YouTube metrics are vital for creators, and Shorts have historically been a shrouded part of YouTube analytics. Today, YouTube announced that it would be adjusting how YouTube Shorts are counted, switching from a timed approach to a more finite metric.
Shorts have become integral to how YouTube is presented on mobile and even on TV platforms. YouTube Shorts started as an answer to TikTok and other social media platforms but has since evolved into a format some creators have built entire channels around, racking up just as many views as long-form content.
In the past, YouTube has always counted Shorts by how long a user has watched. If a viewer watched a certain number of seconds of a clip, YouTube would present that as a view. This can, of course, be a problematic way of counting views in various circumstances.
Today, Google announced that YouTube would count Shorts views based on when a clip starts playing or is repeated. That metric doesn’t carry a minimum watch time requirement, either. So, for instance, if a user hits play and one second later swipes up on their phone, that creator still sees the interaction as a view. It also sounds like repeated views mean more counted views for creators.
YouTube notes that it will still count view time and label that under “engaged views” in the advanced creator settings. This way, users can still see which Shorts are seeing further engagement. This comes as YouTube recently allowed creators to upload Shorts up to 3 minutes long.
The new metric will begin taking effect on March 31, 2025. From then on, creators should see the new analytics system applied to YouTube Shorts views.
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