The Value of YouTube in 2024

Whether you have a channel or are running paid ads, YouTube has become the place to be for building brand awareness, connecting with users, and growing sales.

With 2.49 billion monthly logged-in users, YouTube is the second-most popular social media channel.

From 2022 to 2023, its global advertising revenues increased by 8% to hit about $31.5 billion.

And creators take home approximately 55% of the revenue generated on their channels.

These numbers largely stem from people turning to social media apps like YouTube for entertainment and trusted information.

So much so that Google has added a dedicated “Perspectives” filter to surface relevant social media content to searchers.

And, as of February 2024, YouTube videos now appear on search engine results pages (SERPs) for over 791.3 million search queries in the United States alone—with a clear upward trend in recent months:

Check out our full list of recent YouTube stats that emphasize the platform's massive reach and marketing potential. As well as key demographics, organic search trends, and more.

YouTube Growth Stats

YouTube continues to be one of the world’s most popular online platforms. For both individual creators and marketers, this popularity means significant opportunities to grow their audiences.

• YouTube is the second-most visited website in the world (Semrush, 2023)

• Among global Android users, YouTube came in third as the daily most-used app (DataReportal, 2023)
• According to Google, YouTube Shorts were watched by more monthly logged-in users than videos on TikTok and Instagram Reels. Its viewership has increased by around 500 million users since 2022 (TechCrunch, 2023).
• Over 500 hours of content are uploaded every minute on the platform (YouTube)
• On average, YouTube Shorts get over 70 billion daily views (YouTube)

YouTube Trends Stats

Recent YouTube video stats emphasized interest in AI, global creators, and leveraging different YouTube formats and features:

• There were over 1.7 billion views of videos on AI generative tools in 2023, reflecting their growing popularity (YouTube, 2023)
• From January through April, over 14 million videos were created each month using YouTube's built-in clipping tool, which first launched in 2021 (YouTube, 2023)

• 54% of surveyed users said they would rather watch creator commentary on events than the events themselves (YouTube, 2023)
• 65% of surveyed Gen Z creators acknowledged using “a filter, feature, or effect” on a video over the past year (YouTube, 2023)

Filmymoji content only uses Memoji filters

• 54% of survey respondents said they “follow a creator who creates videos in a language other than their own” (YouTube, 2023)

YouTube Use Stats

Understanding how frequently (and how long) viewers visit YouTube can help you determine the length, volume, and format of your videos.

• Through April and June, Android users spent a monthly average of 27 hours and 26 minutes on the YouTube app (DataReportal, 2023)
• Android users opened YouTube on 63.4% of all days between April and June (DataReportal, 2023)
• In 2023, the average YouTube visit length across devices was nearly 36 minutes (Semrush Traffic Analytics)
• 87% of surveyed users said they watched at least four different YouTube formats (e.g., Shorts, live streams) over the past year (YouTube, 2023)
• Global viewers collectively watch an average of 1 billion hours of YouTube content per day on TVs (YouTube, 2024)

YouTube Demographics Stats

YouTube viewership stats help you refine your video advertising choices to resonate with different demographics.

• Around 54% of global viewers identify as men, with approximately 46% identifying as women (DataReportal, 2023)
• YouTubers between ages 25 to 34 years old represent the biggest share of YouTube users (DataReportal, 2023)

Image Source: Backlinko

Note

The total won't equal 100% because the percentages represent shares of the total audience.

• The only age bracket where there are more women viewers than men is among people 65 and older (DataReportal, 2023)
• The United Arab Emirates, Israel, and the Netherlands have the highest proportions of YouTube use among their respective adult populations, measuring at 98.7%, 92.7%, and 91.1% (Statista, 2023).

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YouTube Influencer Stats

YouTube offers brands huge opportunities to grow their consumer base through influencer partnerships. Like ones through YouTube BrandConnect. And individual creators benefit from another revenue source while strengthening their own credibility.

