Promote · Phase 5 of 5
Monetisation & Revenue
How a channel makes money. Ad revenue and its mechanics, the Partner Programme thresholds, and every income stream that does not come from ads.
Category 13 of 16 in the creator glossary · 130 terms
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Ad Auctionaka auction, real-time biddingThe real-time bidding that decides which advertiser wins a given ad slot and what they end up paying for it.Ad Blockeraka adblock, ad blockingSoftware that stops ads loading in the browser. The view still counts, it just arrives with no ad revenue attached.Ad Breakaka break marker, ad slotA single point in a video where YouTube can serve advertising, whether before playback, during the video, or at the end.Ad Impressionsaka impressions served, ad impressionThe count of individual ads shown against a channel's videos, which runs higher than the number of videos watched.Ad Inventoryaka inventory, available impressionsThe supply of ad slots available for advertisers to buy against content. When supply outruns demand, the rate creators earn falls.Ad Loadaka ad density, number of adsHow many ads a viewer meets across a video or a session, counting the one before it starts, any breaks inside, and whatever follows.Ad Revenueaka advertising revenue, ads moneyAd revenue is the money a creator keeps from ads served against their videos. Creators take roughly 55% of it and YouTube keeps 45% after fees.AdSenseaka Google AdSense, AdSense account, AdSense for YouTubeThe Google product that holds a creator's YouTube earnings and pays them out; ad revenue requires a linked AdSense account.AdSense PIN Verificationaka PIN verification, address verification, AdSense PINGoogle posts a six-digit code to your payment address, and you enter it in AdSense to prove you live there before any payout.Advertiser-Friendly Content Guidelinesaka AFCG, advertiser friendly guidelines, ad-friendly guidelinesYouTube's rules on what advertisers will pay to sit beside, deciding whether a video carries full ads, limited ads or none.Affiliate Disclosureaka disclosure, commission disclosureThe statement telling viewers a link earns you commission. It has to sit where they will actually meet it, in the video as well as the description.Affiliate Hubaka shopping affiliate hubThe area of YouTube Studio where approved creators browse brands and products, see commission rates, and pick items to tag in their videos.Affiliate Linkaka referral link, commission linkA tracked URL that credits you with a commission when someone clicks it and then buys.Affiliate Marketingaka affiliate income, affiliate revenueEarning a commission by sending buyers to someone else's product, tracked through a unique link or code.Affiliate Networkaka affiliate platform, affiliate programme networkA platform that hosts many brands' affiliate programmes in one place, handling the tracking links, the reporting and the payouts.Allocated revenueaka revenue allocationA creator's slice of the pooled Shorts ad money, worked out from their share of eligible views before the 45% split is applied.Amazon Associatesaka Amazon affiliate programme, Amazon affiliatesAmazon's affiliate programme, the default way creators earn commission on gear linked from a description.Amazon Influencer Programaka Amazon influencer storefront, Amazon storefrontAmazon's programme giving approved creators a storefront page and commissions on qualifying purchases, including from review videos shown on product listings.Automatic Ad Breaksaka auto ad breaks, automatic midrollsThe setting that lets YouTube choose where mid-roll ads fall in a video, instead of you marking the slots yourself.Average Revenue Per Useraka ARPU, revenue per memberTotal revenue over a period divided by the number of users in it. The result is the mean income each one produced.
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Bitsaka Twitch Bits, cheeringTwitch's paid cheering currency. Viewers buy Bits, spend them in chat with an animated Cheermote, and the streamer earns from each one.Bumper Adaka bumper, six second adA six-second video ad that cannot be skipped, sold on an impressions basis and built to be watched all the way through.
