YouTube is a massive platform that’s part search engine, part social media, and 100% marketing goldmine. But, if you’re not sure about bringing your brand to the platform, or if you’re thinking about changing the way you already use it, these YouTube stats will give you the data you need to make a decision.
Ready to jump in? Here are the best YouTube marketing companies to give you an edge on the platform.
YouTube Stats for 2020
YouTube stats are important because they can help power your YouTube marketing strategy. Here, you’ll find all the YouTube stats you need to build a thorough understanding of the platform.
General YouTube Stats
- YouTube gets more than 2 billion logins monthly.
- 60% of people prefer YouTube to television.
- YouTube is available in 80 different languages and in 100+ countries.
- People watch more than 46,000 years’ worth of content on YouTube every year.
- YouTube channels with over a million subscribers increase by 65% YoY.
- 70% of shoppers would be willing to watch a product video on YouTube to learn about a product.
YouTube User Statistics
YouTube users come in all ages, genders, and economic statuses. More and more, YouTube is the go-to platform for consumers who are trying to figure out how to do something or what to buy. And, yes, some YouTube users just want to be entertained.
- YouTube has roughly 2 billion logged-in monthly subscribers and shows no signs of slowing down.
- YouTube is the second largest search engine and the second most visited site after Google.
- In an average month, 80% of 18–49-year-olds watch YouTube.
- 90% of 18–24-year-olds in the United States watch YouTube in an average month.
- YouTube reaches more 18–49-year-olds than broadcast or cable television networks on mobile alone.
- 73% of adults in the U.S. watch YouTube (4% more than Facebook and almost twice as much as Instagram).
- 81% of 15–25-year-olds in the U.S. watch YouTube.
- Nearly 15% of YouTube’s traffic comes from the U.S.
- Only 33% of popular YouTube videos are in English.
- More than half of U.S. internet users aged 75+ watch YouTube.
- More than 50% of YouTube watchers identify as women.
- 70% of Millennials who use YouTube have watched a video on the platform to learn how to do something new or learn about something they’re interested in.
- The number of YouTubers earning six features per year has grown by more than 40% since 2017.
YouTube Usage Statistics
YouTube has a seemingly endless supply of videos covering just about any topic you can imagine. It’s no surprise that YouTube is the second most accessed site on the internet (after Google).
Each visit to YouTube involves an average of 6.5 pageviews, meaning that YouTube’s viewers aren’t just aimlessly watching whatever the algorithm spits out for them. Instead, they’re actively seeking out the content they want.
- Users upload about 500 hours of video to YouTube every minute.
- People watch more than 1 billion hours of YouTube daily, more than Netflix and Facebook video combined.
- 70% of YouTube video views happen on mobile devices.
- The average mobile viewer watches more than 40 minutes of video per session.
- On an average day, there are 1 billion mobile video views.
- 81% of parents use YouTube to find content for their children.
- Visitors spend an average of 11m 24s on YouTube per day.
- Each visit to YouTube involves an average of 6.5 pageviews.
- Just 10% of the most popular YouTube videos get nearly 80% of the views.
- YouTube viewers watching YouTube on connected screens have increased by 39%.
- YouTube is the second-largest search engine after Google.
- Nearly 70% of YouTube viewers watch videos to help them make purchase decisions.
- Twice as many small and medium-sized business are advertising on YouTube than in 2016.
- The top two reasons viewers watch YouTube are “relaxing” and “feeling entertained.”
- Product reviews, how-tos, and vlogs are among the top three popular types of videos on the platform.
YouTube Mobile Statistics
Nearly everybody has a smartphone these days, and more and more YouTube viewers are watching the platform from their mobile devices. In fact, mobile YouTube ads are 84% more likely than television ads to hold the attention of viewers.
- YouTube reaches more 18–49-year-olds during prime time than any cable network in an average week, on mobile devices alone.
- 75% of adults watch YouTube on their mobile devices.
- More than 70% of YouTube watch time happens on mobile devices.
- YouTube mobile ads are 84% more likely than television ads to hold viewers’ attention.
YouTube Marketing Statistics
Even though YouTube is a great way to reach consumers who want to learn more about and even buy products, only 9% of small businesses in the U.S. are on the platform. If you’re a small business that sells a common product and thinks that YouTube ads are out of your reach, consider joining the platform to post product information, how-to, and explainer videos.
Need help taking advantage of everything YouTube has to offer your business? Here’s a list of the best YouTube marketing companies to get you going.
