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Sometimes, what you acknowledge as one of your best videos with good metrics doesn’t get pushed by YouTube. Or the videos that get pushed have the worst retention, and you have no idea why that happens.
If you want to grow on YouTube, you need more than just instincts and guesses. Whether you're a solo creator, part of a media team, or running a full-scale content strategy, you need to know what’s performing and what’s dead weight, and most importantly, the reason behind it.
That’s where a solid YouTube analytics report comes in, where, apart from collecting all the numbers, you also get the context and the whole story behind those numbers.
This guide breaks down exactly how to build one, from tracking core performance metrics to uncovering insights that actually shape smarter content decisions. In the end, all you need is a clear roadmap to turn raw data into a real strategy.
Every serious creator or manager includes a handful of go-to metrics in their YouTube Analytics report. These numbers are also key signals that tell you how your channel’s doing, what your audience thinks, and how your content is performing.
Here’s how to get a YouTube Analytics report template:
The common metrics creators include in their reports are:
Tracks how many people are hitting that “Subscribe” button (or bouncing). This shows how well your content builds loyalty and keeps people coming back.
The raw number of times your videos have been watched. It’s a simple stat, but still one of the clearest indicators of reach.
Measures how many total minutes (or hours) people spend watching your content. YouTube’s algorithm pays a lot of attention to this, so you can take it as a strong signal of value.
This one lets you see which parts of your video keep people watching and where they lose interest. Great for spotting what’s working and what’s losing them.
Reactions matter. These tell you how people feel about your content and whether it’s compelling enough to spark a response. The engagement report also provides the average view duration metric.
These ones look at how often your video thumbnails are shown and how often people click. High impressions but low CTR? You might need to tweak those titles or thumbnails.
If you were wondering what report you should produce in YouTube Analytics to see where viewers found your brand's content, this is the one. The Traffic sources report shows exactly how people are discovering your videos, whether through YouTube search, suggested content, external websites, or social media. This insight helps you focus on what’s actually driving views.
An estimate of how many individual users watched your content. It gives a more accurate picture of audience size than just view count alone.
Spotlights the videos bringing in the most views, engagement, or subs. Great for figuring out what formats or topics are worth repeating.
Keeps tabs on how often you’re uploading. More content doesn’t always mean better results, but consistency often correlates with growth.
If you want to go deeper, consider adding:
Breakdowns by age, gender, and location can help you tailor content more precisely to who’s actually watching.
Tracks earnings for channels that generate revenue, covering projected income, RPM (revenue per thousand impressions), advertisement types, and income from transactions.
Beyond the basic YouTube metrics, there's a treasure trove of advanced insights that can give you a serious edge.
Some hidden metrics that matter are:
Let’s tackle a few examples to see how you can correctly interpret specific data and numbers from YouTube Analytics.
Tracking your YouTube performance isn’t just about views and likes. A YouTube channel’s performance is rarely linear and with a logical flow.
For instance, timing and relevance play a major role in video performance, including topic seasonality, trending discussions, and search trends. A strong video can underperform if released at the wrong time, while a mediocre video can succeed due to high demand during a hot trend.
Let’s break down a few ways you can read the data when it comes to revenue, click-through rates, audience retention, and sizing up the competition.
Nothing changes in your revenue? Take a look at your CPM (Cost Per Mille) and RPM (Revenue Per Mille) to see what’s behind it. A drop in RPM might mean fewer advertisers or less ad engagement. If one video is consistently earning more, look at its content and audience data to identify what makes it different.
A low CTR means your thumbnails and titles might not be grabbing attention. If a high-contrast, eye-catching thumbnail performs well, consider using similar designs across your videos.
Example Comparison:
Even though Video A has a higher CTR, Video B brings in more total views. While a strong CTR is great, you also need a solid volume of impressions. If a thumbnail change leads to a lower CTR, try adjusting or testing different styles.
Initial high click-through rate (CTR) and average view duration (AVD) don’t necessarily determine if a video will get thousands or hundreds of thousands of views.
The real factor influencing success is how new audiences engage with the video and how YouTube tracks interest trends after early engagement.
If a video’s strong performance comes mainly from existing subscribers, but new viewers disengage when YouTube introduces it to a wider audience, YouTube won’t continue promoting it. Videos that gain significant views and subscribers tend to attract new audience engagement organically, with many comments from first-time viewers.
Instead of YouTube arbitrarily pushing a video, it amplifies content that is already proving to appeal to a broader audience.
If you’re losing viewers in the first 15 seconds, your intro could be turning them away. Compare videos with high retention rates and look for patterns – do they start with a strong hook? Do they avoid unnecessary delays?
