# Read Google video campaign performance properly

> Tier: recipe. Operating recipe: real tool sequence, core rules, known traps.

Video metrics via GAQL: views, view rates, CPV, with audience retention where exposed.

**Intent.** Video campaigns judged on video economics, not search metrics.

## When to use

- YouTube spend at meaningful levels.

## When not to use

- Judging video on CTR: view economics first.

## Sources

Required: Google Ads

## Preconditions

- The account is ticked in the dashboard, confirmed via list_accounts.

## Inputs

- `window`: Analysis window. Default: last 30 days.

## Procedure

1. Query video metrics per campaign. — tools: `google_ads_run_gaql`
2. Rank on view rate and CPV against account norms. — tools: `google_ads_get_insights`

## Decision rules

- **When** View rate collapses after the first seconds consistently → **conclude** Hook problem: creative finding, with the retention point named.

## Evidence requirements

- Every figure carries its account, metric and window.
- Anything below a readable sample size is reported as unjudged, not as zero.

## Human approval boundary

- The readout changes nothing. Any change it motivates goes through Safe Writes: preview, human confirmation, then apply.

## Failure modes

- View definitions differ by format: 30 seconds, or full length if shorter — compare like with like.

## Output

- **Readout**: The figures, with windows and accounts named.
- **Flags**: What deserves a deeper skill or a human decision.