Videos can significantly enhance your website’s appeal and increase user engagement. Understanding which types of videos resonate most with your audience is crucial, especially when producing diverse video content.
Through extensive testing of various analytics tools, we have identified the best solution for monitoring video performance, which has contributed to our YouTube channel amassing over one million subscribers. By analyzing video analytics, you can evaluate your video’s success through metrics such as total views, watch time, and more.
In this guide, we will demonstrate how to monitor video analytics in WordPress using Google Analytics. This method is compatible with YouTube, Vimeo, and other HTML5 video embeds.
The Importance of Tracking Video Engagement in WordPress
Incorporating videos into your content not only makes your articles more captivating but also encourages visitors to spend more time on your website.
If your WordPress site features multiple videos, you may wonder how to determine which content is performing best and whether your audience is engaging with your videos.
Utilizing Google Analytics to track video engagement can provide you with valuable insights.
Discover the number of viewers on your WordPress site, their interaction with the play button, how long they watch each video, and more.
This information helps you understand the types of media content your audience prefers. You can then create more videos on similar subjects and maintain the same format and style to enhance user engagement.
Now, let’s explore how to monitor video analytics on your WordPress site.
How to Set Up Video Analytics Tracking in WordPress
The simplest way to track videos on your WordPress site is by using MonsterInsights. It is the top WordPress analytics tool that enables you to set up Google Analytics in WordPress without needing to edit code or hire a developer.
By default, Google Analytics does not provide detailed tracking for video analytics.
Fortunately, the MonsterInsights Media addon makes it easy to track videos embedded from YouTube and Vimeo, as well as HTML5 videos uploaded through the WordPress media library.
Editor’s NoteWe generally advise against uploading videos directly to WordPress due to the potential for excessive storage use and slower website performance. Instead, consider using platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, or other reputable video hosting services.
You won’t need to modify any code. MonsterInsights seamlessly tracks videos in Google Analytics with just a few simple clicks.
In this tutorial, we will utilize the MonsterInsights Pro version, as it offers the Media addon along with other advanced tracking capabilities. You can also explore the MonsterInsights Lite version to get started with analytics on your site.
First, install and activate the MonsterInsights plugin. For detailed instructions, refer to our guide on installing a WordPress plugin.
After activation, you will see the MonsterInsights welcome screen in your WordPress dashboard. Click the ‘Launch the Wizard’ button to set up the plugin and connect Google Analytics to WordPress.
You can follow our comprehensive guide on adding Google Analytics to your WordPress site.
Next, navigate to Insights » Addons in your WordPress admin area and scroll down to find the ‘Media’ addon.
Click the ‘Install’ button to install and activate the addon. You will see the ‘Status’ change from ‘Not Installed’ to ‘Active.’
Once the addon is activated, navigate toInsights » Settingsin the WordPress admin panel.
Next, go to the ‘Publisher’ tab.
Then, scroll down to the ‘Media Tracking’ section.
You will see that the toggles for tracking HTML5, YouTube, and Vimeo videos are enabled.
MonsterInsights will now track videos on your WordPress site.
Now, let’s explore how to access your video analytics data.
How to Access Your WordPress Video Tracking Data
MonsterInsights simplifies the process of identifying your top-performing videos by providing a report within your WordPress dashboard.
Simply navigate toInsights » Reportsfrom your WordPress dashboard and select theMediatab.
You will see a graph displaying the number of video plays on your website.
If you scroll down, you can view detailed information about each video.
The report includes metrics such as the number of video plays, average watch time, completion rate, and more.
Accessing the Media Tracking Report in Google Analytics
You can access video analytics data through Google Analytics 4.
Just log into your account and navigate to Engagement » Events in the left-hand menu.
You will now see all the events on your site, including video events. For example, you can find events like ‘video-youtube,’ ‘video-vimeo,’ or ‘video-html.’
You can also increase video views by embedding a YouTube channel on your website or by creating a video gallery.
We hope this article has helped you understand how to track video analytics in WordPress. Additionally, check out our guide on tracking website visitors to your WordPress site and the best popular post plugins for WordPress.
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