When browsing YouTube, you might stumble upon a video that catches your attention. But when you click on it within a few seconds, you’re bored, and you go back and try to find another. This affects the audience retention rate for YouTubers. People nowadays like watching videos that are fast-paced and entertaining from the start.
That’s when the phenomenon of retention rate comes into the picture. As a YouTuber, you want most of your viewers to stick to your videos until the end. If they click in and click off, then your audience retention percentage drops immensely. So, if your retention percentage is low, keep reading the blog to learn ways to increase it.
What Is Audience Retention On YouTube?![What is audience retention on YT]()
YouTube audience retention is a percentage representing how much time viewers spend consuming your video. This retention rate percentage ranks your channel or videos for SEO on YouTube. Remember, this percentage is calculated on average. So, if you’ve posted a 14-minute video, and your retention rate is 66%, then on average, 66% of the video has been watched by viewers.
In YouTube Studio, you can find a detailed analysis of your audience retention graph, which can help you spot where you’re going wrong.
Why is Audience Retention Important?
Audience retention rate is essential for several reasons:
- The longer the video is watched, it helps to boost your YouTube video on the SERP.
- It increases the watch time and the potential to earn higher revenue on the platform.
- If you consistently upload high-quality videos, you will build a loyal audience who will return to your channel for more videos.
- YouTube tracks your videos’ audience retention metrics and utilizes the data to promote your content to a more extensive audience base.
- When viewers watch your videos to the end, or at least a significant portion of them, it indicates to the algorithm that your content is valuable and should be promoted in the feed section of the relevant target audience.
How To See Your YouTube Audience Retention Rate?
Here’s how you can check your video’s retention percentage on YT:
- Go to YouTube Studio.
- From the left navigation menu, click on Content.
- To analyze a video choose the video from the list, or you can even search for it.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you can see the video’s average view duration and average percentage viewed.
The retention rate percentage is classified and analyzed through four different segments:
- Percentage of viewers still watching the video after the intro’s ending.
- The top moment or continuous segments are where viewers watch the video without skipping or leaving.
- When the viewer rewatches or shares a particular part of the video, it is counted as a spike.
- And finally, Dips, where viewers have skipped a section of the video or left the video ultimately.
YouTube points out these moments, so YouTubers understand where viewers are losing interest and what part they enjoy most. These were the basis for understanding how a particular video is doing.
But how is this calculated? Let’s see
How Is YouTube Audience Retention Calculated?![How audience retention is calculated]()
The retention rate varies widely, depending on the length of your video and the topic it covers. YouTube calculates the retention rate by dividing it into two metrics: absolute audience retention and Relative audience retention.
Both are mentioned in the graph; however, each has its own purpose. The absolute retention rate shows how well a video retains viewers, while the relative one talks about how well the video retains viewers when compared to other videos of the same length.
What is a Good Audience Retention rate on YouTube?
According to YouTube statistics, the average YouTube viewer retention rate stands at 50%-60%. This means that viewers watch up to 60% of your video content. However, its answer also depends on your category of content and chosen niche. A higher viewer retention rate means viewers like your content and want to view it more. However, your videos will perform better regardless of your niche if the audience retention rate is at least 15%. Ensure that your content is intriguing and engaging so viewers will stick to your videos longer.
How To Increase Retention Rate?
On average, the audience retention rate of most YouTube videos is between 50-60%. But if you’re falling short of the average or want to aim even higher, here are some ways you can infuse to increase your retention percentage:
Hook your audience with an entertaining intro
You need to start with a bang! Start your video with an entertaining intro that keeps viewers engaged. Remember, the first 30 seconds are crucial. That’s the time frame when most viewers click away. So keep your intros unique and intriguing to retain viewers.
Add a Sneak Peek of the Video at the Start
Giving viewers a tiny sneak peek of what they’ll see in the video will keep them engaged and encourage them to watch more. Tease viewers with the content or part you think they’ll be most excited to see, just like a cliffhanger. There are several ways to hook viewers and keep them engaged at the beginning of the video.
Keep the Video’s Length as needed.
Don’t exaggerate your video! Drag your content meaninglessly, and viewers will click away from your video. You must decide on your ideal YouTube video length by analyzing metrics like viewer engagement and viewing patterns.
Skip on Clickbaity Thumbnails
Viewers hope to see content relevant to what they saw in the thumbnail. If the expectations are not met sooner, it’s a no-brainer that they will stop viewing the video further. Misleading can cause the YouTube audience retention rate drop faster.
Use Variations in your Video
You must keep your audience entertained throughout the video using edits, graphics, and music changes. Film your videos more engagingly and have shots that wow the viewers.
Analyze your audience retention Graph
Most importantly, study your retention YouTube graph of your latest videos to understand where your content lags. Study where the most viewers are clicking off your video. Understanding these patterns will help you bring changes to your videos and help improve your overall audience retention on videos.
Add Chapters to the video
You are wrong if you think adding YouTube chapters will cause viewers to skip to the good part and avoid watching the rest of the video. Adding chapters will improve the user experience and help them navigate to the parts of the video they enjoy watching more. This metric alone will give you insights about what your viewers like.
Include CTA’s that are meaningful.
Call to action in YouTube videos must provide a meaningful purpose to your videos. It must be placed and plugged into the video in such a way that it encourages viewers to comment, like, and share the video. Additionally, CTAs are of several types that are meant to boost channel engagement and keep the viewers on the channel longer.
Conclusion
YouTube audience retention is essential for your videos to rank higher on search pages. Retaining viewers to watch your videos increases your engagement, and more people stick to your content. Making compelling videos and staying unique is the ultimate way to do this.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Why is my audience retention so low?
There could be several reasons why your audience retention is low:
- Titles and thumbnails are misleading, and the video content does not deliver what is promised.
- The first 30 seconds are not engaging and do not hook the viewers.
- The audio-video quality of the content is not clear.
- The video does not resonate with the audience.
Q2. What is a good YouTube short retention?
A good retention for YouTube Shorts videos is 60-70%, which suggests a reasonable engagement rate.
Q3. How do you know when your audience is most active on YouTube?
To know when your viewers are most active on YouTube, Go to YT Studio> Analytics> Audience> When your viewers are on YouTube is the section where you will get specific information about the audience.
Q4. Is 45% retention good on YouTube?
An audience retention rate of 45% indicates a broad scope for improvement in the video content or its presentation style. Also, consider the niche, audience availability, and length of your video before you evaluate your audience retention rate.