YouTube Creator Glossary

Analytics and growth

Audience retention: How much of a video viewers watch, shown second by second in the retention graph. YouTube Studio also compares it with your channel's typical retention. See CTR vs. watch time.
Average percentage viewed: Average view duration as a percentage of the video's length. Longer videos naturally have lower percentages.
Average view duration: Total watch time divided by the number of views: how long a typical view lasts.
Browse features: A traffic source covering the home page, Subscriptions feed and similar surfaces where viewers browse without searching.
Click-through rate (impressions CTR): The percentage of impressions on YouTube that turned into views. YouTube says half of all channels and videos fall between 2% and 10%. See our CTR guide.
Engaged views: For Shorts, a count of views that excludes very short or repeated plays; used in some revenue metrics.
Evergreen content: Videos that stay relevant for a long time (tutorials, explainers) and keep getting views from search months or years after upload.
Impressions: The number of times your thumbnail was shown to viewers on YouTube under YouTube's visibility rules. Impressions on external sites and end screens aren't counted.
Outlier video: A video that performed far above (or below) its channel's usual level. Studying outliers is useful when analyzing a niche.
Recommendation system ("the algorithm"): The systems that choose which videos to show each viewer on the home page, in suggestions and in Shorts. YouTube says it uses signals such as clicks, watch time, survey responses, likes, dislikes and shares.
Suggested videos: A traffic source for views coming from recommendations shown next to or after other videos ("Up next").
Traffic source: Where a view came from: search, browse features, suggested videos, external sites, notifications and more. Comparing metrics by traffic source avoids misleading conclusions.
Watch time: The total time viewers spent watching your videos. Public watch hours from long-form videos count toward Partner Program eligibility.

Thumbnails, titles and publishing

Chapters: Timestamped sections added in the description that break a video into labeled parts in the progress bar.
End screen: Clickable elements (videos, playlists, subscribe button) shown in the last 5–20 seconds of a video.
Packaging: Creator shorthand for the combination of topic, title and thumbnail — everything a viewer sees before clicking.
Premiere: A scheduled first showing of an uploaded video, with a live chat, before it becomes a regular video.
Test & Compare: YouTube Studio's built-in A/B test for up to three thumbnails and/or titles. It picks a winner by watch time share. See our A/B testing guide.
Thumbnail: The preview image for a video. YouTube recommends up to 3840×2160 (16:9), with a minimum width of 640 px. See the size guide.

Monetization

AdSense for YouTube: The Google account used to pay YouTube Partner Program earnings. The account holder must be 18 or older; minors can use a parent's or guardian's account.
Advertiser-friendly content guidelines: YouTube's rules about which content can earn full ad revenue. Videos that don't meet them may get limited or no ads.
CPM: Cost per mille: what advertisers pay for 1,000 ad impressions, before YouTube's share. See RPM vs. CPM.
Limited ads (yellow icon): A status for videos that some advertisers avoid. They can still earn, but usually much less.
Made for kids: A setting required for content directed at children. Personalized ads and some features are disabled on made-for-kids videos.
Mid-roll ads: Ads shown during a video. Available on videos that are 8 minutes or longer.
Monetized playback: A view in which at least one ad was shown. Used to calculate playback-based CPM.
Playback-based CPM: What advertisers pay per 1,000 monetized playbacks, before YouTube's share.
RPM: Revenue per mille: what you earn per 1,000 views after YouTube's share, counting all views and all YouTube revenue sources. Try the revenue calculator.
Revenue share: The split of ad revenue between YouTube and creators: 55% to the creator for ads on long-form videos, and 45% of the allocated pool for Shorts feed ads.
Shorts Creator Pool: The share of Shorts feed ad revenue allocated to creators, divided based on each channel's share of eligible Shorts views. From February 1, 2027, earning from it requires 10 million qualified Shorts views in the previous 90 days.
Super Chat, Super Stickers and Super Thanks: Ways for viewers to pay creators directly during live streams, premieres or on regular videos.
Channel memberships: Monthly paid subscriptions that give members perks such as badges, emojis or exclusive content.
YouTube Partner Program (YPP): The program that lets creators earn money on YouTube. Entry thresholds for ad revenue rise on February 1, 2027. See monetization requirements.
YouTube Premium revenue: Money from Premium subscribers, shared with creators based on how much Premium members watch their content.

Policies and account

Advanced features: Features such as Test & Compare, higher daily upload limits and clickable external links in descriptions, unlocked through video verification, ID verification or a good channel history. Custom thumbnails and videos longer than 15 minutes are "intermediate" features, unlocked with phone verification.
Community Guidelines strike: A penalty for content that breaks YouTube's rules. Three strikes within 90 days can lead to channel termination.
Content ID: YouTube's system that automatically matches uploads against copyrighted material and lets rights holders block, track or monetize matching videos.
Reused content: A monetization policy covering channels that mainly republish other people's content without significant original commentary, education or editing.
Inauthentic content: A monetization policy (formerly called "repetitious content") covering mass-produced or highly repetitive videos made with little variation.