Let’s look at some key YouTube influencer stats:

• Surveyed consumers listed YouTube as the best platform for “authentic and beneficial” influencer content (Matter, 2023)
• Compared to higher and lower subscriber ranges, YouTube channels with between 100,000 and 1 million subscribers have the highest engagement rate at 3.47% (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2024)
• 33% of surveyed brands used YouTube for influencer marketing campaigns (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2024)

Further reading: YouTube Influencer Marketing: A Four-Step Guide

YouTube Traffic Stats

YouTube gets a ton of traffic. We found out just how much and where people were coming from using Domain Overview and Traffic Analytics:

• On average, YouTube receives around 8.8 billion visits every month through organic searches (Semrush Domain Overview)
• YouTube had 1.3 trillion visits in 2023, with direct traffic serving as the top source (83.6%) (Semrush Traffic Analytics)
• YouTube had 183 billion visits from organic searches in 2023 (Semrush Traffic Analytics)
• Mobile traffic made up around 88% of 2023 traffic. And desktop traffic made up approximately 12% (Semrush Traffic Analytics).
• With 270.8 billion visits, the United States was the top traffic source to YouTube among countries in 2023 (Semrush Traffic Analytics)

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YouTube Paid Advertising Stats

With so many eyes on YouTube videos and access to detailed ad performance data, YouTube is the advertising platform of choice for many brands and marketers.

• YouTube received 598.3 million visits from paid social and paid search traffic (Semrush Traffic Analytics, 2023)
• On average, YouTube received around 21.6 million visits every month from paid traffic (Semrush Domain Overview)
• YouTube generated $31.51 billion in worldwide ad revenue in 2023. This is nearly 8% higher than the 2022 revenue of $29.2 billion. (Statista, 2023)
• With an audience of 462 million users, India had the largest YouTube ad reach (DataReportal, 2023)
• YouTube ads can potentially reach 30.9% of the world's population (DataReportal, 2023)
• In comparison to using horizontal videos in YouTube Shorts, using verticals in Video Action Campaigns can lead to between 10 to 20% more conversions (YouTube, 2023)
• Compared to manually optimized campaigns, advertisers were able to boost incremental sales by 111% with AI-powered video reach campaigns on YouTube (NCSolutions, 2023)

Image Source: NCSolutions

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YouTube TV Stats

With a growing subscriber base, YouTube TVallows brands to get their name in front of more relevant audiences.

• YouTube TV has over 8 million paying subscribers (YouTube, 2024)
• YouTube is the largest internet-delivered pay-TV provider in the United States beating Hulu+ Live TV, Sling TV, and Fubo (Leichtman Research Group, 2023)
• The ability to “watch content whenever they want” is the top reason why YouTube TV subscribers pay for the platform (YouGov, 2023)

2023 Top YouTubers and Videos Stats

Top-performing YouTube channel stats reflect current trends. And give insight into what viewers want to see on the platform.

• With over 230 million subscribers, MrBeast was the top trending YouTube creator in the U.S. for the fourth year in 2023 (YouTube, 2023). You may know him from his viral “$456,000 Squid Game In Real Life!” video:

• The Grand Theft Auto VI trailer had over 93 million views in the first 24 hours, setting a new 24-hour, non-music-video debut record on YouTube (YouTube, 2023)

• The three most-viewed YouTube music videos in 2023 were "Favorite Song" by Toosii, "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus, and "Ella Baila Sola" by Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma (Youtube, 2023)

• The most subscribed-to YouTube channel is T-Series (over 260 million subscribers), followed by MrBeast (240 million subscribers), and then children's channel CoComelon (172 million subscribers) (Epidemic Sound)

Jumpstart Your YouTube Channel and Marketing in 2024

Besides learning from our list of YouTube stats, you’ll also need to monitor performance stats from your own YouTube channel to ensure it's on the right track.

Without tracking key engagement metrics like views, clicks, and audience retention, it’s hard to figure out how to best use video content to support your brand goals.

This could lead to wasted resources on content that fails to engage and convert viewers.

Avoid this problem by using Keyword Analytics for YouTube and Rank Tracker for YouTube to:

• Discover untapped keywords with high search volumes to target
• Compare your channel's search rankings and site traffic to competitors
• Identify underperforming videos and learn from what worked and what didn’t

And don’t worry—these apps are great for beginners. As an example, here’s how easy it is to use Rank Tracker for YouTube:

Just enter your YouTube channel's URL into the "YouTube Channel URL" box:

Then, import your keywords from YouTube Studio or your Semrush account.

Pro tip

Watch the demo video in the right sidebar for step-by-step instructions on importing.

Rank Tracker for YouTube will then show you the “Overview” dashboard. This highlights your:

• Average YouTube video ranking
• Percentage of keywords ranking in different ranges (e.g., Top 3)
• Specific rankings in search results
• Ranking changes

Click the “Keywords” tab to go deeper.

Here, you’ll gain insight into:

• Your highest-ranking video content
• Estimated monthly search volume
• Weekly fluctuations in rankings

Sign up for a free Semrush account to try out these apps. And explore over 55 different marketing tools in our platform.

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