How to Conduct a YouTube Channel Audit
In the world of digital marketing, it’s unwise not to harness the power of video marketing. Videos are not only an excellent vehicle for storytelling, it can also act as a way to breathe life into your brand and connect to your viewers in a personal, multi-sensory way.
And when it comes to video marketing, no platform reigns more supreme than YouTube. In this SEO Premier blog, we teach you how to understand the metrics, conduct a channel audit, and find hidden opportunities or discover untapped potential for growing and optimising your YouTube page. The whole exercise will equip and empower you to master the platform with ease and precision.
A LOOK INTO YOUTUBE METRICS
If you have an existing YouTube channel, reviewing traditional metrics like views, likes, subscribers, and shares can already give you an idea how well your uploaded videos are performing. But if you want to know up your video marketing game, YouTube Analytics can provide you with actionable insights from data coming from watch time, traffic sources, demographics, etc. Understanding these metrics well can be a starting point for mapping a successful YouTube marketing plan:
A. VIEWS - It’s the total number of views a video receives on the platform. YouTube counts views in two ways: (1) when a user clicks the play button, and (2) when the video plays for at least 30 non-consecutive seconds. Note that repeat views can count as discrete views and can add to the overall total views. Users can play a video multiple times and each time can count as one view, but the counter stops around 4-5 views within a 24-hour period. After that 24-hour window, if the same user decides to play the video again, it will count again as one view. Views are often the primary metric used to determine the reach of the content.
B. SUBSCRIBERS - This number shows the people who have subscribed to your YouTube channel. By subscribing to your content, these people form part of your core audience as the act of subscribing means they want to consume your content regularly. On YouTube Analytics, you can check your subscriber count in real time and your subscriber growth over time.
C. WATCH TIME - It's the total number of minutes your viewers have spent watching your video. You may think this is just too granular, but watch time is a critical metric in making it to the top of search results and recommended sections. Naturally, the more watch time a video has, the more engaging the content it is. On your analytics page, you can view the amount of watch time and they can be ranked and grouped by themes, styles, and lengths.
D. ENGAGEMENT METRICS (LIKE, COMMENTS, & SHARES) - Among the video-specific metrics, engagement comes next to views as the most straightforward measurement of its performance. It shows how many viewers interact with your content in varying modes, whether it’s like, reacts, comments, and shares. Having a high engagement means your content appeals and resonates well with your viewers.
E. IMPRESSIONS AND CLICK-THROUGH RATES (CTR) - Impressions pertain to how often your video’s thumbnail is shown to people on YouTube. On the other hand, your CTR refers to how many times people play your video as a result. Impressions and CTRs are concomitant metrics: if your video has a high impression and low CTR, it means that your title or thumbnail photo needs to be optimised.
Apart from the above, you can also review other metrics like traffic sources, demographics, top videos, and playback locations. When crafting a Youtube marketing strategy, it’s imperative to select which metrics to focus on depending on your goals.
CONDUCTING A YOUTUBE AUDIT
Now that you know the important metrics to look at, you can take the first step in executing your YouTube marketing plan.
The steps below will walk you through how to do a YouTube audit. The audit will give you a picture of how ready you are to elevate your channel and position it for success.
- REVIEW THE CHANNEL’S LEGITIMATE IDENTIFIERS
Do the aesthetics of your channel align with your official brand identity? Are the logos, banner, and thumbnails cohesive? Are they updated, professionally done, and of high quality? First impressions count, so getting together your channel’s overall visual aesthetic is a necessary item to tick off in your audit checklist.
The tone of the copy must be the same throughout the channel. It is prescribed to have a brand guide that will serve as the North star for any brand-related collateral, whether it’s visuals or copy.
- CREATE AN INVENTORY OF YOUR EXISTING VIDEOS
At this stage, you can start rifling through the videos in your library. Both old and new, both optimised and not. During the review, you can group the videos based on the focus metrics mentioned above:
- Do the videos need updating?
- Are my evergreen content videos still serving their purpose?
- Are they still aligned with the brand guidelines?
- Do the videos help the viewers where they are in the buyer’s journey?
Remember that when you need to update your video, you have to upload a new version. But this means, you will lose your old stats (views, engagements, etc.).
- COMPARE YOUR VIDEOS WITH YOUR COMPETITORS
You can take notes from your competition about what engaging and high-quality videos look like. What are they doing well and what aren’t they doing well? Identify your best differentiators and harp on that in the next content you’ll produce. Think about your unique value and selling propositions. They may give you content ideas only your brand can leverage and execute successfully.
- RECREATE THE THUMBNAILS, TITLES, & DESCRIPTIONS
At this point, you can start recreating your thumbnails to yield improved CTRs. In rewriting your video titles and descriptions, be descriptive and communicate clearly what the content is about. Write compelling descriptions and infuse the best SEO practices while writing them.
- OPTIMISE YOUR CHANNEL
If you do want to lead your channel to success, then SEO simply isn’t optional. Aside from titles and descriptions, you need to optimise your video down to its tags, end screens, pinned comments, closed captions, and create a playlist, which is a great strategy for curating content that deeply resonates with your core viewers.
In a nutshell, attaining brand success on YouTube starts by employing common sense marketing approaches. It starts with producing professional videos, optimising its meta-data, encouraging conversations through engagement, and promoting your content post-upload.
Need help in planning and executing the components of your YouTube Marketing Plan? Consult with SEO Premier today and let’s start your journey to brand success on this huge platform!
