The Most Important YouTube Metric

If you were to ask most people what they considered the most important YouTube metric, they'd probably say "views" without much hesitation. On the surface that seems like the right answer, but if you were to ask the experts, they'd all say that engagement, or the amount of time people spend watching the video, is the most important.

That's because views can be deceptive. People can watch your video because it's funny or cool, yet not connect with your music or product. A viral video, for instance, does not mean that you have a YouTube audience. It only means that a number of people have found something about your video interesting, but they won't necessarily watch any of your videos again or subscribe to your channel.

So here's the balancing act - you want a video that's interesting enough that people will watch it and be exposed to your music, but you don't want a video that overpowers the music so much that it becomes secondary. Remember, videos with a single static picture or the song lyrics get millions of views, because in the end, it's the music that counts.

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