Deciphering YouTube Shorts: A Comprehensive Overview

YouTube is one of the most leading social media platforms attracting a huge number of people each day. Recently YouTube has launched a new concept known as YouTube shorts which is a short, crisp 60 or fewer seconds of video content. YouTube shorts has been successful in attracting viewers to the platform. Along with the video the platform allows you to write a text which is a YouTube shorts description to give some idea about your video to viewers.

Let’s talk about in YouTube shorts description in detail and learn ways to write on the platform.

In this article

01 What is YouTube Shorts Description?

02 Why is YouTube Shorts Description Important?

03 How do you Write a Description on YouTube Shorts?

04 Tips for Writing Effective YouTube Shorts Description

Part 1: What is YouTube Shorts Description?

YouTube shorts description means a simple text or a message written below to your YouTube shorts giving an idea about the uploaded YouTube shorts video to the viewers.

Such a YouTube short description helps viewers in getting some hint about the video and to decide whether the video is what they are looking for or not. Also, we can also add additional information such as relevant links and hashtags to the video.

Source: adweek.com

Part 2: Why is YouTube Shorts Description Important?

YouTube shorts description plays an important role in attracting viewers and growing your channel. There are a few reasons behind is such as

It gives a simple idea and context about your video to viewers.

Attractive and appealing YouTube short descriptions would easily catch the attention of viewers.

It let viewers decide whether the YouTube shorts video is what they are looking for or not.

You can add relevant hashtags to your video in the description as well to gain more views.

Part 3: How do you Write a Description on YouTube Shorts?

Let’s talk about ways to write a YouTube shorts description with easy to follow steps:

Step 1: At first you need to open the YouTube homepage and select a Library in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Step 2: Once you do that now click on any of your Videos.

Step 3: Then after pick a YouTube shorts video where you want to add a description and click on the three dots beside it. You would find a menu where click on edit.

Step 4: Now you can add the relevant YouTube shorts description and tags. Then click on save and you are all done.

So you can follow above mentioned easy step guidance and write the most iconic YouTube shorts description on your channel.

Part 4: Tips for Writing Effective YouTube Shorts Description

There are some of the key points to keep in mind while writing a YouTube shorts description. All these tips would surely help your videos gain more views.

1. Be specific

While writing a YouTube shorts description is very important that you are well aware of which keywords to use. Here your choice of keywords will play a key role in ranking your videos up.

2. Do keyword research

If you are not aware of the right keywords about your YouTube shorts then you could take online help of an online keyword planner. You must be including the right keywords on your YouTube shorts description to make it more searchable.

3. Know where to place your keywords

You should make sure to put your primary keywords on the first three sentences only and the reason is that users always would notice on the initial part of your description.

4. Track the keywords

Always keep an eye on knowing which keywords are working and which are not for you. It would help you decide your YouTube shorts description in that manner and generate more traffic.

5. Find other interests of your audience

Along with your video content have a look at what other things are attracting your audience. You can always check out that and based on that plan and deliver your upcoming YouTube shorts.

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Conclusion

Thus YouTube shorts has become already successful in catching the eye of users and allowing the platform to grow. Along with the video, the platform allows users to add YouTube short descriptions to appeal audience in a right and effective manner. We have talked about YouTube shorts description and the importance of it in growing your video channel in detail.

Now it is time for you to pick the right YouTube shorts description for your video and get a maximum number of views on your channel.

02 Why is YouTube Shorts Description Important?

03 How do you Write a Description on YouTube Shorts?

04 Tips for Writing Effective YouTube Shorts Description

Part 1: What is YouTube Shorts Description?

YouTube shorts description means a simple text or a message written below to your YouTube shorts giving an idea about the uploaded YouTube shorts video to the viewers.

Such a YouTube short description helps viewers in getting some hint about the video and to decide whether the video is what they are looking for or not. Also, we can also add additional information such as relevant links and hashtags to the video.

Source: adweek.com

Part 2: Why is YouTube Shorts Description Important?

YouTube shorts description plays an important role in attracting viewers and growing your channel. There are a few reasons behind is such as

It gives a simple idea and context about your video to viewers.

Attractive and appealing YouTube short descriptions would easily catch the attention of viewers.

It let viewers decide whether the YouTube shorts video is what they are looking for or not.

You can add relevant hashtags to your video in the description as well to gain more views.

Part 3: How do you Write a Description on YouTube Shorts?

