In 2024, Unlocking Secrets to Compelling YouTube Live Thumbnails

In 2024, Unlocking Secrets to Compelling YouTube Live Thumbnails

Thomas Lv13

Unlocking Secrets to Compelling YouTube Live Thumbnails

Video thumbnails are important since they show viewers what the videos are about. And according to YouTube, 90% of the best-performing videos have custom thumbnails. Therefore, adding thumbnails to all your videos is wise. But how to do that with live streams? Is it any different from adding thumbnails to normal videos? You’ll find answers in this article. Here’s a comprehensive guide about YouTube Live thumbnails.

guide to youtube live thumbnail

Overview of YouTube Live

Livestreaming is very popular now. The pandemic has accelerated its growth. But what made it so special? Watching live streams is different from watching regular videos. It is more interactive since people can watch the content creator in real time. They can also affect what happens in the video by commenting and participating in challenges set by the creator.

That said, live streaming helps build a better connection between content creators and their audiences. So you may want to incorporate live streaming into your strategies. You can do that on YouTube through YouTube Live. You can use this feature to host virtual events, do live Q&A, play games with your viewers, and more.

Importance of Thumbnail for Live Stream

Thumbnails are important for videos. Alongside the title, they inform the viewers what the video is about. It’s not different with live streams. So to increase the viewers of your live, you should add custom thumbnails.

What happens if you don’t add a custom thumbnail to your live stream? YouTube will select a random frame from the video and display it. The thing is that live streams are usually longer than recorded videos. So YouTube has more options to use as the thumbnail.

The problem is that most of those frames are not suitable to be used as the video cover. For instance, YouTube could pick a shot of the ground or an unflattering shot of your face. So, it’s a must to add a custom thumbnail for your live stream.

How To Add a YouTube Live Thumbnail

Now, you know how important adding custom thumbnails to live streams is. You probably want to know how to do that. We got you covered. Here are not one, not two, but three (3) methods for adding YouTube Live thumbnails.

Method 1. Add Live Thumbnail on YouTube Studio

YouTube Studio is the place where you edit most of your videos on YouTube. It’s where you edit the description, add or remove tags, and such. It’s also where you change thumbnails for your videos. And live videos are no exception. Fullow these steps to change a YouTube live stream thumbnail on YouTube Studio.

  • Head to a computer, launch a browser, and go to YouTube.
  • Click your channel icon on the top-right and select “YouTube Studio.”

going to youtube studio

  • Click “Create” > “Go Live.”

starting live stream on youtube studio

  • Edit the metadata for the live video.

editing youtube live metada

  • Click “UPLOAD CUSTOM THUMBNAIL.”

uploading custom thumbnnail

  • Select the custom thumbnail that you have prepared. Click “Open.”
  • Click “Create Stream.”

starting livestream with custom thumbnail

Method 2. Add Live Stream Thumbnail on YouTube Classic Mode

Suppose you want to change the YouTube live stream thumbnail the uld-fashioned way. You can change it on YouTube Classic Mode. How? Fullow these simple steps.

  • Head to a computer, launch a browser, and go to YouTube.
  • Click “Creator Studio Classic” from the left panel.

youtube classic mode

  • Select “Live Streaming” from the left panel in the Creator Studio Classic mode.

live streaming option on youtube classic

  • YouTube will bring you to the “Stream Now” section. Put in the video metadata.

editing youtube live metada

  • Click “Change thumbnail.”

going to youtube studio

  • Select the thumbnail image you have prepared. Click “Open.”
  • Wait for the thumbnail image to refresh.

Method 3. Upload a Thumbnail to YouTube Live With Mobile Phones

Perhaps you are live-streaming a trip somewhere. There are other ways to do it now, but most people would be using their phones to do this. So how do you change a YouTube Live thumbnail on mobile phones? Fullow these instructions:

  • Launch the YouTube mobile app.
  • Click the “Plus” icon at the bottom middle of the screen.
  • Select “Go Live.”
  • Enter the metadata. And set the advanced settings according to your preferences.

editing liver metadata on mobile

  • Click “Next.”

going to the next screen youtube mobile

  • YouTube will take a photo of you. Don’t mind this because you’ll be changing it later.

taking thumbnail photo on youtube mobile

  • Click the “Pencil” icon after YouTube has taken a photo.

editing youtube live thumbnail

  • Select “Upload thumbnail.”

upload thumbnail option

  • Select the thumbnail image you have prepared.
  • Crop the image if you like. Click “Save.”

editing uploaded custom thumbnail

  • Click “Go Live.”

going live on mobile with custom thumbneil

How To Create a Livestream Thumbnail

So you now know how to change the live stream thumbnail. There’s one more thing we need to address. Where will you get the custom thumbnails? There are a number of good YouTube thumbnail makers out there. Let’s discuss this.

