Get FREE Training Workshop from John Crestani
John Crestani has been recognized by Forbes, Business Insider, Entepreneur.com, and dozens of other publications for his success online. More importantly, he’s helped thousands of everyday people from around the world create success for themselves as well.
What is audience retention on YouTube?
Audience retention on YouTube refers to the percentage of a video that viewers watch before they stop watching or move on to something else. It is a metric that tracks how well a video keeps its audience engaged throughout its duration.
YouTube provides two main types of audience retention metrics:
- Absolute Retention: This shows how many viewers are still watching the video at specific points in time (e.g., after 30 seconds, 1 minute, etc.). This is useful for identifying when people drop off during the video, helping creators pinpoint areas that might not be engaging enough.
- Relative Retention: This compares how well a video retains viewers in comparison to other videos of similar length. If a video keeps viewers engaged for longer than average videos of the same duration, it has high relative retention.
High audience retention is important because it signals to YouTube that viewers are engaged with the content, which can improve the video’s ranking in search results and recommendations. Creators often use audience retention data to optimize their videos by adjusting pacing, content structure, or other elements that keep viewers interested.