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Channel Membershipsaka memberships, channel membership, join, Channel MembershipA paid monthly subscription to a single channel that unlocks perks: loyalty badges, custom emoji, and posts or videos only members can see.Chargebackaka disputed payment, payment reversalA buyer's bank reversing a payment after the fact, taking back money you were already paid and usually charging a fee on top.Click bombingaka click bomb, invalid click activityA deliberate flood of fake clicks on somebody's ads, meant to trip Google's invalid activity systems and get their account punished.Coachingaka one-to-one coaching, consultingPaid one-to-one or small-group guidance, sold by creators as an income line alongside courses, memberships and sponsorship.Commerce Product Addendumaka CPA module, commerce moduleThe older name for the YouTube Partner Program module covering fan funding: memberships, Super Chat, Super Thanks and Shopping.Commission Rateaka commission, payout rateThe percentage of a sale, or the flat fee per action, that an affiliate earns on each referral they send.Content Licensingaka clip licensing, footage licensing, licensing revenueSelling someone the right to reuse your footage. News outlets, brands and clip agencies pay for a moment you already filmed.Cookie Windowaka cookie duration, attribution window, cookie lengthThe period after someone clicks your affiliate link during which a purchase still gets credited to you.Cost Per Acquisitionaka CPA, cost per actionWhat an advertiser pays for each completed action, such as a sale or a sign-up, rather than for each view or click.Cost Per Clickaka CPCWhat an advertiser pays each time somebody clicks their ad, a buy-side price that never appears in YouTube Studio.Cost Per Milleaka CPM, cost per thousand impressions, cost per 1000What an advertiser pays per 1,000 ad impressions. It sits above your earnings and still includes the platform's cut.Cost Per Viewaka CPVWhat an advertiser pays each time someone watches enough of a video ad or interacts with it; the pricing model behind skippable YouTube ads.Creator Fundaka creator funds, platform fundA fixed pot of money a platform divides among eligible creators, where payouts shrink as more creators qualify for the same pot.Creator Musicaka YouTube Creator Music, licensed music revenue shareYouTube's licensed music catalogue, where you either buy a licence for a track or take a revenue share deal instead.Creator Poolaka Shorts creator pool, Shorts revenue poolThe pot of Shorts ad money split between creators by share of Shorts views, after music licensing has been paid out of it first.Crowdfundingaka Kickstarter, backers, campaign fundingRaising money from an audience up front to fund a specific project, usually with reward tiers attached to each pledge.Currency Conversionaka exchange rate, FX, forex feeThe rate and the fees applied when your earnings are calculated in one currency and your bank holds another.
D
Demonetisationaka demonetization, demonetised, getting demonetisedLosing ad revenue on a video or a whole channel, either through the limited-ads yellow icon or removal from the Partner Program.Digital Productaka digital download, info productSomething a creator sells that is downloaded or accessed online: a preset pack, a template, a sample library, an ebook or a course.Display Adaka sidebar ad, banner adStatic or banner advertising shown beside the player on desktop, outside the video stream, so playback carries on around it.Dropshippingaka drop shippingSelling products a third-party supplier ships straight to the buyer, so you never hold stock or handle the parcel.Dynamic Ad Insertionaka DAI, dynamically inserted adsStitching adverts into a podcast or audio file at the moment it is downloaded, so the ads can be swapped or targeted later.
E
Earnings Per Clickaka EPCAffiliate commission divided by clicks sent. It tells you what one click through to a merchant is genuinely worth to you.Eight-minute ruleaka 8 minute rule, mid-roll thresholdShorthand for YouTube's mid-roll threshold: videos longer than eight minutes are eligible for multiple mid-roll ad placements.Estimated Revenueaka estimated earningsThe earnings figure YouTube Analytics reports for a channel or video, covering ads, Premium, memberships and fan funding.
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Fan Fundingaka viewer funding, direct support, audience fundingMoney paid to a creator directly by their audience through memberships, tips and gifts, instead of by advertisers buying attention.Fill Rateaka ad fill rateThe share of available ad slots an advertiser actually bought. A low figure explains a month where strong traffic paid unexpectedly badly.Finalised Revenueaka finalized revenue, final earnings, month-end finalisationThe confirmed earnings figure for a month after invalid traffic and other adjustments come out, shown in AdSense rather than Analytics.Form W-8BENaka W-8BEN, W8BEN, tax form W-8BENThe US tax form a non-US individual creator files with Google to claim treaty rates on the American share of their YouTube earnings.