- YouTube accounts for two-thirds of the premium online video watched across devices among Millennials.
- 9% of small businesses in the U.S. use YouTube.
- The number of channels earning six figures per year on the platform has increased by 40% YoY.
- Viewers who watched at least 30 seconds of TrueView ads were 23 times more likely to visit or subscribe to a brand channel, share the brand video, or watch more videos from the brand.
- Viewers exposed to TrueView ads who don’t watch them to completion are still 10 times more likely to visit or subscribe to a brand channel, share the brand video, or watch more videos from the brand.
- Brands using TrueView ads see views of their existing content increase by up to 500% after posting new videos.
- Brands have an average of 2.4 channels.
- Searches for how-to videos on YouTube grow by 70% YoY. To make sure your videos don’t get lost on the platform, be sure to optimize your YouTube content.
- 70% more users followed and engaged with influencer content between 2017 and 2018. During this time, there was a 2X increase in watch time for “which product to buy” videos.
- YouTube is the second most important social media channel for influencer marketing.
- More than 90% of shoppers have found a brand or product through YouTube.
- Relatability is 1.6X more important than production quality in YouTube videos.
YouTube Stats for B2B Marketers
Many B2B marketers are already hip to the value YouTube provides. However, it seems that not many understand that YouTube can be used to distribute paid content.
- 71% of B2B marketers use video.
- 53% of B2B marketers use YouTube for organic content marketing.
- 11% of B2B marketers use YouTube to distribute paid content.
YouTube Advertising Statistics
YouTube does big advertising business. That’s good for them, but also good for the advertisers since YouTube’s ads markedly lift brand recall and increase purchase intent.
- YouTube will make 5.5 billion dollars in advertising revenue in 2020 in the U.S. alone.
- YouTube’s Google Preferred ads lift brand recall by 112% and increase purchase intent by 53%.
- YouTube is the third most popular platform among marketers (48% of marketers invest in the platform).
- 29% of marketers consider pre-roll skippable video ads the most effective ad format.
- 78.8% of marketers say YouTube is the most effective video marketing platform.
- YouTube accounts for 27% of digital video ad spend.
- 62% of marketers plan to increase their YouTube video ad spend.
- 70% of short ads on YouTube significantly increase brand awareness.
- 90% of ads on YouTube drive a lift in brand recall.
- 80% of viewers prefer TrueView ads to standard in-stream ads.
YouTube for Business Statistics
One of the most important takeaways from these YouTube stats for business users is that viewer interests are key to making a meaningful connection. You don’t need a famous actor to make your videos and video ads watchable. What you do need is to know your audience and what they like.
- Viewer’s interests are 3X more important than whether a video has a famous actor in it.
- Personal interests are 1.6X more important to viewers than production value.
- Watch time for “which product to buy” videos doubled between 2017 and 2018.
- 80% of people who watched a YouTube video related to a product they were interested in watched it at the beginning of the buying process.
YouTube’s History
YouTube’s only been around since 2005, but it’s changed the face of advertising, not to mention how we consume content.
- YouTube was launched on February 14, 2005, but the first video, Me at the zoo, wasn’t uploaded until April 25, 2005.
- The platform’s popularity exploded, drawing the attention of Google. Google purchased YouTube on November 13, 2006, for $1.65 billion.
- YouTube launched InVideo ads in December 2007.
- In 2012, YouTube streamed the United States presidential debates for the first time.
- The youngest famous YouTuber is Anastasia Radzinskaya, a 5-year old from Russia who made $18 million from June 1, 2018–June 1, 2019, and has more than 107 million subscribers across 7 channels.
- “Gangnam Style” broke the YouTube video view counter due to the video’s popularity in 2014.
- The first YouTube video to reach one million views was a 2005 Nike ad featuring football star, Ronaldinho.
- Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next” music video racked up 55.4 million views in a single, making it the YouTube video receiving the most views in a 24-hour period.
- The music video for the song “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi (featuring Daddy Yankee) has been the most liked video on YouTube for more than 900 days with 36.5 million likes.
- YouTube’s Rewind 2018 video is the most disliked video on the platform with 17.6 million dislikes.
Leverage YouTube for Marketing
As you can see from these YouTube stats, the video platform has a huge impact for both B2B and B2C businesses. As more and more consumers want to see video (particularly live video) from brands, you can bet your marketing dollar that YouTube is where it will all happen.
Considering running ads on YouTube? We recommend Google Preferred or TrueView ads to get the best return on ad spend.