Example with retention graph insights:
If a noticeable drop occurs at a specific timestamp, review that segment to see if the pacing or content needs improvement. If humor or a key reveal keeps people watching, consider adding similar moments to future videos.
Look at engagement metrics for competitors in your niche. If they have higher watch time, analyze their video length, pacing, and style. If their audience retention is better, study their storytelling and editing techniques.
Essentially, YouTube favors videos that successfully attract new viewers on their own, not just those that perform well with a creator’s existing audience.
Optimizing your analytics isn’t about chasing numbers, it’s about understanding viewer behavior and making smarter content decisions that drive long-term success.
Tracking performance on YouTube shouldn’t feel like assembling IKEA furniture without instructions. Not to mention, if you want to narrow down, super-customize your reports, or even compare your channel with the ones of your competitors, that’s not possible from YouTube Studio. If you're a content strategist, channel producer, or part of a media team juggling multiple shows and creators, you need more than just a data dump; you need a full-spectrum view.
That’s where SubSub Analytics steps in. This platform flips the script on traditional analytics by focusing on what teams truly need: clear, actionable insights at every level of the workflow. It shows any data from YouTube Analytics and more.
Whether you're launching a brand-new YouTube channel or trying to revive one that's hit a growth ceiling, your analytics should help you answer questions like:
SubSub Analytics offers advanced features that go beyond the capabilities of YouTube Studio. While YouTube Studio provides essential insights like views, watch time, and audience demographics,SubSub makes it easy to explore new content directions, identify rising trends, and stay ahead of what’s next through:
YouTube success often comes down to day-to-day decisions. What’s the next video? What thumbnail will cut through the noise? What’s actually working right now?
With SubSub, you can:
Spending hours each month doing competitor analysis manually? You’re not alone and you’re also wasting time.
SubSub lets you benchmark your performance vs. the 300 (or more) videos your competitors uploaded yesterday. Plus, you’ll finally get to answer the big stuff, like: ‘What’s the actual market size (views, revenue) in our category?’
You can instantly compare your content with top players in your space and track rising topics and formats across regions.
Just group competitors into Collections and share clean, visual insights with your team. This lets you organize competitor data in one place so you can keep track of how things shift over time.
When you’re ready to dig deeper, use SubSub’s built-in report templates to whip up a custom report packed with insights you can actually use.
On any competitor’s channel page, you can check out key stats like:
Want to get even more specific? SubSub’s Analytics Video Tracker allows you to check the performance of specific videos based on category and format.
Filter the market your way. Search and compare by region, category, channel size, or performance metrics. Whether you're exploring a new vertical or validating a hunch, this is where you get the lay of the land.
If you’re managing a network of channels or CMS accounts, trying to track performance across all of them is… well, chaos.
SubSub turns gibberish numbers into clear insights:
Sometimes you want raw data. Sometimes you want the TL;DR version. Either way, SubSub’s reporting tools are built for both types of brains.
Build pro-grade reports in minutes:
Use plug-and-play report templates or customize everything to fit your team’s strategy. Export to .xlsx, share with stakeholders, or create custom-built reports tailored to your workflow.
You’ll finally get to set clear goals based on real benchmarks and save your team hours by automating reporting (bye, spreadsheets).
YouTube can be a content battlefield, and if you want to survive (let alone grow), you can’t just throw videos at the algorithm and hope something sticks. You need strategy and clarity.
While YouTube Analytics tells you plenty of useful stuff, if you want to dig deeper and translate the metrics into a personalized action plan, a tool like SubSub Analytics is what you need.
This tool helps you track your YouTube performance but also helps you understand it, act on it, and scale it.
Whether you’re building a content empire or just trying to get your next video in front of more eyes, SubSub helps you stop guessing and start growing.
1. What is a YouTube Analytics report template, and how can it help?
A YouTube Analytics report template is a structured framework for organizing and analyzing key metrics from your channel’s performance. It helps streamline data interpretation by focusing on essential insights, such as view counts, watch time, audience demographics, traffic sources, and engagement metrics.
2. How can you generate a YouTube Analytics report?
To create a YouTube Analytics report:
3. Which YouTube Analytics report provides the average view duration?
The "Watch Time" report in YouTube Analytics gives you the average view duration, which measures how long viewers stay engaged with your videos on average. This metric is critical for understanding audience retention.
4. How to create advanced and customized YouTube Analytics reports?
SubSub Analytics provides a streamlined approach tailored for media teams and content strategists. Instead of sifting through raw data, users can group competitor insights into Collections, track trends over time, and generate structured reports using customizable templates. This helps teams explore new content directions, spot emerging trends, and make informed decisions without relying on complex spreadsheets.
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