G
Gifted Membershipsaka gift memberships, gifting membershipsMemberships one viewer buys on behalf of others watching, handed out during a stream and paid for entirely by the giver.Google Payments Profileaka payments profile, payments centreThe Google-wide record holding your payee name, address, tax details and bank account; YouTube earnings pay out through it.Gross Merchandise Valueaka GMV, gross salesThe total value of goods sold through your links or store before any fees, refunds or costs come out.
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Lifetime Valueaka LTV, customer lifetime value, CLVThe total a single member, subscriber or customer brings in across the whole relationship, counting every renewal and repeat purchase.Limited Adsaka limited or no ads, yellow icon, LONAThe yellow icon state. YouTube judges a video only partly suitable for advertisers, so a narrower pool of ads runs against it.Loyalty Badgeaka member badge, loyalty badgesThe small icon beside a channel member's name in comments and live chat, which upgrades as their membership passes set lengths of time.
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Manual ad breaksaka place ads manually, manual mid-rollsMid-roll slots you position yourself on the video's timeline in Studio, instead of leaving the placement to YouTube.Mastermindaka mastermind group, paid mastermind, peer groupA paid peer group that meets on a fixed schedule so members can work on each other's businesses, sold as the tier above coaching.Members-Only Contentaka members only videos, members only posts, paywalled uploadsVideos, posts or live streams visible only to viewers paying for channel membership, and often gated to particular membership tiers.Membership Churnaka member churn, churn rate, cancellation rateThe share of paying members who cancel in a given period. It decides whether memberships compound or stall.Membership Perksaka perks, member benefits, custom emojiWhat paying channel members receive: a loyalty badge, custom emoji, members-only videos and posts, plus whatever the creator adds.Membership Tieraka membership level, tiersA priced level of channel membership, each with its own monthly cost and its own bundle of perks for the people on it.Merchandiseaka merch, branded productsPhysical branded goods sold to an audience, running from print on demand basics up to a designed product line.Mid-Roll Adaka midroll, mid roll, mid-video adAn ad break that plays partway through a video, available on longer uploads once a channel earns a share of ad revenue.Monetisationaka monetization, monetise, monetizeTurning an audience into income, whether through ads, memberships, sponsorship, products or anything else somebody will pay for.Monetisation Thresholdaka YPP threshold, 1000 subscribers 4000 watch hours, eligibility thresholdThe subscriber and watch-hour or Shorts-view bar a channel clears to join the YouTube Partner Program. There are two tiers and they unlock different things.Monetization Tabaka earn tab, studio monetizationThe section of YouTube Studio, labelled Earn, where you track Partner Program eligibility and switch individual monetisation features on.Monetized Playbacksaka monetised playbacks, estimated monetized playbacksThe count of plays where at least one ad was served. It always sits below a video's total view count.Monthly Recurring Revenueaka MRR, recurring monthly income, ARRThe predictable income a creator business bills again every month from memberships, subscriptions and any other repeating payment.Music licensing costaka music licensing costs, music deductionThe share of Shorts advertising money taken to pay rights holders for licensed tracks, settled before creators are paid.
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Online Courseaka course, paid courseA structured paid teaching product, usually pre-recorded lessons sold to an audience that already trusts the person teaching.Overlay Adaka banner overlay, overlay bannerA retired YouTube format: a semi-transparent banner across the bottom of the desktop player that viewers could close.
