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Eye Opening YouTube Statistics You Need to Know for 2023

Despite having been around for more than 15 years, YouTube has only gotten bigger, better and more influential in that time, and its competitors, such as they are, still do not even come close to posing a challenge to YouTube’s supremacy as the number one video sharing platform on the planet.

However, still some of those whose businesses can benefit from it as a powerful source of PR, engagement, traffic generation and SEO promotion, as well as a relatively easy to use paid advertising platform, fail to understand just how important it is. Today we are going to be sharing some recent statistics that help demonstrate all of that and more, and that will help you decide how best to harness YouTube’s great power in your 2023 digital marketing strategy.

Essential YouTube Statistics: Users and Usage

1.7 Billion

That’s how many unique users YouTube attracts every month. In total, the video sharing site now boasts 14.3 billion visits in that time period, far more than Facebook, Amazon, Wikipedia or Instagram.

A Changing Gender Demographic

In terms of the gender split among YouTube users, when talking about YouTube users over the age of 18, 46.1% identify as female and 53.9% identify as male.

This is a notable change from just a few years ago. In 2020, 44% of YouTube users identified as female and 56% as male), which may be a sign that more and more women will likely be producing and consuming video on the platform in the future.

62% of YouTube's US Users Visit the Platform EVERY Day

YouTube Statistics 2023

According to Statistica, some even visit YouTube to consume content several times a day. What’s more, 92% of YouTube’s registered users visit the site at least once a week, and a whopping 98% stop by at least once a month.

On YouTube, Age Does Not Really Matter

Unlike many other platforms that fall into the ‘social networking’ silo, YouTube does not attract one single age demographic in greater numbers than others. In fact, in 2023, YouTube usage by age was astonishingly balanced. The proportion of YouTube users among all U.S. internet users is very evenly distributed across all age categories:

YouTube Statistics 2023
  • 18-34 years: 89%
  • 36-44 years: 88%
  • 46-64 years: 66%
  • 65+ years: 46%

For digital marketers and digital advertisers this obviously means that the chances are good that, whatever age group(s) they are trying to target, they are making use of YouTube.

YouTube is Still Big For Engagement

YouTube Statistics 2023

Even as short video platforms like TikTok gain in popularity, YouTube statistics for 2023 demonstrate that their users are not quite the goldfish like folks (at least in terms of attention span) some would have you believe. Visitors spend an average of 19 minutes a day watching videos on YouTube.

YouTube is STILL the Second Most Visited Site on the Internet

After its parent company Google, YouTube retained a title it has held for a number of years in 2023: the second most visited site on the Internet. The third most frequently used search phrase on Google is “YouTube.”, and that is often prefaced with a keyword modifier that digital marketers focused on SEO can take advantage of.

More Video is Watched on YouTube Than Netflix

Forget Netflix and chill, YouTube users still stream the most video in terms of monthly minutes. In comparison to Netflix, where users stream just 452,000 hours of video each minute, YouTube users stream 694,000 hours of video per minute.

YouTube Mobile Use is Increasing

22% of YouTube users access the website from a mobile device in 2023, a figure that has been steadily increasing for several years.

Mobile users are obviously lingerers who can’t get enough of that ‘Tube, with an average of 4.63 pages visited via the YouTube app compared to only 2.84 pages per visit on desktop.

Speaking of streaming apps, YouTube’s streaming app is right up there too in terms of usage and downloads. As of November 2022 it holds the #26 spot in entertainment apps on the IOS app store and the #12 spots on the Google Play Store.

Music is Still Massively Popular on YouTube

What will be the most popular YouTube search in 2021? “Song.” The second-most widely used search phrase? “Songs.”

In addition to DJ, Dance, New Song, TikTok, and Karaoke also rank in the top ten. It goes without saying that music videos are the most popular YouTube videos. Congratulations, “Baby Shark,” you succeeded!

Let the beat drop if your organization has the chance to capitalize on this demand for music and dance! And if you’re able to incorporate BTS into your video in some way? Better still.

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YouTube's Gaming Content is Thriving

While there seems to be growing competition from Twitch and TikTok, gaming content is still thriving and growing on YouTube.

According to YouTube’s 2021 year-end trend report, “Gaming used to be a subculture, but with 2.9 billion people predicted to play video games by the end of this year, today it’s obviously pop culture.” In 2021, many of the most popular videos included gaming, even on channels not necessarily categorized as such.

Sports Content is Gaining Popularity on YouTube Too

By 2025, 90 million people are anticipated to watch sports videos on YouTube.

There has been a broad movement in how sport material is consumed, and YouTube is at the forefront of that shift. Live events like the Super Bowl still get a sizable audience but other sports related content is increasing in popularity too.

This increase, according to Google, “highlights how swiftly sports content consumption is transitioning to become more digital.”

YouTube Shorts is Gaining Audience Share

Videos on YouTube’s “Shorts” format, which have a 60-second time limit, were first introduced to Indian users in 2020. By the following summer, the feature had been made available in 100 different countries globally. (YouTube launched a $100 million Shorts Fund as another incentive for Creators to experiment with producing short-form video.)