Let’s talk about ways to write a YouTube shorts description with easy to follow steps:

Step 1: At first you need to open the YouTube homepage and select a Library in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Step 2: Once you do that now click on any of your Videos.

Step 3: Then after pick a YouTube shorts video where you want to add a description and click on the three dots beside it. You would find a menu where click on edit.

Step 4: Now you can add the relevant YouTube shorts description and tags. Then click on save and you are all done.

So you can follow above mentioned easy step guidance and write the most iconic YouTube shorts description on your channel.

Part 4: Tips for Writing Effective YouTube Shorts Description

There are some of the key points to keep in mind while writing a YouTube shorts description. All these tips would surely help your videos gain more views.

1. Be specific

While writing a YouTube shorts description is very important that you are well aware of which keywords to use. Here your choice of keywords will play a key role in ranking your videos up.

2. Do keyword research

If you are not aware of the right keywords about your YouTube shorts then you could take online help of an online keyword planner. You must be including the right keywords on your YouTube shorts description to make it more searchable.

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3. Know where to place your keywords

You should make sure to put your primary keywords on the first three sentences only and the reason is that users always would notice on the initial part of your description.

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4. Track the keywords

Always keep an eye on knowing which keywords are working and which are not for you. It would help you decide your YouTube shorts description in that manner and generate more traffic.

5. Find other interests of your audience

Along with your video content have a look at what other things are attracting your audience. You can always check out that and based on that plan and deliver your upcoming YouTube shorts.

Conclusion

Thus YouTube shorts has become already successful in catching the eye of users and allowing the platform to grow. Along with the video, the platform allows users to add YouTube short descriptions to appeal audience in a right and effective manner. We have talked about YouTube shorts description and the importance of it in growing your video channel in detail.

Now it is time for you to pick the right YouTube shorts description for your video and get a maximum number of views on your channel.

02 Why is YouTube Shorts Description Important?

03 How do you Write a Description on YouTube Shorts?

04 Tips for Writing Effective YouTube Shorts Description

Click here

## Part 1: What is YouTube Shorts Description?

YouTube shorts description means a simple text or a message written below to your YouTube shorts giving an idea about the uploaded YouTube shorts video to the viewers.

Such a YouTube short description helps viewers in getting some hint about the video and to decide whether the video is what they are looking for or not. Also, we can also add additional information such as relevant links and hashtags to the video.

Source: adweek.com

Part 2: Why is YouTube Shorts Description Important?

YouTube shorts description plays an important role in attracting viewers and growing your channel. There are a few reasons behind is such as

It gives a simple idea and context about your video to viewers.

Attractive and appealing YouTube short descriptions would easily catch the attention of viewers.

It let viewers decide whether the YouTube shorts video is what they are looking for or not.

You can add relevant hashtags to your video in the description as well to gain more views.

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Part 3: How do you Write a Description on YouTube Shorts?

Let’s talk about ways to write a YouTube shorts description with easy to follow steps:

Step 1: At first you need to open the YouTube homepage and select a Library in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Step 2: Once you do that now click on any of your Videos.

Step 3: Then after pick a YouTube shorts video where you want to add a description and click on the three dots beside it. You would find a menu where click on edit.

Step 4: Now you can add the relevant YouTube shorts description and tags. Then click on save and you are all done.

So you can follow above mentioned easy step guidance and write the most iconic YouTube shorts description on your channel.

Part 4: Tips for Writing Effective YouTube Shorts Description

There are some of the key points to keep in mind while writing a YouTube shorts description. All these tips would surely help your videos gain more views.

1. Be specific

While writing a YouTube shorts description is very important that you are well aware of which keywords to use. Here your choice of keywords will play a key role in ranking your videos up.

2. Do keyword research

If you are not aware of the right keywords about your YouTube shorts then you could take online help of an online keyword planner. You must be including the right keywords on your YouTube shorts description to make it more searchable.

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3. Know where to place your keywords

You should make sure to put your primary keywords on the first three sentences only and the reason is that users always would notice on the initial part of your description.

4. Track the keywords

Always keep an eye on knowing which keywords are working and which are not for you. It would help you decide your YouTube shorts description in that manner and generate more traffic.

5. Find other interests of your audience

Along with your video content have a look at what other things are attracting your audience. You can always check out that and based on that plan and deliver your upcoming YouTube shorts.

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Conclusion

Thus YouTube shorts has become already successful in catching the eye of users and allowing the platform to grow. Along with the video, the platform allows users to add YouTube short descriptions to appeal audience in a right and effective manner. We have talked about YouTube shorts description and the importance of it in growing your video channel in detail.

