Sign in to YouTube Studio and navigate to Analytics. 2. Click on the Reach tab and scroll to the Traffic sources card. 3. Review the top sources: YouTube search, Suggested videos, Browse features, External, and Direct. 4. Hover over bars for exact view and impression numbers. 5. Use the date range selector to analyze trends over time. 6. For individual videos, go to Content, select a video, and check its Traffic sources. If Suggested videos perform well, improve audience retention; if YouTube search leads, optimize titles, descriptions, and tags with relevant keywords—this reveals where viewers come from and where to focus promotion efforts.

Finding your top traffic sources on YouTube is key to understanding how viewers discover your videos and where to focus your promotion efforts. Here’s how to do it using YouTube Analytics (available on desktop):

1. Go to YouTube Studio

Sign in to your YouTube account and click on your profile picture in the top-right corner. Select YouTube Studio from the dropdown menu.

2. Navigate to the Analytics Section

In the left-hand menu, click on Analytics. This opens up your channel’s performance dashboard with several tabs: Overview, Content, Audience, and Research.

3. Check the “Reach” Tab

Click on Reach at the top of the Analytics page. This section shows how people are finding your videos.

Scroll down to the Traffic sources card. Here, you’ll see a breakdown of where your impressions (opportunities to be seen) and views are coming from.

4. Understand the Top Traffic Sources

YouTube categorizes traffic into several key sources. The main ones include:

• YouTube search – People found your video by searching on YouTube.
• Suggested videos – Your video appeared in the “Up next” sidebar or recommendation feed.
• Browse features – Viewers found your video through YouTube’s home page, channel pages, or subscriptions.
• External – Traffic from outside YouTube (e.g., social media, websites, or email links).
• Direct – When someone types your video URL directly or clicks a saved bookmark.

? Tip: Hover over each bar in the graph to see exact view and impression numbers for each source.

5. Analyze Performance Over Time

Use the date range selector in the top-right corner to compare traffic sources over different periods (last 28 days, last 90 days, etc.). This helps identify trends—like whether a recent video gained traction from search or went viral in suggestions.

6. Drill Down into Specific Videos (Optional)

To see traffic sources for individual videos:

• Go to Content in the left menu.
• Click on a specific video.
• Then go to Analytics for that video and check the Traffic sources section.

This helps you learn what worked for high-performing videos—maybe one got most views from search, while another blew up in recommendations.

Pro tip: If you see strong performance from “Suggested videos,” focus on improving audience retention—YouTube’s algorithm promotes videos that keep people watching. If “YouTube search” is a top source, refine your titles, descriptions, and tags with relevant keywords.

Basically, just head to YouTube Studio > Analytics > Reach > Traffic sources, and you’ll quickly see where your viewers are coming from—and where to double down.

The above is the detailed content of How to find your top traffic sources on YouTube. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!