Free tool from Channel Wise. No sign-up needed.
CTR or average view duration: which one moves views more?
Change click-through rate and average view duration across 1,000 simulated videos and watch total views respond. The answer depends on one assumption, how strongly watch time turns into reach. You can change that too.
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Which lever moves views more from here?
One dot per video
Baseline views (across) against views now (up), log scale. Green dots gained views, red dots lost them.
Illustrative model, not YouTube data. Check the result against your own YouTube Studio numbers before you change a title or thumbnail.
How the model works
Each video gets a random baseline number of impressions. Most are modest, and a few get most of the reach. Its length is 4 to 20 minutes, and its CTR and average view duration vary around the channel averages you set.
Views are impressions × CTR. Average view duration works through reach: impressions grow with watch time per impression (CTR × average view duration) compared with the baseline, raised to the sensitivity power. Each video's impressions stop at 20× its baseline, because a topic has a limited audience.
CTR therefore counts twice, once in clicks and once in the extra watch time that earns more impressions. Average view duration counts once, through impressions. Set sensitivity to 0 and average view duration stops affecting views.
Questions about this tool
Does CTR or average view duration move total views more?
It depends on algorithm sensitivity, which YouTube does not publish. At the default settings, a 10% lift in CTR adds more views than a 10% lift in average view duration. Change the sensitivity slider to see how far that result depends on the assumption.
Where do I find my CTR?
In YouTube Studio, as impressions click-through rate. It is the share of impressions that led to a click.
What is average view duration?
It is the average time a viewer spends watching a video. YouTube Studio also reports average percentage viewed, which shows the same idea as a share of the video's length.
Is this my channel's data?
No. The simulator uses 1,000 generated videos. To see your own numbers, connect your channel to Channel Wise.
Check the CTR and retention of your own videos
Channel Wise connects to your YouTube channel with read-only access and reads each video's click-through rate, retention and impressions. It points to the video that needs attention, suggests one change to try, and later shows whether the change helped. It is free during early access.