Now it is time for you to pick the right YouTube shorts description for your video and get a maximum number of views on your channel.

02 Why is YouTube Shorts Description Important?

03 How do you Write a Description on YouTube Shorts?

04 Tips for Writing Effective YouTube Shorts Description

Part 1: What is YouTube Shorts Description?

YouTube shorts description means a simple text or a message written below to your YouTube shorts giving an idea about the uploaded YouTube shorts video to the viewers.

Such a YouTube short description helps viewers in getting some hint about the video and to decide whether the video is what they are looking for or not. Also, we can also add additional information such as relevant links and hashtags to the video.

Source: adweek.com

Part 2: Why is YouTube Shorts Description Important?

YouTube shorts description plays an important role in attracting viewers and growing your channel. There are a few reasons behind is such as

It gives a simple idea and context about your video to viewers.

Attractive and appealing YouTube short descriptions would easily catch the attention of viewers.

It let viewers decide whether the YouTube shorts video is what they are looking for or not.

You can add relevant hashtags to your video in the description as well to gain more views.

Part 3: How do you Write a Description on YouTube Shorts?

Let’s talk about ways to write a YouTube shorts description with easy to follow steps:

Step 1: At first you need to open the YouTube homepage and select a Library in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Step 2: Once you do that now click on any of your Videos.

Step 3: Then after pick a YouTube shorts video where you want to add a description and click on the three dots beside it. You would find a menu where click on edit.

Step 4: Now you can add the relevant YouTube shorts description and tags. Then click on save and you are all done.

So you can follow above mentioned easy step guidance and write the most iconic YouTube shorts description on your channel.

Part 4: Tips for Writing Effective YouTube Shorts Description

There are some of the key points to keep in mind while writing a YouTube shorts description. All these tips would surely help your videos gain more views.

1. Be specific

While writing a YouTube shorts description is very important that you are well aware of which keywords to use. Here your choice of keywords will play a key role in ranking your videos up.

2. Do keyword research

If you are not aware of the right keywords about your YouTube shorts then you could take online help of an online keyword planner. You must be including the right keywords on your YouTube shorts description to make it more searchable.

3. Know where to place your keywords

You should make sure to put your primary keywords on the first three sentences only and the reason is that users always would notice on the initial part of your description.

4. Track the keywords

Always keep an eye on knowing which keywords are working and which are not for you. It would help you decide your YouTube shorts description in that manner and generate more traffic.

5. Find other interests of your audience

Along with your video content have a look at what other things are attracting your audience. You can always check out that and based on that plan and deliver your upcoming YouTube shorts.

Conclusion

Thus YouTube shorts has become already successful in catching the eye of users and allowing the platform to grow. Along with the video, the platform allows users to add YouTube short descriptions to appeal audience in a right and effective manner. We have talked about YouTube shorts description and the importance of it in growing your video channel in detail.

Now it is time for you to pick the right YouTube shorts description for your video and get a maximum number of views on your channel.

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Unlock YouTube’s Full Potential: Top 6 Tactics for Improved Viewership Retention

6 Ways To Increase Audience Retention on YouTube

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Audience retention is one of your most important stats on YouTube. It is even more important than your view count. Your view count really only tells you how many people are finding and clicking on your videos, not whether they are actually watching them. Audience retention refers to how much of a video a viewer watches before clicking away, which is very useful information to have. If you know when people are leaving your videos then you know what you need to work on.

You May Also Like: How to analyse your and your competitors’ YouTube Channel >>
How to structure a YouTube video >>

• Part 1: What is Audience Retention?
• Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?
• Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?
• Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention

Part 1: What is Audience Retention?

To put it in simple terms, YouTube audience retention is about how much of each video your viewers watch. It’s usually expressed as a percentage, so if your viewer gets half way through, they will have a retention of 50 per cent.

For YouTube analytics, audience retention is taken as a mean of the retention figures for each of your viewers. For example, if you post a ten-minute video and half your viewers get to the five-minute mark, that’s a retention of 50 per cent. If the other half watch it right to the end, that’s a retention of 100 per cent. The mean of these two figures is 75 per cent, and that’s what YouTube will use as your audience retention figure.

