If you run a YouTube channel, there’s a good chance one of the first numbers you look at is your subscriber count. We get that there’s something very satisfying about watching that number creep upwards. 1,000 subscribers feels like a milestone, 10,000 feels like you’ve really got somewhere and if you hit 100,000, you get a shiny little YouTube plaque to prove it.
But are these subscribers actually watching? Because the way people discover and consume YouTube content today means your subscriber count may be a much smaller part of the picture. Subscribers don’t necessarily tell you whether your content is reaching people, holding their attention or contributing anything to your business.
The problem with treating subscribers as your audience
A subscriber is someone who has told YouTube they want more of your content and that’s useful information, but it doesn’t mean they’ll actually watch your next video. Someone could have subscribed to your channel three years ago, watched a couple of videos and never returned. They’re still sitting there in your subscriber count, but they’re not necessarily an active part of your audience.
At the same time, you could have someone who watches nearly everything you publish without ever subscribing. Perhaps they discovered your brand through Instagram. Maybe they saw one of your TikToks and clicked through to the full video. Maybe they found you through Google when they were researching something or perhaps they simply know your brand and search for your name on YouTube whenever they want to see what you’ve posted.
That person may never press subscribe, but they’re watching and from an eCommerce perspective, that’s arguably much more important.
You don’t have to subscribe to become a regular viewer anymore
The way people find content has changed. YouTube isn’t a completely separate platform that people visit, subscribe to a handful of channels on and then wait for those channels to upload. Content moves between platforms constantly.
A creator might post a short video on TikTok, share a Reel on Instagram and then send people to a longer YouTube video. An eCommerce Founder might post a quick product tip on LinkedIn before directing people to a detailed YouTube guide. A podcast clip might appear on Instagram and introduce someone to the full episode on YouTube and once someone knows who you are, they don’t necessarily need to subscribe, they can just search your name or easily find you in their recommendations once they’ve watched a couple of videos.
YouTube’s own analytics reflect this. Channels can see whether viewers are arriving through search, suggested videos, browse features, channel pages or external websites and apps. So when someone tells you their YouTube channel has 20,000 subscribers, remember it’s only part of the story, what you might want to ask is how many views are they getting?
Views tell you who’s paying attention
But, views aren’t perfect either. A video getting 40,000 views doesn’t automatically make it a success. If those people aren’t your target audience, don’t watch for very long and never engage with your brand, a huge view count isn’t going to do much for your bottom line.
However, they are still a much better starting point than subscribers because they represent an action. Someone has actually chosen to watch your content and that’s particularly useful when you start comparing your videos against each other.
Perhaps your beautifully produced brand film gets 2,000 views, while a much simpler video answering a question your customers regularly ask gets 15,000. That’s telling you something.
Perhaps your product demonstrations get fewer views than your buying guides, but people who watch the buying guides stick around for much longer. That’s telling you something too.
Your YouTube analytics should help you understand what your audience wants to watch, not simply give you a number to brag about.
The number of views isn’t the whole story
This is where watch time and retention become important. Getting someone to click on your video is one thing, but keeping them there is another.
A video with 20,000 views where most people disappear after 30 seconds could be much less valuable than a video with 5,000 views where people watch almost the entire thing.
You should focus on what happens once people arrive:
- Are they sticking around?
- Where do they drop off?
- Are they watching another video afterwards?
- Are people coming back to watch more?
These behaviours tell you far more about the quality and relevance of your content than your subscriber count ever could. Remember, you aren’t creating videos simply to collect an audience, you’re creating them to get the right people interested in your brand.
If someone watches your video comparing two products, stays until the end and then heads to your website, that’s a valuable interaction. They might not subscribe, they might not even buy immediately, but you’ve moved them further along the customer journey.
The real question: is YouTube helping your business?
This is the bit that often gets forgotten. It’s very easy to get caught up in YouTube numbers because they’re visible. Subscribers, views and likes are sitting there in black and white, ready to be compared against last month.
But an eCommerce brand isn’t running a YouTube channel to win a popularity contest, you’re presumably running it to grow your business. So you should be focused on whether your content is helping people discover your brand, understand your products, trust you and eventually buy from you.
That might happen directly. Someone watches a product video, clicks through to your website and makes a purchase, but it also can take time. Someone could discover you through YouTube, follow you on Instagram, come across your brand again six weeks later and eventually search for you when they’re ready to buy.
YouTube may have played an important part in that journey without being the final click. That’s why it’s worth looking beyond the obvious metrics and understanding how YouTube fits into your wider marketing activity.
If your subscriber count is growing but your audience isn’t watching, your content might need some attention. If your subscriber count is barely moving but views, watch time and returning viewers are steadily increasing, you may actually be doing very well. If YouTube is consistently introducing relevant people to your brand and helping influence sales, then you have something much more valuable than a big subscriber number, you have a channel that’s contributing to growth.
So, should eCommerce brands stop caring about subscribers?
Absolutely not. Subscribers are still a useful metric. They’re a sign that someone wants to hear from you again and a healthy subscriber base can help you build a loyal audience over time.
The mistake is treating subscriber growth as the ultimate measure of success. A subscriber who never watches your content isn’t necessarily more valuable than a non-subscriber who watches every video you publish.
So celebrate when you hit the next subscriber milestone because you earned that, but don’t let that number become the scoreboard.
