YouTube Brain

Channel Health Audit

2 min read

Channel Health Audit

The channel health audit is a repeatable read of a channel’s Studio Analytics that turns raw numbers into a prioritized list of fixes. It follows the official funnel, impressions to CTR to views to watch time to subscribers, and localizes the weakest link. The brain’s adapter scripts automate the export side of this flow; see scripts/synthesize_channel_health.py and scripts/render_channel_report.py.

Inputs

  • A YouTube Studio video-level export (see schemas/youtube-export-schema.json), or direct access to Studio.
  • A 28 to 90 day window for stable signals.
  • The current Source Intake and Refresh facts for any monetization figure.

Steps

  1. Intake. Load the export with scripts/import_youtube_export.py, or open Reach, Engagement, Audience, and Revenue in Studio.
  2. Top of funnel. Read impressions and impressions Click-Through Rate by traffic source. Weak impressions point to topic or demand; strong impressions with weak CTR point to Packaging.
  3. Retention. Read Audience Retention and Watch Time and AVD. A weak first 30 seconds points to the hook; mid video dips point to pacing.
  4. Audience. Read returning versus new viewers and watch time from subscribers. Few returning viewers means the content does not build a habit; work on series and Publishing Cadence.
  5. Revenue. Read RPM and CPM and the active Revenue Streams. Low RPM points to geography, length, suitability, or undiversified income.
  6. Synthesize. Produce a scorecard with the single weakest link flagged first; scripts/render_channel_report.py emits one with sourced wikilinks and a rollback note.

Output

A channel health scorecard: headline metrics, flags, and packaging A/B candidates, every claim tied to a source. It feeds directly into the Monthly Optimization Roadmap.

Guardrails

  • Read every metric against the channel’s own typical performance and the relevant traffic source, never in isolation.
  • Make no monetization claim without a current source; see Source Intake and Refresh.
  • Recommend, do not mutate. The brain is advisory and read only toward any real account.

Sources

Graph View

Backlinks