This retention rate affects how highly your video is ranked on YouTube, with videos boasting higher audience retention rates appearing higher in the search results than those which do not. This is because both YouTube and Google are highly focussed on customer satisfaction, and a long watch time means a very happy customer was watching that video. For this reason, it’s well worth considering how to increase YouTube audience retention as it demonstrates that you’re making great content as well as helping you get more viewers.

Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?

YouTube will produce reports to help you keep track of your audience retention. There are two types of audience retention reports; absolute and relative. Absolute allows you to view a graph of your video’s retention and see when people might be clicking away, or if they are skipping to later parts of your video. If you lose a lot of viewers in the first 15 seconds of your videos then that is a clear indication that your content is not what the viewers who find your videos really want. The relative report is where your video is compared to the average retention of similar videos.

Note that by ‘similar videos’, YouTube means videos of a similar length. There is no way to compare your videos only to other videos in your genre. The relative report will always be somewhat skewed because your videos will be measured against very different content.

To see an audience retention report log into your YouTube account and go to yourCreator Studio. There, selectAudience RetentionunderAnalytics.

Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?

When you’re considering how to increase YouTube audience retention, it can be good to have a goal in mind. Obviously 100 per cent is going to be the Holy Grail of retention rates, but how many videos are actually going to achieve that? It only takes for one person to ‘accidentally’ click on your video and rapidly click away, or for someone to have to stop for outside reasons, to drag your average down.

According to the YouTube community, a good goal to aim for is around 50 per cent, but as there is a lot which can affect your retention rate, that number may be different for you. Low view numbers sometimes get higher retention rates because it’s mainly subscribers watching, whereas channels with millions of views may suffer due to more people abandoning. Rather than setting yourself a golden number, focus instead on increasing your retention rate from wherever it is now, and celebrate your own success instead of measuring yourself against others.

Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention

If you’re serious about learning how to increase YouTube audience retention, here are five of the best ideas for you:

1. Compare your videos

Investigating your audience retention report will highlight the videos where you achieved maximum success. Think about what you did here, and work to replicate that technique. Perhaps you were talking about a product, or maybe your structured your video slightly differently. It’s up to you to dissect your video and find out what it was that kept people watching for longer, so that you can repeat this success in the future. You can also use some influencer marketing platform such as InflueNex to take a look at the videos in your similar channels, and learn the popular videos on their channels.

2. Get on with it

Research shows that YouTube viewers have an incredibly short attention span. Depending on who you believe, you could have as much as six seconds or as little as just three to grab their attention and compel them to carry on watching. If you want to improve your audience retention, coming in with an engaging, attention grabbing statement right at the start is crucial to your success. Nobody wants to waste their time watching someone waffle on for ages about their granny or their favorite hobbies, so get right down to it straight away, by telling them what’s in store.

3. Make it visually engaging

Perhaps all you’ve got is a presentation to make. You’re not a gamer, you’re not showing clips of your cat and you’re not doing a makeup tutorial, so surely all you need is a camera, good lighting and your face, right? Wrong. Viewers like to see the visual content changing, and videos which have a range of scenes are usually far more successful than those where it’s just a person talking to camera. Think about how you can insert cutaways, pop up text, different footage and other graphics to keep it interesting for your viewers.

4. Make it shorter

This one is a no brainer really. If you make a one-minute video, how hard is it going to be to keep viewers watching to the end compared to a 20-minute marathon. However, going too short can be negative too, unless you really do have something very quick and simple to showcase. Long videos work well for YouTubers in the gaming niche, in particular, because viewers want to know the end result, but for most of us, these sorts of viewing statistics are hard to reach.

If you consider a viewer who watches three minutes of your content, would you rather they watched three minutes of a ten-minute video and then clicked away bored, or would you rather they finished an entire video that was only three minutes long? Both in terms of audience retention and of your own reputation, having a viewer finish a short video is much more valuable to you than losing someone half way through a long one. That person probably enjoyed your content to the end and will more than likely watch another one of your videos. Conversely, the one you lost half way through was bored enough to stop watching and will probably not bother viewing any other videos of yours in future.

5. Keep them hooked

Think carefully about your YouTube video structure. Ideally, you will tell them at the very start that you’ve got something amazing to share with them later on. This could be a tip, a tutorial, a new product reveal or even something funny. Whatever it is, tell them they’re going to love it from the start, and keep reminding them to watch from the end to get this gift. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them great content all the way through, just that you should save a carrot for the end of the ride to reward those loyal viewers.

So, now you know how to increase YouTube audience retention, what are you going to do about it? Have a go at modifying your videos to boost the numbers who will watch to the end and let us know how you got on.

