// full feature breakdown
Everything Vitals diagnoses.
Algorithm signals, unique metrics, competitive intelligence, and the diagnostic engine that ties them together.
What you get
Hook Score
AI rates the first 3 seconds on a 1-10 scale. Isolates which Shorts stop the scroll and which lose viewers before the hook resolves.
Verdict Engine
Classifies every Short: Top Performer, Solid, Underperforming, Dead. Derived from velocity, engagement rate, CTR, and retention.
Title + Hook Rewrites
GPT generates title alternatives, opening hooks, and tag sets from your data. Not templates. Specific to each Short.
Competitor Benchmarking
Search any channel. Compare hook scores, velocity, and engagement. GPT niche analysis with gap breakdown and trending formats.
Velocity + Flatline Detection
Views/day tracking with automatic flatline detection. Flags Shorts the algorithm abandoned after the initial push window.
Deep Analytics
YouTube Analytics API integration. Traffic sources, retention curves, share rate, replay ratio, subscriber impact per Short.
Metrics nobody else computes.
Vitals uses authenticated YouTube Analytics API access to compute signals that public-data tools cannot see.
Algorithm Push Score
What percentage of views came from the Shorts feed vs. search or browse. Above 80% = the algorithm is actively distributing.
Replay Ratio
Estimated loop rate using YouTube's new engaged views metric. High replay rate is a confirmed top-weight signal.
Retention Cliff
Exact second where viewers leave. Pulled from audience retention curves at 100-point granularity. Pinpoints failed hooks and dead spots.
Share Velocity
Shares per view. The highest-weight engagement signal for Shorts. Most dashboards bury it. Vitals makes it a first-class metric.
Viral Coefficient
Day 2 views divided by day 1 views. Above 2x = active push. Above 10x = viral trajectory. Computed from daily time-series.
Suppression Risk
Monitors impression trends, Shorts feed traffic percentage, and consecutive low-velocity uploads. Flags suppression before you notice it.
The algorithm isn't random. It's a system.
YouTube uses an explore/exploit model for Shorts. Every Short gets a test audience. These are the signals that determine whether distribution expands or dies.
Percentage of viewers who watch to the end. The single strongest signal. Below 40% = suppressed. Vitals estimates this from averageViewPercentage.
How fast viewers swipe past. Swipes in the first 2 seconds signal a failed hook. The algorithm stops pushing immediately.
Shares per view. Confirmed highest-weight engagement signal for Shorts specifically. Available via Analytics API but buried in YouTube Studio.
How often viewers rewatch. Post-March 2025, replays count as views. The new engagedViews metric lets us estimate loop rate.
Likes, comments, and shares in the first hour. High velocity in the explore phase = algorithm expands to larger audience pools.
Does your Short keep viewers on the platform? Shorts that lead to more watching get boosted. Shorts that end sessions get penalized.
Competitor intelligence built in.
Search any YouTube channel. Vitals pulls their Shorts, runs the same analysis, and shows you the performance gap.
Your channel
4.2K
avg views/short
Niche avg
18.7K
avg views/short
Gap analysis
Your titles average 6.2 words vs niche leaders at 4.1. Shorter, punchier titles correlate with 2.3x higher CTR in this niche. Hook scores average 5.1 vs competitors at 7.4 — the first 2 seconds need a stronger pattern interrupt.
Trending formats
// sample analysis. live reports use real channel data.
Not another analytics dashboard.
YouTube Studio shows you numbers. VidIQ and TubeBuddy optimize keywords. Neither tells you why your Short got 200 views instead of 200K.
| Studio | VidIQ | Vitals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hook score per Short | |||
| AI title + hook rewrites | |||
| Algorithm push detection | |||
| Suppression alerts | |||
| Competitor analysis | Basic | ||
| Replay ratio tracking | |||
| Shorts diagnostics | |||
| Keyword / SEO tools | |||
| Price | $0 | $49/mo | $29/mo |
VidIQ and TubeBuddy are excellent SEO tools. Vitals is not an SEO tool. It is a diagnostic engine for Shorts performance.
Before and after diagnostics.
Real scenarios. Creators ran a diagnostic, applied the fixes, and measured the next upload.
Finance tips
Before
1.2K
Hook: 3/10
DEADAfter
47K
Hook: 8/10
TOP_PERFORMERHook was a question. Replaced with a stat that contradicts common belief. Views jumped 39x on next upload.
Cooking tutorials
Before
890
Hook: 4/10
UNDERPERFORMINGAfter
112K
Hook: 9/10
TOP_PERFORMERTitle was 11 words. Cut to 4. First frame showed the finished dish instead of ingredients. Share rate went from 0.1% to 2.8%.
Fitness content
Before
3.4K
Hook: 5/10
UNDERPERFORMINGAfter
28K
Hook: 7/10
SOLIDSuppression risk was HIGH — 3 consecutive low-velocity uploads. Paused for 5 days, came back with a hook-first format. Algorithm re-engaged.
// representative results from diagnostic testing. individual outcomes vary by niche and execution.
Security and data handling
Read-only OAuth. Vitals never posts, edits, or deletes anything on your channel.
No video content stored. We read metadata and analytics only.
Stripe-secured billing. 7-day free trial, cancel anytime.
Revoke access anytime via Google Security Settings.
Works across every Shorts niche
Stop guessing. Start diagnosing.
First scan free. No card. See exactly why your YouTube Shorts underperform and what to fix first.
Diagnose your first Short