How to Test Videos with YouTube Groups

We often talk about how different aspects of the YouTube studio impact our videos, but it's equally necessary to test their impact in real time. Sure, the YouTube Creator Studio has most of our queries solved with the charts we can already see. What about the metrics that you don't see by default?

If you're serious about YouTube and want to grow your channel (and we know you are because you’re reading this post), you should know there’s a way of ‘testing’ your content to see what's working for you. It's a feature called YouTube Groups, and to access it:

1. Go to YouTube Studio
2. Navigate to the ‘Analytics’ dashboard
3. Click on either ‘Advanced Mode’ or ‘See More’ (both take you to the same screen)

1. On the left-hand side of this new screen, you'll see your channel name. Click that and you'll activate a new mini dashboard
2. Now, click on the ‘Groups’ tab

This feature is a little hard to find, but it's going to allow you to test absolutely anything you want on your channel. Notes, these YouTube groups are not public, so viewers won't be able to see them as they do with Playlists.

It's not going to interrupt their watching habits, but it does allow you to test the most minute changes on your videos to see what works so that you can double down on the best content on your channel.

How to Set Up a YouTube Group to Test Your Channel

Now that we know all about YouTube Groups, let's set one up. The first thing we need to do is to create a ‘Group.’ We're going to call this group ‘Thumbnails with Faces,’ and the feature allows us to search through our entire channel to add as many videos as we wish. Do note that you can search for videos by their ID, and the maximum number of videos in one single Group is 500.

In our example, we chose five videos with a ‘face only’ thumbnail and created another group of videos without faces in the thumbnail.

Once you set some Groups up, you can view all of the advanced analytics for them, which is really useful in itself. But we can take all of this one step further.

On the top-left side of the screen, there is a compare to function which allows you to compare Groups. And that's exactly what we're going to do now - compare the group of videos with faces in thumbnails versus those without.

In the space of just 30 seconds of effort, we've learned something incredibly valuable about our channel. Over a given period, thumbnails with faces on the vidIQ YouTube channel perform better than those without faces, on the basis of the crucial metrics like watch time, CTR, impressions, etc.

Now, once you've created these groups of videos, just be cautious of outliers. There may be a group of videos where one of the videos in that group is contributing more than 50% of the views or the impressions because it's just a viral video for you. You'll have to trim those out of your analysis.

Practical Video Testing Ideas to Boost Your Channel

There are many ways to test YouTube videos beyond just checking thumbnails. Each test can show you what your audience likes. Here are some options:

• Video Length Impact – Some channels do better with longer videos, while others shine with shorter clips. Test groups of videos below and above a certain length to see the effect.
• Content Format Comparison – Are your viewers into tutorials, list-based videos, case studies, or stories? Group your videos by type to determine which one gains the most engagement.
• Posting Frequency and Timing – Compare weekly uploads against twice weekly or morning uploads versus evening ones. YouTube Analytics helps identify the best times for your audience.

Testing like this makes your approach to YouTube video testing clearer. It shows which content works best with your viewers.

Avoiding Common Video Testing Mistakes

Many creators miss the mark when they test different styles of YouTube videos. First, watch out for small sample sizes. Testing only one or two videos per style may not give you clear answers. Try using 5-10 videos per group to see a real pattern.

Next, keep outside factors steady. Things like when you upload or seasonal changes can affect how your video does. Try to keep these details the same while you test.

Be patient, too. It often takes 2-4 weeks for a video to show its true performance. Lastly, change one element at a time. If you test different thumbnails, titles, and lengths at once, you won't know which change made the difference.

Using vidIQ Tools for Video Testing

YouTube offers a neat way to test videos, but vidIQ's Channel Audit tool adds extra helpful details. The tool automatically sorts your videos by key performance numbers, which makes it easier to compare YouTube videos.

The Channel Audit tool quickly breaks down the success of your channel into specific groups, so if you want to know which videos gain your channel, the most subscribers, or which videos have the most engagement or the highest watch time, we can quickly tell you.

The tool shows you which videos bring in the most subscribers, get good engagement, or have long watch times. You can see the details quickly, which saves a lot of time. It also flags videos that don't do as well as your average video. This lets you know which content to adjust or drop. In addition, it points out videos that might need extra features like end screens or cards to boost viewer interest.

Pairing YouTube's Groups feature with vidIQ’s Optimize tab turns content testing into a smart and clear process. It helps you see what works and gives ideas to improve underperforming videos.

With these insights, we hope you can make groups to test videos on whatever basis you want to. So, get to uploading your videos on the creator studio, and begin the tests!