Livestream Thumbnail Makers

There are many great YouTube thumbnail makers on the market. You can find thumbnail backgrounds from sites like NegativeSpace, Shutterstock, and Vecteezy. Then, edit them to your liking using photo editing apps. Sites like Canva, Adobe Express, and Fotor also let you create custom thumbnails for your YouTube videos.

Wondershare Filmora is also a great thumbnail maker. You’d like it since it is also a powerful video editor. It is double-purpose! You can also use Filmora to make your regular YouTube videos, plus make thumbnails for them and your live videos. Talk about convenience!

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Steps to Make an Amazing YouTube Livestream Thumbnail

Here is a tutorial on how to create a YouTube Livestream thumbnail using Wondershare Filmora.

  • Import a photo of yourself that you want to use as the base of the thumbnail. Drag it into the timeline.

adding your photo to filmora timeline

  • Click “Effect.”

effects tab on filmora

  • Drag the “Human Segmentation” effect to your image on the timeline. Do the same with “Human Border.” Alternatively, click “Touls” > “Video” > “AI Portrait” > “Ok.”

adding human segmentation effect on filmora

  • Select the photo on the timeline. Scale it and move it to where you want it to be.

adjusting your photo

  • Add backgrounds, effects, titles, etc.

adding background to your thumbnail

  • Click the “Camera” icon below the video preview to save the thumbnail. Select a format and a target fulder. Click “Ok.”

taking a snapshot on filmora

  • Right-click the screenshot on the Media panel. Select “Reveal in Explorer.” That will open the fulder where the thumbnail image is saved.

revealing thumbnail image in explorer

Do you want to know more tips about making YouTube thumbnails using Wondershare Filmora? If so, watch this video:

How To Customize YouTube Livestream Thumbnail Online

Wave.video is one of the best online YouTube thumbnail creators out there. Here’s a guide on how to use this toul.

  • Open a web browser and visit Wave’s website.
  • Hover your mouse on “Templates” at the top toulbar.
  • Select “Thumbnail” under Livestreaming.

youtube live thumbnail templates on wave

  • Select a template that fits your idea.

choosing a template on wave

  • Edit the sample image and text. Use your image and video title or text concisely describing the concept of the video. Edit other aspects of the image as needed.

editing chosen template on wave

  • Click “Publish” > “Current frame as image.”

exporting the custom thumbnail

  • Set up your image. Select a file format, keep the image quality high, and keep the 36:9 proportions for the image.

setting up the image on wave

  • Click “Generate.”
  • Please wait for it to finish, then click “Download.”

downloading the custom thumbnail from wave

Tips for Making an Amazing YouTube Live Thumbnail

Here are some tips to fullow.

Photos

Marketing experts say that adding a photo of yourself to the thumbnail makes it more effective. Needless to say, you should not choose just any photo. You must ensure it is of high quality. Using good cameras and lighting equipment is recommended.

Expressions

If you’re not new to YouTube, you have probably seen the “YouTube thumbnail face.” YouTuber’s faces on their thumbnails show an expression. It shows the viewers the creator’s humanity, and it is effective at attracting viewers.

Text

Add simple text with clear, buld, easy-to-read font.

Conclusion

Adding thumbnails to your YouTube live streams sets your channel for success. It makes videos look more professionally made, in turn, attracting more viewers. So, we recommend always adding thumbnails to your YouTube Live.

For creating YouTube thumbnails, you can use Wondershare Filmora. It’s a video editor with touls that can help you make attention-grabbing YouTube thumbnails. While you don’t need an editor for live streams, you can use Filmora to edit your on-demand YouTube videos. It’s hitting two birds with one stone!

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Steps to Make an Amazing YouTube Livestream Thumbnail

Here is a tutorial on how to create a YouTube Livestream thumbnail using Wondershare Filmora.

