Long Watch Time Views are one of YouTube’s most important ranking metrics. They show how long the average viewer watched your video. YouTube believes that this metric shows how engaging your content is, so they elevate videos with higher watch times in search results and recommendations.
Long Watch Time Views
You can find your video’s watch time in your channel analytics. Just click on ‘Videos’ and select a video to see your stats. Here you’ll see a graph with your video’s playtime, audience retention and total number of views.
The first metric to look at is the total number of minutes the video was watched. This includes the times that your videos are watched as part of playlists. It also includes the times that your videos are watched on mobile devices. This metric will vary between different browsers.
A video’s playtime is the number of minutes the average viewer watched the video. This metric isn’t as important as total watch time, but it is still a good indicator of your videos’ engagement.
Average view duration is the total number of minutes your video was watched divided by the average watch time. This metric is also found in your video’s report, along with playtime and peak concurrent viewers.
Keep in mind that all of these metrics work off each other. Focusing on just one metric might not be the best strategy for your channel. For example, if you try to make your videos longer just to get more Watch Time, you may not be doing your viewers any favors and are probably pandering to an algorithm instead of providing valuable content.