Top 3 YouTube Metrics Beginner Marketing Teams Should Actually Track

As a business owner, how do you know if your team’s YouTube efforts are actually working?

You’re investing in content. Your team is producing videos. But when you log into YouTube Studio, you’re hit with a wall of charts, graphs, and percentages.

For beginner marketing teams, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. What do all these stats actually mean? Which ones should you be tracking? And how can you tell if you’re headed in the right direction?

That’s what this article is here to solve.

If we had to narrow it down to just three YouTube metrics that actually matter, especially for teams just getting started, these would be it. One tells you if people are clicking. One tells you if they’re sticking around. One tells you if they’re coming back.

Top three YouTube metrics for beginning marketing teams:

• Click-Through Rate (CTR)

• Average Percentage Viewed (AVP)

• Subscribers gained per video

Together, these three give you the clearest picture of whether your content is doing its job: attracting the right buyers, holding their attention, and building trust.

Let’s break each one down, what it is, why it matters, where to find it, and how to improve it.

Editor’s Note:
If you're the kind of business leader who’s thinking about how to use video not just for marketing, but to grow revenue, shorten the sales cycle, and empower your sales team, you’re exactly who we built the Endless Customers System™ for.

It’s a proven approach we’ve implemented with hundreds of businesses around the world to help them create content that builds trust, answers real buyer questions, and drives measurable results.

1. Click-Through Rate (CTR): Are You Earning the Click?

Why click-through rate matters on YouTube

CTR tells you whether your video titles and thumbnails are enticing enough to earn a click. Without clicks, no one watches your content. And if no one watches, you can’t earn trust, engagement, or leads.

High CTR means your message is reaching the right people in a way that feels relevant. Low CTR? You’re either missing the mark on the topic, or not packaging it well enough to get noticed.

Where to find click-through rate in YouTube Studio

• All videos: YouTube Studio → Analytics → Content → Videos → Impressions CTR
• Single video: Studio → Content → Click video → Reach tab → Impressions CTR

How to improve click-through rate on YouTube

• Upload a different thumbnail that is more engaging
• Keep titles under 60 characters, focused on one clear promise
• Use bold thumbnails with a face, arrows, or focused text
• Use text in your thumbnail that adds to the title without repeating it. Together, they should create curiosity and clarity

What click-through rate helps your team decide on YouTube

Are we choosing the right topics and packaging them in a way that gets attention?

CTR is a fast, honest signal. It tells you if your video idea actually matches what your buyer is searching for, before you waste time looking at deeper analytics.

2. Average Percentage Viewed (APV): Are You Holding Their Attention?

Why average percentage viewed matters on YouTube

Getting the click is just the start. Now you have to deliver.

Average Percentage Viewed shows how much of your video people actually watch. If people drop off in the first 30 seconds, something’s wrong. Maybe your intro is too slow, or you’re not delivering on the promise.

This is one of the strongest signals YouTube uses to recommend videos. It’s also one of the best signals for you to know whether your content is actually helping.

Where to find average percentage viewed in YouTube Studio

• All videos: Studio → Analytics → Engagement tab → Average Percentage Viewed
• Single video: Studio → Content → Click video → Engagement tab → Audience Retention

How to improve average percentage viewed on YouTube

• Have a quick, clear, and explicit introduction using the Video 6 Framework
• Use pattern interrupts every 5-20 seconds (camera switch, graphic, on-screen text)
• Outline each video for a natural flow, not just a series of disconnected facts

What average percentage viewed helps your team decide on YouTube

Are we actually helping people stay engaged with our content, or just grabbing attention and losing them?

APV shows whether your content teaches effectively. It highlights whether your messaging and delivery hold up once someone starts watching.

It also reveals weak spots in your format. If viewers are consistently dropping off at the same moment, it's time to revisit your structure or pacing.

Use APV to refine the rhythm and clarity of your videos. The more your audience stays, the more impact your content has.

3. Subscribers Gained: Are You Building Loyalty?

Why subscribers gained matters on YouTube

Subscribers are a signal of trust. When someone subscribes after watching, it means your video helped them, and it convinced them you’re worth hearing from again.

Tracking subscribers gained per video helps you learn which topics, tones, or styles lead to long-term relationships.

Where to find subscribers gained in YouTube Studio

• All videos: Studio → Analytics → Audience tab → Subscribers
• Single video: Studio → Content → Click video → Analytics → Subscribers

How to improve subscribers gained on YouTube

• Ask for the subscribe after your most valuable insight rather than the very end of the video
• Tie your CTA to value: “Subscribe for weekly B2B marketing tips like this”
• Use end screens and pinned comments with subscribe prompts
• Connect your channel’s value to your audience’s interest

What subscribers gained helps your team decide on YouTube

Are we creating content worth coming back for? Are we giving people a reason to invest in us long-term?

Subscribers gained is your lead indicator of future attention and authority. It shows that your content is solving real problems and providing enough value that people want more.

It also gives you feedback on positioning. When a video consistently gains new subscribers, that means the topic, tone, and delivery are resonating with the right audience. Review this data across your top-performing content to identify patterns. Which topics or styles lead to the biggest growth? Which videos prompt the strongest reactions?

Over time, subscribers gained becomes a reliable measure of growing trust and content performance.

Here’s an example from an IMPACT client: One small marketing team with a new YouTube channel recently published a product-focused video. It wasn’t flashy. But it was useful. That video brought in a decent amount of views in just a few days, but most impressive, it added 12 new subscribers to their just-launched channel. This gave them a signal for what type of content they need to keep creating.

So What Should You Do Next?

Take what you’ve just learned about these three metrics (Click-Through Rate, Average Percentage Viewed, and Subscribers Gained) and apply them to your overall channel performance. Head into the Analytics tab of YouTube Studio and check your channel averages across these categories. This gives you a baseline to understand how your channel is performing as a whole.

Then dig into your five most important videos. The ones tied to core buyer questions, sales conversations, or key products. Don’t just look at total views. Focus on how these videos perform in each metric. Look for patterns. Are certain topics getting more engagement? Do some videos retain viewers longer? Are there specific CTAs that lead to more subscribers? Where are you winning? Where are you falling short?

Next, choose just one metric to focus on. Don’t try to fix everything at once. If your thumbnails aren’t earning clicks, work on those. If your videos are losing people in the first 30 seconds, revisit your openings. If your content isn’t turning viewers into subscribers, tighten your calls to action.

Once you make improvements in that first metric, move to your next of the three and keep improving.

Turn YouTube Into a Growth Channel for Your Business

A lot of business owners think video success comes from flashy production or expensive gear. But what actually moves the needle is clarity. Relevance. Consistency. And that’s exactly what this simple, focused approach to analytics helps you build.

Now you’ve got a clear starting point. A scorecard that cuts through the noise. Use it to help your team make smarter decisions, create better content, and start seeing traction on YouTube.

If you want to turn YouTube into a real growth channel for your business, the Endless Customers System™ shows you how to do it step by step.

Talk to us today about how you can use it to change the course of your video strategy, and your business, for a strong and successful future.