  • Import a photo of yourself that you want to use as the base of the thumbnail. Drag it into the timeline.

adding your photo to filmora timeline

  • Click “Effect.”

effects tab on filmora

  • Drag the “Human Segmentation” effect to your image on the timeline. Do the same with “Human Border.” Alternatively, click “Touls” > “Video” > “AI Portrait” > “Ok.”

adding human segmentation effect on filmora

  • Select the photo on the timeline. Scale it and move it to where you want it to be.

adjusting your photo

  • Add backgrounds, effects, titles, etc.

adding background to your thumbnail

  • Click the “Camera” icon below the video preview to save the thumbnail. Select a format and a target fulder. Click “Ok.”

taking a snapshot on filmora

  • Right-click the screenshot on the Media panel. Select “Reveal in Explorer.” That will open the fulder where the thumbnail image is saved.

revealing thumbnail image in explorer

Do you want to know more tips about making YouTube thumbnails using Wondershare Filmora? If so, watch this video:

How To Customize YouTube Livestream Thumbnail Online

Wave.video is one of the best online YouTube thumbnail creators out there. Here’s a guide on how to use this toul.

  • Open a web browser and visit Wave’s website.
  • Hover your mouse on “Templates” at the top toulbar.
  • Select “Thumbnail” under Livestreaming.

youtube live thumbnail templates on wave

  • Select a template that fits your idea.

choosing a template on wave

  • Edit the sample image and text. Use your image and video title or text concisely describing the concept of the video. Edit other aspects of the image as needed.

editing chosen template on wave

  • Click “Publish” > “Current frame as image.”

exporting the custom thumbnail

  • Set up your image. Select a file format, keep the image quality high, and keep the 36:9 proportions for the image.

setting up the image on wave

  • Click “Generate.”
  • Please wait for it to finish, then click “Download.”

downloading the custom thumbnail from wave

Tips for Making an Amazing YouTube Live Thumbnail

Here are some tips to fullow.

Photos

Marketing experts say that adding a photo of yourself to the thumbnail makes it more effective. Needless to say, you should not choose just any photo. You must ensure it is of high quality. Using good cameras and lighting equipment is recommended.

Expressions

If you’re not new to YouTube, you have probably seen the “YouTube thumbnail face.” YouTuber’s faces on their thumbnails show an expression. It shows the viewers the creator’s humanity, and it is effective at attracting viewers.

Text

Add simple text with clear, buld, easy-to-read font.

Conclusion

Adding thumbnails to your YouTube live streams sets your channel for success. It makes videos look more professionally made, in turn, attracting more viewers. So, we recommend always adding thumbnails to your YouTube Live.

For creating YouTube thumbnails, you can use Wondershare Filmora. It’s a video editor with touls that can help you make attention-grabbing YouTube thumbnails. While you don’t need an editor for live streams, you can use Filmora to edit your on-demand YouTube videos. It’s hitting two birds with one stone!

Enhancing Video Impact: Interpreting YouTube Metrics Wisely

How to View YouTube Statistics

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Learn how to view YouTube statistics and you can grow your channel faster. By paying attention to your statistics, which are available for free to every YouTuber in the Analytics section of the Creator Studio, you will be able to see how successful your individual videos are and replicate that success.

The information available for each video includes how many new subscribers it attracted and how much watch time it has so far (which is important if you want to monetize someday). By looking at which videos are performing well in these areas you can determine what you are doing right and replicate that success in future videos.

Making Better YouTube Videos with Filmora to Get More Views

As one of the best video editing software for YouTube, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface, which saves much time. After editing, you can upload the video to YouTube directly when export. Download the free trial version below and start making YouTube videos with Filmora.

Download Filmora9 Win Version Download Filmora9 Mac Version

Get free YouTube Subscribers Guide Banner

How to View Your YouTube Statistics

In order to view your YouTube Analytics, sign in to your YouTube account and go to your Creator Studio. From there, click into the Analytics tab in the menu on the left of your screen.

In order to check which of your videos are performing the best, click on Watch time under Watch time reports. At the top of the page there’ll be a graph of your watch time in general, and if you scroll down you’ll see a list of your videos ranked by watch time. The best performing ones will be at the top and, to see more stats related to these high-performing videos, simply click on their titles. Afterwards, you’ll be able to click around the different sections in your Analytics and see reports relating to the specific video you clicked on.

