Connect YouTube Analytics API to Looker Studio to build custom suggested traffic dashboards. Use the YouTube Reporting API with scheduled extracts for automated data updates. Create custom metrics for RPM by traffic source not available in YouTube Studio.
Setting Up YouTube Analytics in Looker Studio
Create a new Looker Studio report and add the YouTube Analytics data source. The connector provides access to Traffic Sources, Audience, and Revenue reports. Create a data source for each metric category to avoid performance issues with large datasets.
Building the Suggested Traffic Dashboard
Create a Traffic Sources table showing: video title, suggested views, suggested watch time, suggested RPM (calculated), and suggested view percentage. Use calculated fields to derive RPM by dividing estimated revenue by suggested views × 1000.
Add a time series chart showing suggested views over time. This reveals seasonal patterns in recommendation performance.
Automated Data Refresh
Use scheduled report extracts in Looker Studio to pull fresh data daily. The YouTube Analytics API has quota limits; scheduled extracts manage this efficiently. Set extracts to run during off-peak hours to avoid quota exhaustion during business hours.
For complete suggested traffic segmentation, export additional data points from YouTube Studio API and blend with Looker Studio data.
