Summary
Earned actions is the metric that shows follow on likes and subscribers driven by the campaign. It captures the free channel activity that happens within 7 days of an ad interaction, including earned views, likes, subscribers, shares and playlist additions. Add the YouTube earned actions column set in Google Ads to see it alongside your paid view and CPV data.
Nitin Batra is a Google Video Ads certified professional who plans and reports on YouTube Video view and video reach campaigns, including earned actions tracking through linked YouTube channels in Google Ads.
Last updated: August 23, 2026
To measure the follow on likes, subscribers, playlist additions and extra views a Video view campaign generates after the ad, look at the Earned actions metrics in Google Ads.
- Unique reach
- Cost-per-view
- Click-through rate
- Earned actions
The correct answer is: Earned actions
Key Takeaways
- – Earned actions is the metric that shows follow on likes, subscribers, shares, playlist additions and extra views driven by a Video view campaign.
- – Add them from Columns, Modify columns, YouTube earned actions in the Google Ads campaign or ad group table. They are not shown by default.
- – Earned actions are free organic activity on your channel that happens after an ad interaction, so they represent added value on top of what you paid for.
- – The attribution window is 7 days from the ad interaction, and the actions must happen on your linked YouTube channel, so an unlinked channel or activity outside that window will not be credited.
What exactly counts as an earned action in a YouTube video campaign?
Earned views, earned subscribers, earned likes, earned shares and earned playlist additions all count. They are recorded when a person watches or interacts with your video ad and then takes that action on your YouTube channel within 7 days. Earned views specifically mean views of any other video on your channel, not repeat views of the ad itself.
Do I get charged for earned views and earned subscribers?
No. You only pay for the paid view or interaction defined by your bidding model, which for Video view campaigns is cost per view. Everything the viewer does afterwards on your channel is free, which is why earned actions are treated as the added value of the campaign.
Why do earned actions show zero in my Google Ads reports?
The most common reason is that the YouTube channel is not linked to the Google Ads account, or the link does not have the right permissions. Check Tools, then Data manager or Linked accounts, and confirm the YouTube channel link is active. Earned actions also need enough volume and a few days of lag, so a campaign that has been live for 24 hours will often look empty.
Should a creator optimise a Video view campaign towards earned actions?
You cannot bid directly on earned actions, so treat them as a reporting signal rather than an optimisation goal. What you can do is test creative, audiences and placements, then compare which combinations produce the most earned subscribers per thousand impressions. Video view campaigns already spread delivery across in-stream, in-feed and Shorts, so reviewing earned actions by format in the segment view usually shows where the channel growth is really coming from.