On the heels of the much improved analytics for Facebook advertising called Facebook Insights, YouTube has launched YouTube Analytics, replacing an Insights tool that allows users to view data through their channels. What improvements are to be expected from the new YouTube Analytics? Here's a peek:

New Look, More Efficiency

The new YouTube analytics page offers all the essential data in one screenshot. Previously featured in YouTube Insights, a summary of videos, views, demographics, and video popularity are still displayed, but with YouTube Analytics, the dashboard also displays overall channel performance, engagement, plus data about how viewers found your video. More detailed information is available if you click the report option.

Detailed Data & Information

Starting from the overview page, you have access to various reports from the left navigation. Over all, the reports provide better understanding of how the audience responds to your content. A data filter for content, location and dates allows you to get specific details depending on the chosen category. Charts are able to display daily, weekly and monthly data and allows for comparison of two metrics in a single chart. Additionally, you have the option to toggle from Line Chart view and Map view. Hovering over the map if it is available in your report, allows you to get more detailed information about the area.

Viewer Interest Percentages

YouTube sets the number of views at 300 for new videos and 600 for older ones for statistical significance. The Audience Retention report was formerly known as Hot Spots in YouTube Insights. The report indicates viewer interest on your video and how long before they decide to move on. It is based on absolute and relative retention with absolute retention showing up as a percentage from the start of the video. The graph will most likely fluctuate as viewers stop, fast forward or replay the video. If the viewer decides to replay your video, the graph goes up but if he decides to fast forward or stop playing it, the graph goes down. Your video's ability to retain viewers during playback as it compares with other videos of similar length is shown in the Relative Audience Retention report.  A high percentage means more people are viewing your videos over others at the same moment during playback. 

The information that can be gathered through this is at what point in your video your viewers get bored. This allows you to pinpoint the exact moments viewers lose interest as YouTube allows embedding of the video in the report. This means you have the necessary data to start improving your content on the moments when your audience starts to lose interest.

Monetary Estimates

The Estimated Earnings tab allows analysis for earnings based on YouTube presence. The Total Estimated Earnings report shows net earnings realized through Google advertisements. AFV Earnings display revenues through Adsense for Video while YouTube Earnings provides data for earnings made via Doubleclick advertising and other YouTube affiliates.

Marketers engaged in video advertising will be able to get better insights as to video performance and make improvements using the data made available by YouTube Analytics. Allowing for informed decisions to be made, the improved YouTube Analytics allows for optimization of video marketing for your target audience. YouTube's goal for launching YouTube Analytics is for video marketers to "earn more money" which, hopefully these improvements will help materialize.  

Learn more about the analytics features of Youtube by watching this video: Youtube Analytics Tutorial

In October of 2011, Google+, a 4 month old social networking platform from Google, had a reported 40 million users. Jump to January 2012 and Google+ now has over 90 million active users, with hopes to grow to 100 million by the end of February.

Although this is great news for Google, the question everyone is asking is how did the company more than double its number of users in so little time?

The only answer that analysts have for this immense growth in Google+ is of the heavy implementation of Google+ in all of Google’s activities. As Google has recently launched its "Search Plus Your World" feature, which adds personally-oriented search results based on your Google+ profile, its content, and your behaviors.

This has spawned a lot more traffic for Google+, as users (or members of one's circle) post anything from profile updates to photos and links (with the similar keyword references as your search query) will likely appear in the "personal" search engine results. This has led to a lot of mixed emotions amongst other popular social networking platforms and online business models.

More Promotional Push From Google

But the "Search Plus Your World" hasn’t been the only attempt from Google to rake in new users to its growing social networking site. Google has also made it mandatory for all new Google Gmail users to create a Google+ account to be able to complete the creation of a Gmail account. This has led to an immense amount of unhappy users who feel like they have been bullied by the search engine giant into creating a Google+ account.

In addition to online-based promotions and incentives, Google has also taken its marketing efforts to television audiences. During prime time TV, it is not uncommon to see television ads about Google that target both consumers and businesses. Such ads highlight the advantages of having "circles" in your social network, or for businesses, the opportunities to connect with consumers on a more social-friendly format.

With this much push from the search engine giant to get Google+ afloat, it makes sense how quickly Google+ gained over 90 million users. And at this rate it seems likely that Google+ will get the estimated 300-400 million users it yearns for by the end of the year.

But how many will truly be glued to Google+ like they are Facebook or Twitter? And although Google does say that 60% of Google+ users are engaged daily and 80% weekly. Google forgot to mention that it counts anyone who signs into their Google account which is tied to Gmail, Google+, YouTube and iGoogle (along with many others) as an active Google+ user.

It will be an interesting future for Google+, and here at Increase Your Rank, we'll keep you informed as Google continues on its path of extraordinary growth.