YouTube Studio's channel search test: which numbers do brands look at?

A test was spotted that let brands view creator channel data directly in YouTube Studio. It's a change worth knowing about both for creators who want sponsorships and for brand managers looking for creators to work with. Let's go through what was visible, how far it was opened up, and what to check now.

What was spotted: "channel search" in YouTube Studio

A tab inside YouTube Studio that lets brands look up other creators' channel data was revealed. Tubefilter reported the news on Oct 8.

The first to share the screen was vidIQ, a creator growth tool. vidIQ posted a screenshot of a "find creators" tab in Studio on X. It said YouTube calls the feature "channel search."

There's some background to this feature. At Made on YouTube, its annual showcase event, YouTube announced several tools to help brands and creators work together. The feature spotted this time is related to those tools.

Which creator channel numbers could brands see?

When a brand searched for a specific channel, it could see that channel's unique viewers and watch time. Viewer age and gender, along with the top countries where the channel has the most viewers, were also shown.

The screenshot showed analytics data for other creators' channels, including product review creator Sambucha. vidIQ called these numbers a channel's "backend data," meaning analytics that used to be visible only from inside the channel. It's more detailed than you might expect.

Can every brand see this data now? No

It wasn't open to every brand. According to YouTube, the feature was a test open only to some brand channels. Only the channels of creators who had agreed to share their data appeared.

The test has already been rolled back, because the feature was mistakenly opened to one account that wasn't a brand. So for now, think of it not as an official feature but as something YouTube tried out.

What does it mean for creators in Korea?

Korea is eligible for YouTube creator partnerships, so this applies to creators in Korea too. If you meet requirements such as joining the YouTube Partner Program, your channel can be shown to brands.

YouTube also recommends sharing your stats. In this test, too, only creators who agreed to share their data were visible to brands.

If you want sponsorships, what should you check now?

Start by checking your channel's unique viewers, watch time, and audience in YouTube Studio analytics. These are the same numbers brands could see in this test.

Next, compare your audience with the customer base of the brands you'd like to work with. Use whether your viewers' age and gender, and the countries where they watch most, overlap with that brand's customers as your yardstick.

Brand managers can use the same yardstick. Check whether a candidate channel's audience matches your own customer base.

Key takeaways

• YouTube ran a "channel search" test that let brands see a creator channel's unique viewers, watch time, viewer age and gender, and top countries in YouTube Studio.
• The test was open only to some brand channels, showed only creators who agreed to share their data, and has since been rolled back.
• Korea is eligible for creator partnerships, so if you meet requirements such as joining the Partner Program, you can be shown to brands.
• It's a good idea to check your audience in Studio analytics and compare it with the customer base of the brands you'd like to work with.