YouTube average view duration: Your guide
What is a good average view duration on YouTube, how do you figure it out, and how do you improve it?
Today, we’ll cover:
- What is YouTube average view duration?
- How to calculate YouTube average view duration
- How to find YouTube average view duration
- What is a “good” YouTube average view duration?
- What else affects YouTube average view duration?
- How to improve your average view duration on YouTube: 8 top tips
What is YouTube average view duration?
YouTube average view duration, also known as AVD, is a metric that shows how long people spend watching your videos. Each piece of content has its own AVD, as does your overall channel.
YouTube’s algorithm favors content with a higher AVD, as it’s already “proven” how engaging it is. High-AVD videos offer real value to viewers, as opposed to clickbait or low-quality content that doesn’t hit the spot.
How to calculate YouTube average view duration
YouTube AVD is broken down using the below formula:
YouTube AVD = Total watch time / Total number of views
Let’s say you uploaded a 12-minute video, and it’s been viewed 100 times. 50 people watched the entire thing, while 50 others stopped watching at the halfway point.
The total watch time would be 900 minutes: 50 people watched for 12 minutes (50 x 12 = 600), and another 50 watched for 6 minutes (50 x 6 = 300). Divide that by the total number of views (100), and you’ll find the AVD: 9 minutes.
900 / 100 = 9 minutes.
9 minutes of a 12-minute video — that’s a 75% AVD. Not bad at all.
How to find YouTube average view duration
The above involved a whole bunch of number-crunching. You don’t need to do that manually, though, as YouTube works out the AVD for each video.
Here’s how to find AVD directly in your YouTube account:
- Head to YouTube and log in to your account. Open YouTube Studio and click “Analytics.”
- To access your entire channel’s AVD, select “Advanced Mode.” You can then filter AVD by selecting “Average view duration” in the “Metrics” drop-down.
- To access a specific video’s AVD, select the video from your Analytics page. Once you’re there, scroll down. You should see your video’s AVD in minutes and percent, paired with a graph showing where retention peaked and dipped.
What is a “good” YouTube average view duration?
Anything above 50% AVD is broadly seen as positive. You know how it goes — clicks are gold dust. Someone might hop into your content based on the thumbnail, title, or topic, only to realize it’s not what they expected. If that’s the case, they can bounce out as quickly as they came in.
A 50% AVD on YouTube suggests an even spread of people staying and leaving. Anything higher than 50% is awesome, while lower figures suggest something’s not quite resonating with viewers.
If your AVD’s lower than 50%, it might be worth looking at the graph we mentioned earlier and finding out where viewers drop off. From there, you can hopefully iron out any issues.
The above only applies to long-form YouTube videos. If you deal in YouTube Shorts, you should expect the AVD to be higher than 50%, as the content is much shorter.
What else affects YouTube average view duration?
As we’ve touched on, YouTube AVD is directly affected by how long viewers watch for. But more often than not, it depends on the type of viewers you’re attracting.
Existing subscribers
Existing subscribers and returning viewers will be more familiar with your content, and actively want to watch it. For them, it probably makes sense to sit through your latest video, whether it be 15 minutes or 2 hours.
Non-subscribers
On the other hand, non-subscribers may have never seen your content before. If it’s not what they expected, or if it’s just not to their taste, they’re more likely to duck out earlier.
You can use YouTube Studio’s “Audience” metric to find the split between new and returning viewers. You can apply this to the AVD breakdown, helping you better understand the divide in your audience.
How to improve your average view duration on YouTube: 8 top tips
Now that you know what YouTube AVD is, how it works, and what a “good” score looks like, let’s wrap up. Here are 8 top tips for improving your AVD.
1. Use the AVD graph from YouTube Analytics
YouTube Analytics’ AVD graphs are unbelievably handy. Open up the analytics for a specific video, and you can see exactly where viewers drop off, and to which degree. If there’s a sharp dive, that’s probably an issue.
Maybe it’s something to do with the graphics, the text, the way something’s worded — it could be any of these things, plus a whole host of other factors. Identify the drop-off point, assess why it happened, and explore different approaches with new videos to avoid a similar drop.
2. Hook viewers at the start of your video
The start of your video is the thing that’ll keep folks there until the end. Begin with a hook, or tease something amazing happening later on in the video. Show them why they should keep watching!
MrBeast, the world’s most-subscribed YouTuber, is excellent at this. He’ll open with a car racing a cheetah, or maybe an establishing shot outside the Giza Pyramids — the larger-than-life stuff he’s famous for. Viewers immediately see that the thumbnail and description aren’t clickbait, and keep watching to see how it all plays out.
We’re guessing you don’t have MrBeast-level production. That’s fine — neither do we. But once you hook viewers at the start of your video, you’ll need to deliver on that promise. Whether you’re racing a cheetah or just cooking a succulent Chinese meal, they deserve to get what they came for.
3. …and give them a reason to stay until the end
Try different hooks, stings, and storytelling devices to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. This could be anything from competitions and giveaways to sprinkling your video with little-known facts and knowledge nuggets.
4. Consider cuts and dynamic edits more than usual
Even if a video’s just a few minutes long, it’s tough to make one continuous shot feel exciting. Try out different camera shots and angles, break up the flow with B-roll, or experiment with graphics and other cutaways.
5. Don’t unnecessarily pad out your content
Leaving unnecessary fluff and filler can work for massive YouTubers, but in most other cases, it gives viewers a reason to click away. Sometimes, AVD suffers because videos are longer than they need to be. It can feel impossible, but be brutal — delete anything that doesn’t need to stay.
6. Ensure that everything around the video is correct
The information around your video informs the YouTube algorithm, helping it decide how to present your content.
This includes factors like:
- Thumbnails
- Titles
- Descriptions
- Keywords
- Hashtags
- Intros
If what you include is inaccurate, it could negatively impact your ranking.
7. Build structured, logical playlists and end screens
Clustered playlists based on related topics help keep viewers “in the zone” for longer, potentially boosting AVD across multiple videos. If you have content that could make sense as a playlist, it’s time to start building.
You could also consider end screens. Use those shiny, super-relevant thumbnails we just mentioned to populate your end screens with links to related videos and playlists. Wrapping up your videos with these structured, visually appealing assets is a neat way to increase AVD and nudge viewers to related content.
8. Just create great content
At the end of the day, people just love good content — maybe that sounds a little obvious, but it’s true. Fine-tuning your YouTube average view duration strategy and tinkering with metadata is a solid start, but it needs room to grow.
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