A standard audit looks at the last 14 days. A deep audit looks at the last 365 days and answers a different kind of question: not "how did this fortnight go" but "what does my catalogue actually do over a year".
Standard vs deep
| Standard | Deep | |
|---|---|---|
| Window | Last 14 days | Last 365 days |
| Available for | Every connected platform | YouTube |
| How often | Once every 14 days | Once every 30 days |
| Best for | Recent performance, spotting a bad fortnight | Catalogue behaviour, retention, where audiences come from |
| Auto-run | Yes | No — deep audits are started manually |
Running one
Choose Deep under Audit depth on the confirmation screen when starting a YouTube audit. The Audit period updates to show the 365-day range, and the button reads Run Deep Audit.
A deep audit reads far more data, so it takes noticeably longer than a standard run. You can leave the page — it finishes on the server and appears in History, tagged so you can tell deep runs apart from standard ones.
What it adds
Everything a standard report contains, plus a Deep insights section covering the year:
- Catalogue vs new uploads — how much of your traffic comes from videos published this year versus your back catalogue. This is the number most channels misjudge.
- Traffic sources — where views actually originate: search, suggested, browse, external.
- Retention — how far into your videos people get.
- Duration buckets — which video lengths perform for your audience.
- Shorts vs long-form — the split, and what each contributes.
- Playlists and cards — how your on-platform navigation performs.
Its own rate limit
Deep audits are limited to once every 30 days, separately from the 14-day standard limit. Running a deep audit does not consume your standard allowance, and vice versa — you can run a standard YouTube audit while a deep one is still within its 30 days.
Auto-run stays standard
The Auto-run every 14 days toggle only ever schedules standard audits. Deep audits are started by hand, deliberately — they are a considered exercise, not background monitoring.
Common problems
The Audit depth choice is not showing Deep audits are YouTube-only, so the selector does not appear for other platforms. If it is missing on YouTube, the feature may be disabled for your workspace — ask an owner or admin.
"You can only run one deep audit every 30 days" You have run one recently. The standard 14-day audit is still available in the meantime.
A deep audit reports less than expected YouTube Analytics only returns what your channel actually has. A channel younger than a year, or one with a long publishing gap, will have thinner data across the window.