YouTube Creator Glossary

Plain-English definitions of the terms creators run into, each with a formula or example and a link to the tool that uses it.

CPM (Cost Per Mille): CPM is the amount advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions on YouTube, before YouTube takes its share.
RPM (Revenue Per Mille): RPM is how much a creator actually earns per 1,000 views across all revenue, after YouTube’s share.
Watch Time: Watch time is the total minutes viewers spend watching a channel’s videos.
AVD (Average View Duration): AVD is the average amount of time viewers watch a video before leaving.
CTR (Click-Through Rate): CTR is the percentage of people who click a video after seeing its thumbnail and title (impression).
Impressions: Impressions count how many times a video’s thumbnail was shown to viewers on YouTube.
YPP (YouTube Partner Program): YPP is the program that lets creators earn money from ads and other features on YouTube.
Monetization: Monetization is earning revenue from a YouTube channel, primarily through the Partner Program.
YouTube Shorts: Shorts are vertical videos up to 3 minutes designed for quick, mobile-first viewing.
Mid-Roll Ad: A mid-roll is an ad that plays partway through a video rather than at the start or end.
End Screen: An end screen is the interactive overlay in the last 5–20 seconds of a video.
Thumbnail: A thumbnail is the preview image that represents a video in feeds and search.
Tags: Tags are keywords added to a video to give YouTube context about its content.
Metadata: Metadata is the text data around a video: title, description, tags, and chapters.
Chapters: Chapters split a video into labeled sections using timestamps in the description.
Session Time: Session time is how long a viewer stays on YouTube overall after watching your video.
Audience Retention: Retention is the percentage of a video viewers watch, plotted across its length.
Hook: The hook is the first few seconds of a video that convince viewers to keep watching.
Super Chat: Super Chat lets viewers pay to highlight their message during a live stream.
@Handle: A handle is a channel’s unique @username, used in its URL and mentions.
Channel ID: The channel ID is a channel’s permanent identifier, a 24-character string starting with UC.
Engagement Rate: Engagement rate measures likes and comments relative to views.
Suggested Videos: Suggested videos are the recommendations shown beside or after a video.
Browse Features: Browse features are placements like the home feed and subscriptions tab.
Evergreen Content: Evergreen content stays relevant and keeps getting views long after publishing.

YouTube Creator Glossary

Plain-English definitions of the terms creators run into, each with a formula or example and a link to the tool that uses it.

CPM (Cost Per Mille): CPM is the amount advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions on YouTube, before YouTube takes its share.
RPM (Revenue Per Mille): RPM is how much a creator actually earns per 1,000 views across all revenue, after YouTube’s share.
Watch Time: Watch time is the total minutes viewers spend watching a channel’s videos.
AVD (Average View Duration): AVD is the average amount of time viewers watch a video before leaving.
CTR (Click-Through Rate): CTR is the percentage of people who click a video after seeing its thumbnail and title (impression).
Impressions: Impressions count how many times a video’s thumbnail was shown to viewers on YouTube.
YPP (YouTube Partner Program): YPP is the program that lets creators earn money from ads and other features on YouTube.
Monetization: Monetization is earning revenue from a YouTube channel, primarily through the Partner Program.
YouTube Shorts: Shorts are vertical videos up to 3 minutes designed for quick, mobile-first viewing.
Mid-Roll Ad: A mid-roll is an ad that plays partway through a video rather than at the start or end.
End Screen: An end screen is the interactive overlay in the last 5–20 seconds of a video.
Thumbnail: A thumbnail is the preview image that represents a video in feeds and search.
Tags: Tags are keywords added to a video to give YouTube context about its content.
Metadata: Metadata is the text data around a video: title, description, tags, and chapters.
Chapters: Chapters split a video into labeled sections using timestamps in the description.
Session Time: Session time is how long a viewer stays on YouTube overall after watching your video.
Audience Retention: Retention is the percentage of a video viewers watch, plotted across its length.
Hook: The hook is the first few seconds of a video that convince viewers to keep watching.
Super Chat: Super Chat lets viewers pay to highlight their message during a live stream.
@Handle: A handle is a channel’s unique @username, used in its URL and mentions.
Channel ID: The channel ID is a channel’s permanent identifier, a 24-character string starting with UC.
Engagement Rate: Engagement rate measures likes and comments relative to views.
Suggested Videos: Suggested videos are the recommendations shown beside or after a video.
Browse Features: Browse features are placements like the home feed and subscriptions tab.
Evergreen Content: Evergreen content stays relevant and keeps getting views long after publishing.