P
P-scoreaka popularity scoreAn internal Google metric that scores channels for its premium ad packages. Creators cannot see it and cannot check it.Paid Communityaka membership community, paid Discord, community subscriptionA subscription that buys entry to a private group space, where the thing being sold is the room and the people in it.Paid Newsletteraka premium newsletter, subscription newsletterAn email publication readers pay for, either as a paid-only product or as a premium tier sitting behind a free list.Partner manageraka YouTube partner managerA YouTube-assigned contact for larger channels and partners, offering guidance and a route into internal teams. Most channels never get one.Passive Incomeaka income while you sleepMoney that keeps arriving from work already finished, such as ad revenue on old videos or an evergreen course.Patreonaka patreon pageAn off-platform membership service where fans pay monthly for tiered perks, billed and hosted independently of YouTube.Payment Holdaka payments on hold, held paymentA block AdSense puts on a creator's payout until something outstanding is cleared, such as tax details or a verified address.Payment Processoraka payment gateway, checkout processorThe service that takes a customer's card payment, checks it, and settles the money into a creator's own bank account.Payment Thresholdaka payout threshold, 100 dollar threshold, minimum payoutThe minimum balance an AdSense account must reach before Google releases a payment, with anything under it rolling forward.Payout Scheduleaka payment date, payment cycle, when YouTube paysThe monthly rhythm on which finalised earnings leave YouTube and reach your bank, which runs weeks behind the figure Studio shows today.Paywallaka gated contentA payment gate in front of content: pay, or you do not get in. The mechanism underneath memberships, paid newsletters and courses.Playback-Based CPMaka playback CPM, playback based cpmGross ad revenue per thousand playbacks where at least one ad ran, which reads higher than plain CPM.Post-Roll Adaka postroll, end adAn ad that plays after the video's content has finished, switched on in the monetisation settings alongside the ad before it and the breaks inside.Pre-Roll Adaka preroll, pre rollAn advert that plays before a video starts, either skippable after a short delay or non-skippable for its full length.Print on Demandaka POD, made to order merchMerchandise printed and posted only once a customer has ordered it, so there is no stock to buy up front.Product Shelfaka shopping shelf, product listThe list of tagged products YouTube shows with a video, so a viewer gets a buy link without leaving the page.Product Taggingaka tagging products, tag products in videoAttaching shoppable product links to a video, Short or live stream so a buy option appears beside the player.Programmatic Advertisingaka programmatic, automated ad buyingAds bought and sold by machine through real-time auctions, which is how almost all of the advertising against your videos gets placed.Public Watch Hoursaka 4000 watch hours, valid public watch hoursWatch time on your public long-form and live videos over the past 12 months, the figure YouTube counts towards Partner Programme eligibility.
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Revenue Diversificationaka diversified income, multiple income streams, income diversificationSpreading income across several sources so one policy change, one sponsor leaving or one bad quarter of ad rates cannot end the business.Revenue Per Milleaka RPM, revenue per thousand views, revenue per milleTotal earnings per thousand views after YouTube's cut, counting every revenue source on the channel rather than advertising alone.Revenue Shareaka revenue split, 55/45 split, platform revenue sharingHow ad income from a video is divided between the platform and the creator who made it.Royaltiesaka royalty, ongoing rights paymentsOngoing payments for continued use of something you own the rights to, arriving long after the work that produced them was finished.
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Self-Certificationaka self certification questionnaire, content rating questionnaireThe questionnaire at upload where you rate your own video against YouTube's advertiser-friendly guidelines, which then shapes the ads it can carry.Shorts feed adsaka ads between ShortsThe ads shown between Shorts in the feed; their revenue is pooled and shared out rather than tied to any single Short.Shorts Fundaka YouTube Shorts FundThe retired 100 million dollar bonus pot that paid Shorts creators monthly through 2021 and 2022, before revenue sharing replaced it.Shorts Monetization Moduleaka Shorts moduleThe optional Partner Program module that opts a channel into the Shorts ad revenue pool, separate from watch page monetisation.Shorts RPMaka Shorts revenue per mille, Shorts earnings rateRevenue per thousand Shorts views, calculated out of a shared ad pool rather than from ads sold against your individual Short.Skippable In-Stream Adaka skippable ad, skip ad, TrueView in-streamThe YouTube ad format a viewer can skip after five seconds. It plays before, during or after a video.Store Tabaka channel store, storeThe tab on a channel page listing products a creator sells or promotes through YouTube Shopping.Super Chataka superchat, paid chat messageA paid, highlighted chat message during a live stream or Premiere, pinned at the top of chat for a period set by the amount paid.Super Stickersaka super sticker, paid sticker, Super StickerA paid animated graphic viewers buy during a live stream or Premiere, which pins itself into the live chat.Super Thanksaka super thanks, applause, paid tip on videoA one-off paid tip a viewer buys on a video or Short, which pins their comment in a colour matching the amount they spent.