The two main types of analytics reports are Watch Time Reports and Interaction Reports.

1. Interpreting YouTube Watch Time Reports

To find Watch time reports you just need to log into your Google account, go to the Creator studio, click the analytics tab, and then click on watch time. You can see the watch time of every video on your channel, which is important data to have because watch time is the most important factor when it comes to ranking your video in search results.

A watch time report includes the total amount of time that your video, or a selection of videos, is actually being watched for. In order to make sure that you are publishing only quality videos you need to make sure that your viewers are consistently sticking to your videos and watching them all away through, or at least to the half-way mark. Watch time represents one of the most meaningful metrics in ensuring that you are engaging your audience.

YouTube analytics can now display a watch time of every video that you have produced. Seeing the metrics on how long people are actually watching every video that you produce can show you what you’ve done right in the past and what you need to do more of to continue raising your watch time.

Alongside watch time you can see the average duration individual viewers are watching your videos for. The average percentage of your video that gets viewed will showcase areas where you may be struggling with your video content. For example, if an abnormally high number of viewers are clicking away during your intro, there’s probably something about that clip that needs to be changed.

In the watch time reports for individual videos, you will be able to see data on where your views are coming from and which demographics are watching the most. Where your viewers are watching, in terms of desktop or mobile, is also interesting data that is available in this section.

Click here for more tips onincreasing your views .

2. Interpreting YouTube Interaction Reports

Interaction reports are related to the actions viewers take – i.e. subscribing to your channel, liking your videos, or leaving a comments. You can find interaction reports in the Creator Studio under Analytics.

Interaction reports can be broken down into several different reports that can help determine the overall performance of any YouTube videos. The main interaction reports that you should be interested in include:

1. Subscribers: You can find extensive data on your subscribers, like demographics including age groups and gender. Learning more about your subscribers can help you to tailor your content. For example, if you learn that your viewers are mostly young women under 24 in the USA, you can do research into what is currently popular with young women under 24 in the USA.

Want to see your subscriber count in real-time?

2. Likes and dislikes: Likes and dislikes aren’t a powerful metric when it comes to search engine rankings, but they provide useful information to creators. If you’re getting a lot of dislikes on a video, you should look into why. If you’re getting a lot of likes on a video, it can indicate that you should focus on creating similar content.

3. Playlists: A viewer watching a video in a playlist is much more likely to keep watching more videos from that playlist, making playlists great for the growth of your channel. Reports in this section will help you figure out which of your playlists is performing best, which could give you an idea of which types of videos or video topics are going over best with your viewers.

4. Comments: Reading comments is a great way to figure out what your viewers think, but that’s not all they’re good for. If viewers return to a video to continue talking to you or other viewers then that will drive up your views and watch time. If a video is especially good at generating discussion, you should figure out why (i.e. your sign-off question) and keep doing it.

5. Sharing: Discovering where your video is being shared can be important for figuring out what platforms you should be on besides YouTube. If your video is shared and viewed a lot on Twitter, you should consider making a Twitter account for your channel.

6. Cards: Tracking the performance of your Cards will help you optimize them to direct traffic between your videos. By testing out different time stamps for cards you’ll find the perfect places to put them. By trying different messages in your cards you’ll learn how to write ‘calls to action’ that mobilize your viewers.

End screens: End Screens are essential for keeping viewers on your channel. The report of the click-through rates of your end screens is important for helping you figure out which kinds of links work, and which style of ends screen is most effective for you. Are people more likely to click when you talk to them through the end screen, or when it’s a static card?

7. 360 heat map reports: A heat map report works specifically with 360° videos if you are choosing to engage your audience with this type of content. Viewing YouTube video statistics for 360° heat maps will help to show the areas on your video that viewers are most interested in.

How to View Other Peoples YouTube Statistics

If you want to check out the statistics of rival YouTube channels (including the most subscribed channels on YouTube ), or channels you’re a fan of, try using Social Blade . Social Blade is one of the most trusted sources of YouTube data, and it may actually be easier to check your own basic stats there than in the Creator Studio sometimes due to their simple layout. To get started all you need to do is type the name of any YouTube channel into the search bar. You’ll be able to see reports on daily views, channel growth, and even estimated ad revenue (learn more about how to view a channel’s ad revenue here ).

