Understanding the difference between video views and completed views is important for content creators and marketers looking to analyze the performance of their video content. While the terms may seem straightforward, there are some key distinctions that impact how video engagement and viewership are measured.
Video Views
A video view refers to any time a video is opened and playback is initiated. This includes on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and more. As soon as the play button is clicked, it counts as a view. However, the viewer does not have to watch the full video for it to be counted as a view.
Video views provide a broad metric for the reach of a video. If your goal is to get a video in front of a wide audience, views can give you a sense of how many people you are exposing it to. High view counts signal that your thumbnail, title, description, and other metadata are effective at compelling clicks.
However, views have some limitations:
- Views do not account for how long each viewer actually watched. Someone could click away after a few seconds, and it would still be counted. This inflates the actual time spent watching your content.
- Views can be misleading if the metric includes paid promotion or advertising. Buying views or running video ads will increase counts without necessarily increasing meaningful engagement.
- View counts can be gamed through click fraud or bots that artificially boost numbers.
- Views only indicate interest in clicking, not watching the full video. Just because viewers initiated playback does not guarantee they consumed the content.
Due to these limitations, view counts should not be the only success metric for video. High numbers could stem from great marketing and distribution, or ineffective and inflated numbers. Views need additional context to determine actual performance.
Completed Views
A completed view refers to when a video is watched to a predefined completion point. Unlike views, completed views give insight into how many viewers actually consumed your content.
The completion threshold is set by the platform or video host. On YouTube, for example, a video is considered completed if the viewer watches 95% of the total length or watches for more than 30 seconds if the video is shorter than 30 minutes. Completion requirements help prevent brief views from being counted.
Completed views have several advantages compared to simple views:
- They indicate meaningful watch time, not just clicks.
- They show your content held viewer attention and was worth watching.
- Completion rates won’t be inflated by bots or other fake views.
- They better represent the actual audience size interested in your content.
However, there are some limitations to this metric as well:
- Completion thresholds may not capture partial engagement. A viewer who watched 75% of a video still clearly found value.
- Short videos have lower completion requirements, which may inflate rates.
- Technical issues could prevent completion even if the viewer was interested.
Overall, completed views provide a much more accurate picture of real viewership and should be analyzed alongside view counts. Let’s look at some key differences between the two metrics.
Key Differences
Here are some of the main differences between video views and completed views:
Metric | Video Views | Completed Views |
---|---|---|
Definition | Any playback initiated | Playback meets completion threshold |
Measures | Reach and interest | Meaningful consumption |
Vulnerable to | Click fraud, bots, inflated numbers | Technical issues, completion settings |
Better for | Top-of-funnel metrics | Bottom-of-funnel metrics |
As this table summarizes, views indicate interest in your content while completions show deeper engagement. Views can be inflated through poor practices but completions represent real audiences. For a full picture, both metrics provide value.
Other Key Differences
Here are some additional differences to be aware of:
- Correlation to Conversions – Completed views tend to correlate better to downstream conversions and sales. This makes sense given that true engagement leads to results.
- Higher Value Audiences – Completed views represent audiences willing to invest significant time with your brand. This signals higher intent and value.
- Platform Reporting – Completion metrics are not available on all platforms. Ensure your video host provides this data before relying on it.
- Benchmarking – Average completion rates vary widely by factors like video length, platform, and audience. Benchmark against comparable content.
When to Use Each Metric
Both video views and completed views can provide value depending on your goals and what you want to analyze. Here are some best practices on when to use each metric:
Use Video Views To:
- Measure reach and exposure – High view counts mean more eyeballs on your content.
- Evaluate thumbnails and titles – These drive initial clicks and interest.
- Assess distribution and posting strategy – When and where you post impacts views.
- Identify competitors and influencers – See who earns the most views in your niche.
- Set view count goals – Useful for top-of-funnel marketing objectives.
Use Completed Views To:
- Gauge meaningful watch time – Completions show real engagement.
- Calculate return on investment – Correlates to downstream results.
- Attribute conversions to videos – See which videos drive outcomes.
- Identify best performing content – Completion rates reveal your most engaging videos.
- Improve viewer retention – Optimize videos to increase completion rates.
Best Practices for Using Both Metrics
To get the clearest picture of video performance, follow these best practices for leveraging both views and completed views:
- Track both metrics – Comparing views to completions reveals meaningful engagement levels.
- Set benchmarks – Establish average rates to measure against for future videos.
- Break down by platform – Engagement varies across YouTube, Facebook, etc. so analyze separately.
- Evaluate over time – Look at trends rather than individual data points.
- Segment by audience – Account for differences across geographies, devices, referrers, etc.
- Avoid vanity metrics – Don’t make decisions based on views alone.
- Combine with other data – Views and completions work best alongside other analytics.
How to Increase Video Views and Completions
Once you understand these metrics, you can implement strategies to improve both video views and completed views. Here are some proven tactics:
Boost Video Views By:
- Optimizing titles, thumbnails and descriptions
- Promoting videos on social media
- Running paid video ads
- Publishing on high-traffic platforms
- Leveraging influencers and creators
- Joining YouTube Partner Program for suggested videos
- Using clickable preview images in videos
- Driving to playlists and suggested videos
Increase Completed Views By:
- Hooking viewers in the first 10 seconds
- Structuring videos clearly with intros and conclusions
- Improving pacing, editing, and flow
- Adding interactive elements like quizzes or questions
- Analyzing audience retention to refine videos
- A/B testing thumbnails
- Using end screens to link to related content
Conclusion
Analyzing both video views and completed views provides a robust picture of performance. While views demonstrate reach and interest, completed views show meaningful engagement. To get the full scope, you need both metrics. By tracking these numbers over time and combining them with other data, you can make informed decisions about your video strategy and viewership goals.
The most effective approach is using video views to expand exposure and find new audiences, while driving completions to deliver the maximum impact per viewer. With the right balance, you can attract wide viewership and keep audiences watching until the very end.