6. Use an Excellent Video Editor

Content is the king. It is necessary to use a powerful video editor to help you edit videos. With an excellent video editor like Filmora, you can custom stunning videos effortlessly.

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Audience retention is one of your most important stats on YouTube. It is even more important than your view count. Your view count really only tells you how many people are finding and clicking on your videos, not whether they are actually watching them. Audience retention refers to how much of a video a viewer watches before clicking away, which is very useful information to have. If you know when people are leaving your videos then you know what you need to work on.

You May Also Like: How to analyse your and your competitors’ YouTube Channel >>
How to structure a YouTube video >>

• Part 1: What is Audience Retention?
• Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?
• Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?
• Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention

Part 1: What is Audience Retention?

To put it in simple terms, YouTube audience retention is about how much of each video your viewers watch. It’s usually expressed as a percentage, so if your viewer gets half way through, they will have a retention of 50 per cent.

For YouTube analytics, audience retention is taken as a mean of the retention figures for each of your viewers. For example, if you post a ten-minute video and half your viewers get to the five-minute mark, that’s a retention of 50 per cent. If the other half watch it right to the end, that’s a retention of 100 per cent. The mean of these two figures is 75 per cent, and that’s what YouTube will use as your audience retention figure.

This retention rate affects how highly your video is ranked on YouTube, with videos boasting higher audience retention rates appearing higher in the search results than those which do not. This is because both YouTube and Google are highly focussed on customer satisfaction, and a long watch time means a very happy customer was watching that video. For this reason, it’s well worth considering how to increase YouTube audience retention as it demonstrates that you’re making great content as well as helping you get more viewers.

Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?

YouTube will produce reports to help you keep track of your audience retention. There are two types of audience retention reports; absolute and relative. Absolute allows you to view a graph of your video’s retention and see when people might be clicking away, or if they are skipping to later parts of your video. If you lose a lot of viewers in the first 15 seconds of your videos then that is a clear indication that your content is not what the viewers who find your videos really want. The relative report is where your video is compared to the average retention of similar videos.

Note that by ‘similar videos’, YouTube means videos of a similar length. There is no way to compare your videos only to other videos in your genre. The relative report will always be somewhat skewed because your videos will be measured against very different content.

To see an audience retention report log into your YouTube account and go to yourCreator Studio. There, selectAudience RetentionunderAnalytics.

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Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?

When you’re considering how to increase YouTube audience retention, it can be good to have a goal in mind. Obviously 100 per cent is going to be the Holy Grail of retention rates, but how many videos are actually going to achieve that? It only takes for one person to ‘accidentally’ click on your video and rapidly click away, or for someone to have to stop for outside reasons, to drag your average down.

According to the YouTube community, a good goal to aim for is around 50 per cent, but as there is a lot which can affect your retention rate, that number may be different for you. Low view numbers sometimes get higher retention rates because it’s mainly subscribers watching, whereas channels with millions of views may suffer due to more people abandoning. Rather than setting yourself a golden number, focus instead on increasing your retention rate from wherever it is now, and celebrate your own success instead of measuring yourself against others.

Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention

If you’re serious about learning how to increase YouTube audience retention, here are five of the best ideas for you:

1. Compare your videos

Investigating your audience retention report will highlight the videos where you achieved maximum success. Think about what you did here, and work to replicate that technique. Perhaps you were talking about a product, or maybe your structured your video slightly differently. It’s up to you to dissect your video and find out what it was that kept people watching for longer, so that you can repeat this success in the future. You can also use some influencer marketing platform such as InflueNex to take a look at the videos in your similar channels, and learn the popular videos on their channels.

2. Get on with it

Research shows that YouTube viewers have an incredibly short attention span. Depending on who you believe, you could have as much as six seconds or as little as just three to grab their attention and compel them to carry on watching. If you want to improve your audience retention, coming in with an engaging, attention grabbing statement right at the start is crucial to your success. Nobody wants to waste their time watching someone waffle on for ages about their granny or their favorite hobbies, so get right down to it straight away, by telling them what’s in store.

3. Make it visually engaging

Perhaps all you’ve got is a presentation to make. You’re not a gamer, you’re not showing clips of your cat and you’re not doing a makeup tutorial, so surely all you need is a camera, good lighting and your face, right? Wrong. Viewers like to see the visual content changing, and videos which have a range of scenes are usually far more successful than those where it’s just a person talking to camera. Think about how you can insert cutaways, pop up text, different footage and other graphics to keep it interesting for your viewers.