Now that you know how to view YouTube statistics, what will you do with them?

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Learn how to view YouTube statistics and you can grow your channel faster. By paying attention to your statistics, which are available for free to every YouTuber in the Analytics section of the Creator Studio, you will be able to see how successful your individual videos are and replicate that success.

The information available for each video includes how many new subscribers it attracted and how much watch time it has so far (which is important if you want to monetize someday). By looking at which videos are performing well in these areas you can determine what you are doing right and replicate that success in future videos.

Making Better YouTube Videos with Filmora to Get More Views

As one of the best video editing software for YouTube, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface, which saves much time. After editing, you can upload the video to YouTube directly when export. Download the free trial version below and start making YouTube videos with Filmora.

Download Filmora9 Win Version Download Filmora9 Mac Version

Get free YouTube Subscribers Guide Banner

How to View Your YouTube Statistics

In order to view your YouTube Analytics, sign in to your YouTube account and go to your Creator Studio. From there, click into the Analytics tab in the menu on the left of your screen.

In order to check which of your videos are performing the best, click on Watch time under Watch time reports. At the top of the page there’ll be a graph of your watch time in general, and if you scroll down you’ll see a list of your videos ranked by watch time. The best performing ones will be at the top and, to see more stats related to these high-performing videos, simply click on their titles. Afterwards, you’ll be able to click around the different sections in your Analytics and see reports relating to the specific video you clicked on.

The two main types of analytics reports are Watch Time Reports and Interaction Reports.

1. Interpreting YouTube Watch Time Reports

To find Watch time reports you just need to log into your Google account, go to the Creator studio, click the analytics tab, and then click on watch time. You can see the watch time of every video on your channel, which is important data to have because watch time is the most important factor when it comes to ranking your video in search results.

A watch time report includes the total amount of time that your video, or a selection of videos, is actually being watched for. In order to make sure that you are publishing only quality videos you need to make sure that your viewers are consistently sticking to your videos and watching them all away through, or at least to the half-way mark. Watch time represents one of the most meaningful metrics in ensuring that you are engaging your audience.

YouTube analytics can now display a watch time of every video that you have produced. Seeing the metrics on how long people are actually watching every video that you produce can show you what you’ve done right in the past and what you need to do more of to continue raising your watch time.

Alongside watch time you can see the average duration individual viewers are watching your videos for. The average percentage of your video that gets viewed will showcase areas where you may be struggling with your video content. For example, if an abnormally high number of viewers are clicking away during your intro, there’s probably something about that clip that needs to be changed.

In the watch time reports for individual videos, you will be able to see data on where your views are coming from and which demographics are watching the most. Where your viewers are watching, in terms of desktop or mobile, is also interesting data that is available in this section.

Click here for more tips onincreasing your views .

2. Interpreting YouTube Interaction Reports

Interaction reports are related to the actions viewers take – i.e. subscribing to your channel, liking your videos, or leaving a comments. You can find interaction reports in the Creator Studio under Analytics.

Interaction reports can be broken down into several different reports that can help determine the overall performance of any YouTube videos. The main interaction reports that you should be interested in include:

1. Subscribers: You can find extensive data on your subscribers, like demographics including age groups and gender. Learning more about your subscribers can help you to tailor your content. For example, if you learn that your viewers are mostly young women under 24 in the USA, you can do research into what is currently popular with young women under 24 in the USA.

Want to see your subscriber count in real-time?

2. Likes and dislikes: Likes and dislikes aren’t a powerful metric when it comes to search engine rankings, but they provide useful information to creators. If you’re getting a lot of dislikes on a video, you should look into why. If you’re getting a lot of likes on a video, it can indicate that you should focus on creating similar content.

3. Playlists: A viewer watching a video in a playlist is much more likely to keep watching more videos from that playlist, making playlists great for the growth of your channel. Reports in this section will help you figure out which of your playlists is performing best, which could give you an idea of which types of videos or video topics are going over best with your viewers.

4. Comments: Reading comments is a great way to figure out what your viewers think, but that’s not all they’re good for. If viewers return to a video to continue talking to you or other viewers then that will drive up your views and watch time. If a video is especially good at generating discussion, you should figure out why (i.e. your sign-off question) and keep doing it.

