10% CTR is very good. Until recently I have been lurking about 3-4%, but last few vids hitting 6-7% which I'm really happy with. Gennery hitting 30-45 AVD, but wasnt sure how typical that was across the niche.

It's dead easy to get obsessed with the metrics though. Sometimes you need to step back from it all.

 

[Drakhen99]

It's dead easy to get obsessed with the metrics though. Sometimes you need to step back from it all.

Say it louder for those in the back!

The longer I am on YT, the less I follow individual stats. Sure, I check them way more than I should, but at the same time, I look at the retention graph, try to mix things up regularly, and just remember to have fun doing the thing - because the fun and passion is what transfers onto the camera.

-John

 

[SweetTripl]

I keep looking at 'impressions' on the analytics page and I've got a shed load on the count, but the description it gives makes no sense to me... so I don't really know what they are, is it better to have a lot, or few? And what do they count for/do?

Apologies for the (probably) dumb question, but it's been bugging me since day 1 of starting my channel

My understanding is the same as @Drakhen99. Impressions are how many times your video (thumbnail/title) appears in someone’s feed, homepage, search or anywhere else on YouTube. From there you get a CTR or “click through rate” this is how many people have seen the thumbnail/title and clicked on it. This is a good measure of how attractive or unattractive your thumbnail is. One job that can improve your CTR on old videos that have a low CTR is to go back and revamp your old video thumbnails and titles to make them more attractive to potential viewers. I’ve noticed when I do this YouTube starts showing my videos to new viewers (some of these videos haven’t had many impressions or views for a while). I’ve found that just updating the thumbnail and title gets a bit of bonus traffic as YouTube gives another shot of getting the video in front of people .