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Tax Treaty Benefitsaka treaty rate, double taxation treatyA reduced US withholding rate on the part of your YouTube income that comes from US viewers, where your country has a treaty.TikTok Creator Rewards Programaka Creator Rewards, Creativity Program, TikTok creator fundTikTok's payout scheme for qualifying videos over a minute long. It pays on qualified views and replaced the old Creator Fund.TikTok Shopaka TikTok commerce, TikTok affiliateTikTok's in-app storefront and affiliate marketplace, where a viewer buys without leaving the app and the creator takes commission.Tippingaka tips, tip jar, donationsOne-off voluntary payments from viewers, given because they felt like it, with no perk or ongoing subscription attached.Transaction Revenueaka paid content revenue, transactionsThe YouTube Analytics line covering money viewers pay you directly, reported separately from advertising and Premium earnings.TrueViewaka TrueView ads, TrueView for actionGoogle's retired name for YouTube's skippable, pay-per-view ad formats. The label outlived the product and still turns up in rate cards.Twitch Subscriptionaka Twitch sub, sub, tier 1 subA recurring monthly payment to a Twitch channel that buys perks such as emotes and ad-free viewing, split with the platform.
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Valid Public Shorts Viewsaka 10 million Shorts views, Shorts view thresholdThe Shorts view count YouTube measures against Partner Programme eligibility, taken over a rolling ninety days.Value Added Taxaka VAT, sales tax, GSTA consumption tax added to sales in the UK, the EU and many other countries. It can apply to memberships, digital products and merch.Value Ladderaka product ladder, offer ladderA sequence of offers rising in price and depth, from free videos at the bottom to your most expensive product at the top.Virtual Giftingaka gifting, live gifts, virtual giftsViewers buying digital items during a live stream and sending them to the creator, where they convert into income.
W
Watch Page Monetization Moduleaka watch page module, long-form monetisation moduleThe section of the YouTube Partner Program contract covering ad and Premium revenue on standard watch page videos.Withholding Taxaka US withholding, tax withholding, withheld earningsTax deducted at source before you are paid. For creators it mainly means US tax taken from the earnings generated by US viewers.
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YouTube Coursesaka Courses on YouTubeStructured courses eligible creators build in Studio and publish on their channel, free or for a one-off price.YouTube Mastheadaka masthead, home feed mastheadThe reserved advertising slot across the top of the YouTube home feed, bought through a Google sales contact instead of self-serve.YouTube Partner Programaka YPP, partner programThe programme a channel joins to earn on YouTube. It opens in two stages: fan funding first, ad revenue at the higher one.YouTube Partner Program Base Termsaka base terms, YPP base termsThe core YPP agreement accepted first. The monetisation modules for the watch page, Shorts and commerce all attach on top of it.YouTube Premium Revenueaka Premium revenue, red views revenue, subscription revenue shareThe creator's share of YouTube Premium subscription fees, allocated according to how much of their content Premium members watched.YouTube Selectaka Google PreferredYouTube's premium advertising lineups, letting brands reserve placements against the most popular content in a given market.YouTube Shoppingaka Shopping on YouTube, shopping featureYouTube's commerce layer for tagging products in videos, Shorts and live streams, either your own or through the affiliate programme.YouTube Shopping Affiliate Programaka Shopping affiliate, affiliate programme YouTubeThe YouTube Shopping feature letting approved creators tag other brands' products in their videos and earn commission on sales.