5. Sharing: Discovering where your video is being shared can be important for figuring out what platforms you should be on besides YouTube. If your video is shared and viewed a lot on Twitter, you should consider making a Twitter account for your channel.

6. Cards: Tracking the performance of your Cards will help you optimize them to direct traffic between your videos. By testing out different time stamps for cards you’ll find the perfect places to put them. By trying different messages in your cards you’ll learn how to write ‘calls to action’ that mobilize your viewers.

End screens: End Screens are essential for keeping viewers on your channel. The report of the click-through rates of your end screens is important for helping you figure out which kinds of links work, and which style of ends screen is most effective for you. Are people more likely to click when you talk to them through the end screen, or when it’s a static card?

7. 360 heat map reports: A heat map report works specifically with 360° videos if you are choosing to engage your audience with this type of content. Viewing YouTube video statistics for 360° heat maps will help to show the areas on your video that viewers are most interested in.

How to View Other Peoples YouTube Statistics

If you want to check out the statistics of rival YouTube channels (including the most subscribed channels on YouTube ), or channels you’re a fan of, try using Social Blade . Social Blade is one of the most trusted sources of YouTube data, and it may actually be easier to check your own basic stats there than in the Creator Studio sometimes due to their simple layout. To get started all you need to do is type the name of any YouTube channel into the search bar. You’ll be able to see reports on daily views, channel growth, and even estimated ad revenue (learn more about how to view a channel’s ad revenue here ).

Now that you know how to view YouTube statistics, what will you do with them?

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Learn how to view YouTube statistics and you can grow your channel faster. By paying attention to your statistics, which are available for free to every YouTuber in the Analytics section of the Creator Studio, you will be able to see how successful your individual videos are and replicate that success.

The information available for each video includes how many new subscribers it attracted and how much watch time it has so far (which is important if you want to monetize someday). By looking at which videos are performing well in these areas you can determine what you are doing right and replicate that success in future videos.

Making Better YouTube Videos with Filmora to Get More Views

As one of the best video editing software for YouTube, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface, which saves much time. After editing, you can upload the video to YouTube directly when export. Download the free trial version below and start making YouTube videos with Filmora.

Download Filmora9 Win Version Download Filmora9 Mac Version

Get free YouTube Subscribers Guide Banner

How to View Your YouTube Statistics

In order to view your YouTube Analytics, sign in to your YouTube account and go to your Creator Studio. From there, click into the Analytics tab in the menu on the left of your screen.

In order to check which of your videos are performing the best, click on Watch time under Watch time reports. At the top of the page there’ll be a graph of your watch time in general, and if you scroll down you’ll see a list of your videos ranked by watch time. The best performing ones will be at the top and, to see more stats related to these high-performing videos, simply click on their titles. Afterwards, you’ll be able to click around the different sections in your Analytics and see reports relating to the specific video you clicked on.

The two main types of analytics reports are Watch Time Reports and Interaction Reports.

1. Interpreting YouTube Watch Time Reports

To find Watch time reports you just need to log into your Google account, go to the Creator studio, click the analytics tab, and then click on watch time. You can see the watch time of every video on your channel, which is important data to have because watch time is the most important factor when it comes to ranking your video in search results.

A watch time report includes the total amount of time that your video, or a selection of videos, is actually being watched for. In order to make sure that you are publishing only quality videos you need to make sure that your viewers are consistently sticking to your videos and watching them all away through, or at least to the half-way mark. Watch time represents one of the most meaningful metrics in ensuring that you are engaging your audience.

YouTube analytics can now display a watch time of every video that you have produced. Seeing the metrics on how long people are actually watching every video that you produce can show you what you’ve done right in the past and what you need to do more of to continue raising your watch time.

Alongside watch time you can see the average duration individual viewers are watching your videos for. The average percentage of your video that gets viewed will showcase areas where you may be struggling with your video content. For example, if an abnormally high number of viewers are clicking away during your intro, there’s probably something about that clip that needs to be changed.

In the watch time reports for individual videos, you will be able to see data on where your views are coming from and which demographics are watching the most. Where your viewers are watching, in terms of desktop or mobile, is also interesting data that is available in this section.

Click here for more tips onincreasing your views .

