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How to clean a YouTube or Instagram analytics export before you chart it

Updated

Platform dashboards are good for a quick look, but for your own reports you'll want the raw numbers. Both YouTube Studio and Meta's tools let you export data as CSV; here's how to get it into shape. Menu names change over time, so look for an export or download option.

Getting the export

In YouTube Studio, open Analytics, switch to the advanced view and use the download option to export the current table. The download can contain more than one CSV (for example the table, the chart data and totals), so open the one you need.

For Instagram, professional accounts can export insights from Meta's business tools, where an export option offers a CSV for the selected period.

What usually needs fixing

  1. Remove the totals row if it's mixed in with the data, so it isn't counted twice.
  2. Rename columns to short, consistent names you'll reuse every month.
  3. Check that dates and numbers are recognised as dates and numbers, not text.
  4. Look for empty values in metrics and decide whether they mean zero or unknown.
  5. When you combine months, remove duplicate rows for the same video or post.

The private way: in BenchCove

Free, no sign-up. Uses the File & Data Workbench. Nothing is uploaded.

  1. Import the CSV in the File & Data Workbench. BenchCove doesn't connect to your YouTube or Instagram account; you use the file you downloaded.
  2. The import summary shows each column's type and any empty values.
  3. In Clean, rename or remove columns, handle empty values and remove duplicates, with a preview of every step.
  4. In Analyse, check the data-quality score and charts built from your rows, then export a clean CSV for your spreadsheet or report.
Clean an analytics export

Questions

Does BenchCove connect to my YouTube or Instagram account?

No. It works only with files you export yourself, and those files stay in your browser.

Why do my totals not match the dashboard?

Exports can cover a different date range, time zone or set of videos and posts than the screen you compared with. Check the period and filters you used when exporting.