Watch time has become extremely important over the past few years, and so has Audience Retention.
Let’s get started!
So, What is Audience Retention?
YouTube audience retention is about how much of each video your viewers watch. If they watch half of it, the retention rate would be 50%.
How to find your Audience Retention?
The audience retention report is available at the video level of YouTube Analytics. You can also view your audience retention at the channel level underĀ Engagement.
- Sign in to YouTube Studio.
- From the left menu, select Content.
- Click a video title or thumbnail.
- From the left menu, select Analytics.
- Select the Overview or Engagement tab and look for the Audience retention report. You can click SEE MORE to see how your video compares to all YouTube videos of similar length.
Those instructions are from YouTybe itself, so no way we could mess that up, haha š
But what’s the goal here? What is a good retention rate?
According to some reports, the average retention rate for YouTube hoversĀ between 50% and 60%. That means the typical YouTube viewer watching a typical YouTube video can be expected to stick around for 50% to 60% of the video’s entire duration.
Our friends at VidIQ also echo these words as their YouTuber-in-residence Rob Wilson says similar things.
“If your video is longer than five minutes, and audience retention is above 50%, you’re probably doing a good job,” Wilson says. “If your video is longer than five minutes, and you’re getting audience retention above 70% in the first 30 seconds, then you’ve got your hook on the video, and you’re doing a good job.”
Check out their article, too, for a different perspective.
Now, how do you increase your audience retention rate?
1. Start with an entertaining hook.
Within the first 10 seconds, help your audience understand what they can expect from the video and why they should stick till the end. Famous YouTubers like Airrack use this trick to engage their audience effectively and make them stick until the end.
2. Use Video Chapters
Adding video chapters will help your audience navigate through your video better and help them save time. If you make them wait too long, they might as well just click off, right?
3. Make your videos Visually Rich
Videos are a visual medium, so naturally, visuals are very important. Having excellent visuals will make you pleasing to watch and also keep your audience engaged.
For example, there are many ways to mention stats in a video and today, with motion graphics, you can creatively present your statistics in a way your audience would be pleased!
YouTubers like Ali Abdaal, Nathaniel Drew, use this trick to their advantage.
4. Add Variations to Break Patterns
According to studies, people’s average attention span is decreasing, which will affect how they interact with your videos. To avoid people clicking off your video, you need to keep surprising them. You could use visuals, sound effects or anything you have available at your disposal.
These are our tips to increase your channel’s audience rate. We hope this has helped you!