2. Interpreting YouTube Interaction Reports

Interaction reports are related to the actions viewers take – i.e. subscribing to your channel, liking your videos, or leaving a comments. You can find interaction reports in the Creator Studio under Analytics.

Interaction reports can be broken down into several different reports that can help determine the overall performance of any YouTube videos. The main interaction reports that you should be interested in include:

1. Subscribers: You can find extensive data on your subscribers, like demographics including age groups and gender. Learning more about your subscribers can help you to tailor your content. For example, if you learn that your viewers are mostly young women under 24 in the USA, you can do research into what is currently popular with young women under 24 in the USA.

Want to see your subscriber count in real-time?

2. Likes and dislikes: Likes and dislikes aren’t a powerful metric when it comes to search engine rankings, but they provide useful information to creators. If you’re getting a lot of dislikes on a video, you should look into why. If you’re getting a lot of likes on a video, it can indicate that you should focus on creating similar content.

3. Playlists: A viewer watching a video in a playlist is much more likely to keep watching more videos from that playlist, making playlists great for the growth of your channel. Reports in this section will help you figure out which of your playlists is performing best, which could give you an idea of which types of videos or video topics are going over best with your viewers.

4. Comments: Reading comments is a great way to figure out what your viewers think, but that’s not all they’re good for. If viewers return to a video to continue talking to you or other viewers then that will drive up your views and watch time. If a video is especially good at generating discussion, you should figure out why (i.e. your sign-off question) and keep doing it.

5. Sharing: Discovering where your video is being shared can be important for figuring out what platforms you should be on besides YouTube. If your video is shared and viewed a lot on Twitter, you should consider making a Twitter account for your channel.

6. Cards: Tracking the performance of your Cards will help you optimize them to direct traffic between your videos. By testing out different time stamps for cards you’ll find the perfect places to put them. By trying different messages in your cards you’ll learn how to write ‘calls to action’ that mobilize your viewers.

End screens: End Screens are essential for keeping viewers on your channel. The report of the click-through rates of your end screens is important for helping you figure out which kinds of links work, and which style of ends screen is most effective for you. Are people more likely to click when you talk to them through the end screen, or when it’s a static card?

7. 360 heat map reports: A heat map report works specifically with 360° videos if you are choosing to engage your audience with this type of content. Viewing YouTube video statistics for 360° heat maps will help to show the areas on your video that viewers are most interested in.

How to View Other Peoples YouTube Statistics

If you want to check out the statistics of rival YouTube channels (including the most subscribed channels on YouTube ), or channels you’re a fan of, try using Social Blade . Social Blade is one of the most trusted sources of YouTube data, and it may actually be easier to check your own basic stats there than in the Creator Studio sometimes due to their simple layout. To get started all you need to do is type the name of any YouTube channel into the search bar. You’ll be able to see reports on daily views, channel growth, and even estimated ad revenue (learn more about how to view a channel’s ad revenue here ).

Now that you know how to view YouTube statistics, what will you do with them?

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Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

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Learn how to view YouTube statistics and you can grow your channel faster. By paying attention to your statistics, which are available for free to every YouTuber in the Analytics section of the Creator Studio, you will be able to see how successful your individual videos are and replicate that success.

The information available for each video includes how many new subscribers it attracted and how much watch time it has so far (which is important if you want to monetize someday). By looking at which videos are performing well in these areas you can determine what you are doing right and replicate that success in future videos.

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How to View Your YouTube Statistics

In order to view your YouTube Analytics, sign in to your YouTube account and go to your Creator Studio. From there, click into the Analytics tab in the menu on the left of your screen.

In order to check which of your videos are performing the best, click on Watch time under Watch time reports. At the top of the page there’ll be a graph of your watch time in general, and if you scroll down you’ll see a list of your videos ranked by watch time. The best performing ones will be at the top and, to see more stats related to these high-performing videos, simply click on their titles. Afterwards, you’ll be able to click around the different sections in your Analytics and see reports relating to the specific video you clicked on.

The two main types of analytics reports are Watch Time Reports and Interaction Reports.

1. Interpreting YouTube Watch Time Reports

To find Watch time reports you just need to log into your Google account, go to the Creator studio, click the analytics tab, and then click on watch time. You can see the watch time of every video on your channel, which is important data to have because watch time is the most important factor when it comes to ranking your video in search results.

