YouTube channel audit: the checklist for reviewing your own channel
With this checklist you go through your channel the way I do in an audit. Set aside an hour, open YouTube Studio and work through the points in order. For each point, note whether it is done, could be improved or is open. At the end you have your own action list.
Channel level
- Channel name: Is it short, easy to spell and does it say what the channel is about?
- Channel description: Do the first two sentences say who the channel is for and what it delivers? Does it contain the most important search terms?
- Banner: Is it legible on a phone and does it say when new videos come out?
- Channel trailer: Is there one for new visitors, under a minute?
- Links: Do website, contact and other profiles lead to the right place?
- Playlists: Are the videos sorted by topic, and are the playlists named the way people search?
- Channel home page: Does a new visitor immediately see the best video and the most important playlists?
Video level (the ten most important videos)
- Title: search term first, under 60 characters, clear promise?
- Description: first two lines explain the video, then chapters, links and contact?
- Chapters: Does every long video have timestamps? They also appear in Google search.
- Tags: Do they contain the main topic and spelling variants? They do not do more than that.
- End screen: Does every video point to a suitable next video or playlist at the end?
- Cards: Are there pointers to related videos at suitable moments?
- Subtitles: Are they present and corrected? Automatic subtitles often get technical terms wrong.
How titles and thumbnails are built in detail is covered in the guide on YouTube titles and thumbnails.
Thumbnails
- Legibility: still understandable at phone size?
- Recognisability: can you tell by colour, font or layout that the videos belong to the same channel?
- Complement: does the thumbnail say something different from the title?
- Comparison: put your thumbnail next to those of three competitors. Does yours stand out or disappear?
Statistics of the last 90 days
- Traffic sources: Do views come from search, recommendations, the home feed or external sites? Search means lasting reach, recommendations mean dependence on the algorithm.
- Click-through rate: Which videos are well below the channel average? Those are the candidates for new titles and thumbnails.
- Audience retention: Where in the videos do people leave? A drop in the first 30 seconds means the intro is too long.
- Carrying videos: Which three videos bring the most views? Are there follow-ups or related topics?
- Subscribers per video: Which videos bring subscribers, which only views? That shows which topics your audience really wants.
Publishing rhythm
- Consistency: Is there a fixed rhythm, or gaps of several weeks?
- Topic plan: Are the next ten video topics decided, and is each of them actually searched for?
And then?
Sort your open points by two questions: How much effort does it take, and how much does it bring? New titles and thumbnails for the videos with a poor click-through rate are almost always the best start. If you would rather have the channel reviewed from the outside, YouTube channel audit explains how I go about it.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I review my channel?
Once a quarter is enough for most channels. The statistics of the last 90 days are then meaningful, and you can see whether the actions from the last round have worked.
Which number is the most important in the audit?
No single one. What is meaningful is the combination of click-through rate and audience retention: the click-through rate shows whether title and thumbnail work, audience retention shows whether the video keeps its promise.
Do I need special tools for the audit?
No. Everything you need is in YouTube Studio. External tools help with keyword research but are not required for the review.
Let's talk about your channel
A free, no-obligation first conversation by video call, phone or on site in the region of Chemnitz, Dresden and Mittelsachsen. You can reach me through the contact form, by email at mail@kevindigital.net or by WhatsApp.
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