4. Make it shorter

This one is a no brainer really. If you make a one-minute video, how hard is it going to be to keep viewers watching to the end compared to a 20-minute marathon. However, going too short can be negative too, unless you really do have something very quick and simple to showcase. Long videos work well for YouTubers in the gaming niche, in particular, because viewers want to know the end result, but for most of us, these sorts of viewing statistics are hard to reach.

If you consider a viewer who watches three minutes of your content, would you rather they watched three minutes of a ten-minute video and then clicked away bored, or would you rather they finished an entire video that was only three minutes long? Both in terms of audience retention and of your own reputation, having a viewer finish a short video is much more valuable to you than losing someone half way through a long one. That person probably enjoyed your content to the end and will more than likely watch another one of your videos. Conversely, the one you lost half way through was bored enough to stop watching and will probably not bother viewing any other videos of yours in future.

5. Keep them hooked

Think carefully about your YouTube video structure. Ideally, you will tell them at the very start that you’ve got something amazing to share with them later on. This could be a tip, a tutorial, a new product reveal or even something funny. Whatever it is, tell them they’re going to love it from the start, and keep reminding them to watch from the end to get this gift. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them great content all the way through, just that you should save a carrot for the end of the ride to reward those loyal viewers.

So, now you know how to increase YouTube audience retention, what are you going to do about it? Have a go at modifying your videos to boost the numbers who will watch to the end and let us know how you got on.

6. Use an Excellent Video Editor

Content is the king. It is necessary to use a powerful video editor to help you edit videos. With an excellent video editor like Filmora, you can custom stunning videos effortlessly.

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Audience retention is one of your most important stats on YouTube. It is even more important than your view count. Your view count really only tells you how many people are finding and clicking on your videos, not whether they are actually watching them. Audience retention refers to how much of a video a viewer watches before clicking away, which is very useful information to have. If you know when people are leaving your videos then you know what you need to work on.

You May Also Like: How to analyse your and your competitors’ YouTube Channel >>
How to structure a YouTube video >>

• Part 1: What is Audience Retention?
• Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?
• Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?
• Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention

Click here

## Part 1: What is Audience Retention?

To put it in simple terms, YouTube audience retention is about how much of each video your viewers watch. It’s usually expressed as a percentage, so if your viewer gets half way through, they will have a retention of 50 per cent.

For YouTube analytics, audience retention is taken as a mean of the retention figures for each of your viewers. For example, if you post a ten-minute video and half your viewers get to the five-minute mark, that’s a retention of 50 per cent. If the other half watch it right to the end, that’s a retention of 100 per cent. The mean of these two figures is 75 per cent, and that’s what YouTube will use as your audience retention figure.

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This retention rate affects how highly your video is ranked on YouTube, with videos boasting higher audience retention rates appearing higher in the search results than those which do not. This is because both YouTube and Google are highly focussed on customer satisfaction, and a long watch time means a very happy customer was watching that video. For this reason, it’s well worth considering how to increase YouTube audience retention as it demonstrates that you’re making great content as well as helping you get more viewers.

Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?

YouTube will produce reports to help you keep track of your audience retention. There are two types of audience retention reports; absolute and relative. Absolute allows you to view a graph of your video’s retention and see when people might be clicking away, or if they are skipping to later parts of your video. If you lose a lot of viewers in the first 15 seconds of your videos then that is a clear indication that your content is not what the viewers who find your videos really want. The relative report is where your video is compared to the average retention of similar videos.

Note that by ‘similar videos’, YouTube means videos of a similar length. There is no way to compare your videos only to other videos in your genre. The relative report will always be somewhat skewed because your videos will be measured against very different content.

To see an audience retention report log into your YouTube account and go to yourCreator Studio. There, selectAudience RetentionunderAnalytics.

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Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?

When you’re considering how to increase YouTube audience retention, it can be good to have a goal in mind. Obviously 100 per cent is going to be the Holy Grail of retention rates, but how many videos are actually going to achieve that? It only takes for one person to ‘accidentally’ click on your video and rapidly click away, or for someone to have to stop for outside reasons, to drag your average down.

According to the YouTube community, a good goal to aim for is around 50 per cent, but as there is a lot which can affect your retention rate, that number may be different for you. Low view numbers sometimes get higher retention rates because it’s mainly subscribers watching, whereas channels with millions of views may suffer due to more people abandoning. Rather than setting yourself a golden number, focus instead on increasing your retention rate from wherever it is now, and celebrate your own success instead of measuring yourself against others.

Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention

If you’re serious about learning how to increase YouTube audience retention, here are five of the best ideas for you:

1. Compare your videos

Investigating your audience retention report will highlight the videos where you achieved maximum success. Think about what you did here, and work to replicate that technique. Perhaps you were talking about a product, or maybe your structured your video slightly differently. It’s up to you to dissect your video and find out what it was that kept people watching for longer, so that you can repeat this success in the future. You can also use some influencer marketing platform such as InflueNex to take a look at the videos in your similar channels, and learn the popular videos on their channels.

2. Get on with it

Research shows that YouTube viewers have an incredibly short attention span. Depending on who you believe, you could have as much as six seconds or as little as just three to grab their attention and compel them to carry on watching. If you want to improve your audience retention, coming in with an engaging, attention grabbing statement right at the start is crucial to your success. Nobody wants to waste their time watching someone waffle on for ages about their granny or their favorite hobbies, so get right down to it straight away, by telling them what’s in store.

3. Make it visually engaging

Perhaps all you’ve got is a presentation to make. You’re not a gamer, you’re not showing clips of your cat and you’re not doing a makeup tutorial, so surely all you need is a camera, good lighting and your face, right? Wrong. Viewers like to see the visual content changing, and videos which have a range of scenes are usually far more successful than those where it’s just a person talking to camera. Think about how you can insert cutaways, pop up text, different footage and other graphics to keep it interesting for your viewers.

4. Make it shorter

This one is a no brainer really. If you make a one-minute video, how hard is it going to be to keep viewers watching to the end compared to a 20-minute marathon. However, going too short can be negative too, unless you really do have something very quick and simple to showcase. Long videos work well for YouTubers in the gaming niche, in particular, because viewers want to know the end result, but for most of us, these sorts of viewing statistics are hard to reach.

If you consider a viewer who watches three minutes of your content, would you rather they watched three minutes of a ten-minute video and then clicked away bored, or would you rather they finished an entire video that was only three minutes long? Both in terms of audience retention and of your own reputation, having a viewer finish a short video is much more valuable to you than losing someone half way through a long one. That person probably enjoyed your content to the end and will more than likely watch another one of your videos. Conversely, the one you lost half way through was bored enough to stop watching and will probably not bother viewing any other videos of yours in future.

5. Keep them hooked

Think carefully about your YouTube video structure. Ideally, you will tell them at the very start that you’ve got something amazing to share with them later on. This could be a tip, a tutorial, a new product reveal or even something funny. Whatever it is, tell them they’re going to love it from the start, and keep reminding them to watch from the end to get this gift. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them great content all the way through, just that you should save a carrot for the end of the ride to reward those loyal viewers.

So, now you know how to increase YouTube audience retention, what are you going to do about it? Have a go at modifying your videos to boost the numbers who will watch to the end and let us know how you got on.

6. Use an Excellent Video Editor

Content is the king. It is necessary to use a powerful video editor to help you edit videos. With an excellent video editor like Filmora, you can custom stunning videos effortlessly.

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Audience retention is one of your most important stats on YouTube. It is even more important than your view count. Your view count really only tells you how many people are finding and clicking on your videos, not whether they are actually watching them. Audience retention refers to how much of a video a viewer watches before clicking away, which is very useful information to have. If you know when people are leaving your videos then you know what you need to work on.

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• Part 1: What is Audience Retention?
• Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?
• Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?
• Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention

Part 1: What is Audience Retention?

To put it in simple terms, YouTube audience retention is about how much of each video your viewers watch. It’s usually expressed as a percentage, so if your viewer gets half way through, they will have a retention of 50 per cent.

For YouTube analytics, audience retention is taken as a mean of the retention figures for each of your viewers. For example, if you post a ten-minute video and half your viewers get to the five-minute mark, that’s a retention of 50 per cent. If the other half watch it right to the end, that’s a retention of 100 per cent. The mean of these two figures is 75 per cent, and that’s what YouTube will use as your audience retention figure.

This retention rate affects how highly your video is ranked on YouTube, with videos boasting higher audience retention rates appearing higher in the search results than those which do not. This is because both YouTube and Google are highly focussed on customer satisfaction, and a long watch time means a very happy customer was watching that video. For this reason, it’s well worth considering how to increase YouTube audience retention as it demonstrates that you’re making great content as well as helping you get more viewers.

Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?

