YouTube is working to make it easier for creators to see how well their channel is performing. On Wednesday, March 7, Google announced YouTube Studio’s official debut after several months of beta testing. YouTube Studio is an upgrade over the earlier Creator Studio designed specifically for videographers on the platform, but it’s not a replacement, and users can still choose to run Creator Studio Classic.
YouTube Studio introduces three new metrics, along with a new dashboard containing a summary of all recent view data. YouTube says the new metrics are designed to give channels a better understanding of how each video performs.
Impressions is a new metric that shows creatives how many potential views the video had. This metric is a tally of the number of times the video thumbnail was viewed on YouTube, including any appearances in the homepage, subscription, search results and the “up next” list.
The Impressions click-through is a second new metric that shows creators how many of those Impressions actually resulted in a view. Comparing the impressions to the actual views could help creatives understand what video thumbnails and titles are likely to get more views.
Finally, unique views will give YouTubers a more accurate idea of the number of people watching the video. The number is an estimate of views that excludes repeat views and includes views across multiple devices.
The updated analytics come along with a new dashboard inside YouTube Studio, a result of beta testing feedback where creatives asked for a “one stop shop” for the channel’s data, YouTube says. The new dashboard includes the latest video and basic data, comparing that latest video to the channel average. A channel analytics will house overall channel metrics.
Another section will house YouTube News, while a personalized section suggests Creator Academy videos that could help.
YouTube Studio isn’t jumping out of beta all at once — the new Studio will become the default creator app over the next few weeks. The dashboard will roll out over the next few weeks along with the metrics. For users who choose to stick with the original Creator Studio Classic, the metrics will migrate to the original version a few weeks after coming to the new app.
