How to analyze retention and drop-off points

Retention shows how the audience changes as a video progresses. Use it to identify moments that lose attention, but avoid drawing conclusions from very small samples.

Open Insights, select a video and the desired period, then open the retention view.

Read the horizontal axis as video time and the vertical axis as the share of the audience that remains. A gradual decline is common. A sharp fall can indicate a slow introduction, confusing transition, technical issue, or mismatch between the promise and the content. A replay peak can signal a valuable or difficult passage.

Compare the curve with the actual video at the same timestamps. Also check traffic source and device mix before changing the edit.

Prioritize a few high-impact hypotheses, revise one element, and compare a similar period after publishing. Keep the original context recorded so seasonality or campaign changes are not mistaken for an editing result.

For audience context, see device, browser, and location analysis.

Keep learning

Continue this task with the next guides:

• How to export Insights reports to CSV
• How to understand your audience in Insights