A watch time report includes the total amount of time that your video, or a selection of videos, is actually being watched for. In order to make sure that you are publishing only quality videos you need to make sure that your viewers are consistently sticking to your videos and watching them all away through, or at least to the half-way mark. Watch time represents one of the most meaningful metrics in ensuring that you are engaging your audience.

YouTube analytics can now display a watch time of every video that you have produced. Seeing the metrics on how long people are actually watching every video that you produce can show you what you’ve done right in the past and what you need to do more of to continue raising your watch time.

Alongside watch time you can see the average duration individual viewers are watching your videos for. The average percentage of your video that gets viewed will showcase areas where you may be struggling with your video content. For example, if an abnormally high number of viewers are clicking away during your intro, there’s probably something about that clip that needs to be changed.

In the watch time reports for individual videos, you will be able to see data on where your views are coming from and which demographics are watching the most. Where your viewers are watching, in terms of desktop or mobile, is also interesting data that is available in this section.

Click here for more tips onincreasing your views .

2. Interpreting YouTube Interaction Reports

Interaction reports are related to the actions viewers take – i.e. subscribing to your channel, liking your videos, or leaving a comments. You can find interaction reports in the Creator Studio under Analytics.

Interaction reports can be broken down into several different reports that can help determine the overall performance of any YouTube videos. The main interaction reports that you should be interested in include:

1. Subscribers: You can find extensive data on your subscribers, like demographics including age groups and gender. Learning more about your subscribers can help you to tailor your content. For example, if you learn that your viewers are mostly young women under 24 in the USA, you can do research into what is currently popular with young women under 24 in the USA.

Want to see your subscriber count in real-time?

2. Likes and dislikes: Likes and dislikes aren’t a powerful metric when it comes to search engine rankings, but they provide useful information to creators. If you’re getting a lot of dislikes on a video, you should look into why. If you’re getting a lot of likes on a video, it can indicate that you should focus on creating similar content.

3. Playlists: A viewer watching a video in a playlist is much more likely to keep watching more videos from that playlist, making playlists great for the growth of your channel. Reports in this section will help you figure out which of your playlists is performing best, which could give you an idea of which types of videos or video topics are going over best with your viewers.

4. Comments: Reading comments is a great way to figure out what your viewers think, but that’s not all they’re good for. If viewers return to a video to continue talking to you or other viewers then that will drive up your views and watch time. If a video is especially good at generating discussion, you should figure out why (i.e. your sign-off question) and keep doing it.

5. Sharing: Discovering where your video is being shared can be important for figuring out what platforms you should be on besides YouTube. If your video is shared and viewed a lot on Twitter, you should consider making a Twitter account for your channel.

6. Cards: Tracking the performance of your Cards will help you optimize them to direct traffic between your videos. By testing out different time stamps for cards you’ll find the perfect places to put them. By trying different messages in your cards you’ll learn how to write ‘calls to action’ that mobilize your viewers.

End screens: End Screens are essential for keeping viewers on your channel. The report of the click-through rates of your end screens is important for helping you figure out which kinds of links work, and which style of ends screen is most effective for you. Are people more likely to click when you talk to them through the end screen, or when it’s a static card?

7. 360 heat map reports: A heat map report works specifically with 360° videos if you are choosing to engage your audience with this type of content. Viewing YouTube video statistics for 360° heat maps will help to show the areas on your video that viewers are most interested in.

How to View Other Peoples YouTube Statistics

If you want to check out the statistics of rival YouTube channels (including the most subscribed channels on YouTube ), or channels you’re a fan of, try using Social Blade . Social Blade is one of the most trusted sources of YouTube data, and it may actually be easier to check your own basic stats there than in the Creator Studio sometimes due to their simple layout. To get started all you need to do is type the name of any YouTube channel into the search bar. You’ll be able to see reports on daily views, channel growth, and even estimated ad revenue (learn more about how to view a channel’s ad revenue here ).

Now that you know how to view YouTube statistics, what will you do with them?

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

  • Title: In 2024, Unlocking Secrets to Compelling YouTube Live Thumbnails
  • Author: Thomas
  • Created at : 2024-05-31 12:43:03
  • Updated at : 2024-06-01 12:43:03
  • Link: https://youtube-help.techidaily.com/in-2024-unlocking-secrets-to-compelling-youtube-live-thumbnails/
  • License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
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