YouTube Statistics 2023
Shorts have become a huge success today, garnering more than 30 billion monthly views, proving that consumers, no matter where they watch video, enjoy concise and engaging content on the platform almost as much as the longer stuff. It has also been shown that brands that embed YouTube Shorts on their websites have seen an increase in the engagement rate of their YouTube channels.

YouTube for Business Statistics

As we mentioned at the beginning, some digital marketers have begun to overlook YouTube in favor of newer social platforms like TikTok. However, here are some YouTube statistics that may make you want to rethink the place YouTube has in your 2023 plans:

Practically Everyone is Watching Videos Online

Every week, 92% of internet users view some type of online video.

With 91.9% of users between the ages of 16 and 64 claiming that they view some form of video content every single week, it is clear that video is a very popular tool for entertainment and education on the internet.

If your strategy for social media marketing doesn’t currently include video… why are you holding out?

1/3 of Internet Users Searched YouTube for How To Content

Consider this as inspiration for your own content calendar and create videos that demonstrate how to use your product or service for visitors: People increasingly look to YouTube videos as a teaching tool.

Gen Zers are particularly fond of how-to, tutorial, and instructive videos; in fact, 52.2% of male Gen Zers and 53.5% of female Gen Zers watch a YouTube video in this genre every week.

Product review videos, gaming, and comedy are some other types of popular video content for internet users between the ages of 16 and 64.

YouTube Searches for "Beginners" Content are Soaring

The world was certainly motivated to learn new skills during and after the pandemic, and YouTube usage data demonstrates this. The number of views on videos aimed at “beginners” increased by 50% in 2020 and did not slow in 2021. Businesses would be smart to hop on board and produce introductory content related to their area of expertise.

YouTube is Great for SEO

“If you are posting YouTube videos but are not making use of the chance to optimize them for SEO – and your target keywords – via the tools the platform offers then you are really missing out. YouTube remains the second largest search engine in the world. A person is more likely to go directly to YouTube and perform their search there than use a general Google search if they are specifically looking for a video on a subject they are interested in. Because it will boost your position in the search results, optimizing your YouTube videos for search is critical to your success.”

said Lucie Chavez—CMO of Radaris

YouTube Statistics and Paid Advertising

Considering investing some cash in paid advertising? Here are some interesting – and sometimes eye-opening – YouTube statistics about that:

70% of YouTube Viewers Have Bought Something After Seeing It Advertised There

Google directly states that on its Ads & Commerce Blog that 70% of viewers have made a purchase from a brand after watching an ad for its offerings on YouTube. That demonstrates how effective it can be for generating sales of goods and services.

YouTube Ad Intent Matters

The YouTube ads that were intent-focused outperformed those that were demographically targeted in terms of driving sales. Additionally, since those ads are less likely to be skipped, they get more overall views.

2.56 Billion Users Could Potentially See Your YouTube Ads

With a potential audience of over 2 billion, YouTube can potentially reach 32% of the world’s population and 51% of all internet users. If you’re thinking about implementing a paid marketing campaign, YouTube offers access to a staggering number of viewers, and as we’ve already mentioned, from across every age demographic.

Pre-Roll Skippable Ads are the Most Effective

You already know there are several different ways an advertisement can be run if you’ve seen a YouTube video. A video might contain advertisements all through it as well as at the start and end.

Before accessing the primary video content, there are some advertisements that can be skipped after a few seconds and others that must run in their entirety. According to a survey, 29% of participants think pre-roll skippable advertising are the best option. Conversely, only 7% of respondents thought non-skippable ads were effective.

Other Interesting YouTube Statistics

The Pauls ARE NOT The Biggest Earners on YouTube

YouTube Statistics 2023

Whatever they might want you to think, The Pauls – Logan and Jake, and it’s OK if you can’t tell the difference because we often can’t – are not YouTube’s biggest earning stars.

In terms of money earned, Mr Beast – aka Kansas stunt dude Jimmy Donaldson – is 2022’s biggest earner, making an estimated USD$54 million in 2021, with a Paul in second (Jake at USD$45 million) But neither of the top earners is tops in terms of subscribers and views.

Kids are Winning the YouTube Subscriber Wars

After a hiatus, Swedish gamer PewDiePie has regained the ‘Most YouTube Subscribers’ crown, boasting 111M subscribers as of November 2023, although MrBeast is close with 109M subscribers.

Interestingly if you then look at the top ten in terms of YouTube subscribers, the #3, #4, #5 and #10 channels are all ‘run’ by children under the age of 10, three of which are ‘run’ by girls and none of which include Ryan Kaji of Ryan’s World (which does show how fickle YouTube can be)

Apple is YouTube's Biggest Advertiser

You’ll be in good company if you decide to do the same given Apple’s significant investment in YouTube ads. In 2020 alone, the tech behemoth spent $237.15 million on YouTube ads.