YouTube Analytics API

Retrieve performance data for your YouTube channel and individual videos: views, watch time, traffic sources, audience demographics, and revenue metrics.

Authentication

Requires OAuth 2.0 with https://www.googleapis.com/auth/yt-analytics.readonly scope. Revenue/ad data requires https://www.googleapis.com/auth/yt-analytics-monetary.readonly.

Core Operations

Channel-level metrics (daily)

GET https://youtubeanalytics.googleapis.com/v2/reports
  ?ids=channel==MINE
  &startDate=2026-03-01
  &endDate=2026-03-30
  &metrics=views,estimatedMinutesWatched,averageViewDuration,subscribersGained,subscribersLost,likes,comments,shares
  &dimensions=day
  &sort=day
Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}

Per-video metrics

GET https://youtubeanalytics.googleapis.com/v2/reports
  ?ids=channel==MINE
  &startDate=2026-01-01
  &endDate=2026-03-30
  &metrics=views,estimatedMinutesWatched,averageViewDuration,averageViewPercentage,subscribersGained,likes,comments,shares,annotationClickThroughRate
  &dimensions=video
  &sort=-views
  &maxResults=50
  &filters=video=={VIDEO_ID}
Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}

Traffic sources (where viewers find your videos)

GET https://youtubeanalytics.googleapis.com/v2/reports
  ?ids=channel==MINE
  &startDate=2026-03-01
  &endDate=2026-03-30
  &metrics=views,estimatedMinutesWatched
  &dimensions=insightTrafficSourceType
  &sort=-views
Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}

Traffic source types include: YT_SEARCH, SUGGESTED, BROWSE, EXT_URL, NOTIFICATION, PLAYLIST, END_SCREEN, ANNOTATION, CAMPAIGN_CARD, NO_LINK_EMBEDDED, NO_LINK_OTHER.

Search terms driving traffic

GET https://youtubeanalytics.googleapis.com/v2/reports
  ?ids=channel==MINE
  &startDate=2026-03-01
  &endDate=2026-03-30
  &metrics=views,estimatedMinutesWatched
  &dimensions=insightTrafficSourceDetail
  &filters=insightTrafficSourceType==YT_SEARCH
  &sort=-views
  &maxResults=100
Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}

Returns the actual search queries viewers used to find your videos. Essential for YouTube SEO keyword discovery.

Audience demographics

GET https://youtubeanalytics.googleapis.com/v2/reports
  ?ids=channel==MINE
  &startDate=2026-03-01
  &endDate=2026-03-30
  &metrics=viewerPercentage
  &dimensions=ageGroup,gender
Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}

Audience retention for a specific video

GET https://youtubeanalytics.googleapis.com/v2/reports
  ?ids=channel==MINE
  &startDate=2026-01-01
  &endDate=2026-03-30
  &metrics=audienceWatchRatio
  &dimensions=elapsedVideoTimeRatio
  &filters=video=={VIDEO_ID}
Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}

Returns retention curve: what percentage of viewers are still watching at each point in the video. Drops indicate weak sections.

YouTube Reporting API (Bulk Data)

For large-scale analysis, use the Reporting API to get daily bulk CSV reports:

Create a reporting job

POST https://youtubereporting.googleapis.com/v1/jobs
Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "reportTypeId": "channel_basic_a2",
  "name": "Channel daily metrics"
}

List available reports

GET https://youtubereporting.googleapis.com/v1/jobs/{JOB_ID}/reports
Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}

Download a report

GET https://youtubereporting.googleapis.com/v1/media/{REPORT_URL}
Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}

Reports are generated daily and available for 60 days.

Key Metrics for SEO Plays

| Metric | What it tells you | |--------|------------------| | views | Total video views | | estimatedMinutesWatched | Total watch time (YouTube's #1 ranking factor) | | averageViewDuration | How long viewers stay (quality signal) | | averageViewPercentage | Retention rate (higher = better recommendations) | | subscribersGained | New subs driven by this video | | annotationClickThroughRate | End screen / card CTR | | shares | Social sharing (virality signal) |

Error Handling

• 401 Unauthorized: Refresh OAuth token.
• 403 Forbidden: Check scope. Monetary metrics require the monetary scope.
• 400 badRequest: Validate date format (YYYY-MM-DD) and metric/dimension compatibility. Not all metric+dimension combinations are valid.
• 429 rateLimitExceeded: Retry with exponential backoff.

Pricing

• Free (OAuth-based, no separate billing)
• Google Cloud project required
• Docs: https://developers.google.com/youtube/analytics

Alternatives

• vidIQ: Channel analytics dashboard + keyword tracking ($5.98-$17.50/mo)
• TubeBuddy: Video performance tracking + A/B testing ($2.25-$14.50/mo)
• Social Blade: Public channel statistics and growth tracking (free tier available)
• Tubular Labs: Enterprise cross-platform video analytics
• Phyllo API: Unified creator analytics across platforms