YouTube has announced two significant updates for creators aimed at providing more analytics insights and opportunities to drive traffic outside of YouTube. 

World’s second most popular social media platform – YouTube, has recently introduced a new performance report in Creator Studio that gives a detailed breakdown of views by video format. In addition, YouTube is expanding the number of external links creators can add to their channel profiles.

In the newly-launched detailed analytics report, you can view the total new, returning, and subscribed viewers grouped by video format under Analytics>Content>All. This includes formats like Shorts, Videos, & Live. Now creators can clearly see how each type of content is performing when it comes to engaging both new and existing audiences. 

The main driver here is YouTube Shorts, which are short-form video clips of up to 60 seconds in length. Over 2 billion YouTube users now watch Shorts every month, making it the fastest-growing YouTube format. This is why YouTube encourages creators to upload short clips, which will also increase the awareness of their channel. 

The second crucial update enables creators to add up to 14 external links to their YouTube channel profile. Previously only 3 links were allowed. This new YouTube’s increased external links update will enable content creators to drive more traffic to their websites, social profiles, and product pages from their channels.

Channel owners can also customize the title of each link. The link title and relevant platform icon will appear when viewers click the links. With these extra links, creators can leverage their YouTube presence to build a larger web footprint and strengthen connections with audiences on other platforms.

Complementing the external linking, YouTube is rolling out extra channel tabs including “Courses” for creators offering online courses, and “Releases” giving musicians a space to highlight their newest tracks and albums. The goal is to provide content creators with more monetization opportunities and traffic flow options beyond just YouTube ad revenue.

With these updates, creators will have more information to formulate their content strategies. 

Both updates are geared towards giving creators more insight into performance plus tools to build a following on YouTube that extends beyond the platform. The detailed format-specific analytics can guide decisions on which types of videos to produce more of, especially if you’re targeting country-specific views, such as YouTube views from the UK. On the other hand, extra link feature will allow the channel owner to drive more viewers from YouTube to other monetization sources.

The extended analytics overview report is rolling out on YouTube Studio this week. At the same time, the expanded external linking option is already live and visible on channels. Creators looking to grow their channels should take advantage of these new features to optimize their content approach and maximize revenue opportunities.