YouTube Studio moving out of beta with 3 new metrics & redesigned dashboard

After limiting the amount of analytics in its demographic data report last week, YouTube announced it is giving creators three new metrics to help measure how videos are performing. The site is also launching a redesigned reporting dashboard and will be moving its YouTube Studio out of beta to be the default hub for creators.

The new metrics include impressions, impressions click-through rates and unique viewers.

• Impressions measure how many times a video’s thumbnail has been viewed (not the video, but the thumbnail image of the video). “Impressions tell you the potential reach of your content on YouTube, since each impression is an opportunity to earn a view,” product managers Assaf Reifer and Ezequiel Baril write on YouTube’s Creator Blog.
• Impressions click-through rate is the percentage of impressions on the video thumbnail that turn into an actual view, helping creators determine which video thumbnail images and titles are pulling the highest view rates.
• Unique viewers reflects the estimated number of people watching a video over a period time. “You can use this data to compare your audience size to your subscriber base, and identify videos that helped reach a wider audience,” Reifer and Baril write.

For now, YouTube says only a small number of users will have access to the new metrics, but everyone will have access to them within the YouTube Studio hub in the coming weeks.

First announced last June, YouTube Studio has been in beta for several months. YouTube says creators will have the option to switch back to Studio Classic from YouTube Studio. However, YouTube says the new metrics won’t be available in Studio Classic  for a couple of weeks after YouTube Studio becomes the default.

The newly refreshed YouTube Studio dashboard comes with three added features: a snapshot of the most recent video upload, personalized content recommendations based on your channel’s needs and a news feed designed specifically for the YouTube creator community.

YouTube says the new dashboard is also rolling out to all channels over the next couple of weeks, with new features to come.

About The Author

Amy Gesenhues

Amy Gesenhues is Third Door Media’s General Assignment Reporter, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land and Search Engine Land. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs.com, SoftwareCEO.com, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy’s articles.