How to read YouTube audience retention
The retention graph shows what share of viewers are still watching at each moment of a video. It tells you where people left. To find out why, you have to watch that part of the video.
Where to find it
In YouTube Studio, open Content, pick a video, and open Analytics. The retention graph appears on the Overview and Engagement tabs. It covers one video at a time.
A new upload usually needs one to two days before the graph appears. YouTube can also withhold it for a video with very little viewing data. If Studio shows no graph, no other tool can show one either, because they all read the same YouTube data.
Absolute and relative retention
Absolute retention is the default line. At each moment it shows the percentage of views still watching. It can go above 100% where viewers rewind and watch a section again.
Relative retention compares your curve with every YouTube video of a similar length. The midpoint means typical. Long videos often have low absolute retention and still rank above typical, so check both before deciding a video held attention badly.
Four shapes and what to check
YouTube describes the curve in terms of four shapes. Each one is a prompt to go and watch that part of the video.
- Flat
- Viewers who reached this part mostly stayed. Note what is on screen. It is often a demonstration, a result, or a story people want to see finish.
- Gradual slope
- Every video loses viewers over time, so a steady slope is normal. Compare how steep it is with the rest of the same video.
- Dip
- A sharp fall at one moment. Look for a change of subject, a repeated point, a sponsor read, or the answer viewers came for.
- Spike
- More views of this moment than the one before, because viewers skipped to it or rewound it. It can be the best part, or a part that was hard to follow.
A ten-minute review
You don't need to explain every wiggle. Small bumps are noise, especially on a video with few views. Pick the biggest changes and work through them.
Pick two moments
Choose the steepest dip and the flattest stretch. Write down the start and end time of each.
Watch from 15 seconds before
Play through each change with the sound on. Note what happens on screen and in the audio at the timestamp.
Write two explanations
A dip right after an answer may mean viewers got what they came for. A dip at a topic change may mean the new topic didn't interest them. Keep both until the footage rules one out.
Change one thing next time
Apply one edit to your next similar video, such as showing the result earlier. Then compare the curves at the same point.
Example: a dip after the answer
In this made-up five-minute tutorial, the fix appears at 2:20 and a sharp dip starts at 2:35. Most of those viewers probably left satisfied. Delaying the fix to hold them longer would make the video worse for everyone who stays.
A better edit keeps the fix where it is and says what the rest of the video adds, such as a second method or a common mistake. If nothing after the fix is worth their time, a shorter video is the right call.
- 2:20 The fix is shown
- 2:35 Sharp dip starts
Doing this in VidCC
VidCC draws the same YouTube curve beside the playable video, and each marker on it jumps the video to that moment. You can switch to Compared to others for relative retention, or to Subs & non-subs to see whether new viewers leave earlier than subscribers.
The analysis marks drops as high, medium, or low priority. Each one comes with a time range, what happens in the video there, a possible reason viewers left, and a specific edit. It also flags audio problems and lists the moments that held viewers. If you disagree with a suggestion, ask Viddy for another option. You decide what to change.