YouTube will produce reports to help you keep track of your audience retention. There are two types of audience retention reports; absolute and relative. Absolute allows you to view a graph of your video’s retention and see when people might be clicking away, or if they are skipping to later parts of your video. If you lose a lot of viewers in the first 15 seconds of your videos then that is a clear indication that your content is not what the viewers who find your videos really want. The relative report is where your video is compared to the average retention of similar videos.

Note that by ‘similar videos’, YouTube means videos of a similar length. There is no way to compare your videos only to other videos in your genre. The relative report will always be somewhat skewed because your videos will be measured against very different content.

To see an audience retention report log into your YouTube account and go to yourCreator Studio. There, selectAudience RetentionunderAnalytics.

Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?

When you’re considering how to increase YouTube audience retention, it can be good to have a goal in mind. Obviously 100 per cent is going to be the Holy Grail of retention rates, but how many videos are actually going to achieve that? It only takes for one person to ‘accidentally’ click on your video and rapidly click away, or for someone to have to stop for outside reasons, to drag your average down.

According to the YouTube community, a good goal to aim for is around 50 per cent, but as there is a lot which can affect your retention rate, that number may be different for you. Low view numbers sometimes get higher retention rates because it’s mainly subscribers watching, whereas channels with millions of views may suffer due to more people abandoning. Rather than setting yourself a golden number, focus instead on increasing your retention rate from wherever it is now, and celebrate your own success instead of measuring yourself against others.

Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention

If you’re serious about learning how to increase YouTube audience retention, here are five of the best ideas for you:

1. Compare your videos

Investigating your audience retention report will highlight the videos where you achieved maximum success. Think about what you did here, and work to replicate that technique. Perhaps you were talking about a product, or maybe your structured your video slightly differently. It’s up to you to dissect your video and find out what it was that kept people watching for longer, so that you can repeat this success in the future. You can also use some influencer marketing platform such as InflueNex to take a look at the videos in your similar channels, and learn the popular videos on their channels.

2. Get on with it

Research shows that YouTube viewers have an incredibly short attention span. Depending on who you believe, you could have as much as six seconds or as little as just three to grab their attention and compel them to carry on watching. If you want to improve your audience retention, coming in with an engaging, attention grabbing statement right at the start is crucial to your success. Nobody wants to waste their time watching someone waffle on for ages about their granny or their favorite hobbies, so get right down to it straight away, by telling them what’s in store.

3. Make it visually engaging

Perhaps all you’ve got is a presentation to make. You’re not a gamer, you’re not showing clips of your cat and you’re not doing a makeup tutorial, so surely all you need is a camera, good lighting and your face, right? Wrong. Viewers like to see the visual content changing, and videos which have a range of scenes are usually far more successful than those where it’s just a person talking to camera. Think about how you can insert cutaways, pop up text, different footage and other graphics to keep it interesting for your viewers.

4. Make it shorter

This one is a no brainer really. If you make a one-minute video, how hard is it going to be to keep viewers watching to the end compared to a 20-minute marathon. However, going too short can be negative too, unless you really do have something very quick and simple to showcase. Long videos work well for YouTubers in the gaming niche, in particular, because viewers want to know the end result, but for most of us, these sorts of viewing statistics are hard to reach.

If you consider a viewer who watches three minutes of your content, would you rather they watched three minutes of a ten-minute video and then clicked away bored, or would you rather they finished an entire video that was only three minutes long? Both in terms of audience retention and of your own reputation, having a viewer finish a short video is much more valuable to you than losing someone half way through a long one. That person probably enjoyed your content to the end and will more than likely watch another one of your videos. Conversely, the one you lost half way through was bored enough to stop watching and will probably not bother viewing any other videos of yours in future.

5. Keep them hooked

Think carefully about your YouTube video structure. Ideally, you will tell them at the very start that you’ve got something amazing to share with them later on. This could be a tip, a tutorial, a new product reveal or even something funny. Whatever it is, tell them they’re going to love it from the start, and keep reminding them to watch from the end to get this gift. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them great content all the way through, just that you should save a carrot for the end of the ride to reward those loyal viewers.

So, now you know how to increase YouTube audience retention, what are you going to do about it? Have a go at modifying your videos to boost the numbers who will watch to the end and let us know how you got on.

6. Use an Excellent Video Editor

Content is the king. It is necessary to use a powerful video editor to help you edit videos. With an excellent video editor like Filmora, you can custom stunning videos effortlessly.

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett