need help setting audio levels for export to streaming

Hey everyone. Another newbie question. I'm editing videos of me teaching (single talking head) for export to an online course builder. (streaming) I've got the content built, the export setting dialed and what sounds like reasonably good audio, but before I start uploading files I'm wondering if you could help me with a few questions and a sanity check on my audio workflow.

Here's what I've been doing:

Click dual channel mono and drop the shotgun mic, leaving the wireless mic (it was an echo-y room so the shotgun stuff is bad.)

Then I bring the audio levels up until the tips of the waveforms are just in the yellow.

Fix anything that needs fixing with various effects.

That's as far as I've gotten.

I know the next step is to add a compressor or at the very least a limiter but this is one of those questions of how loud is loud? Should I just make sure it sounds like other quality online audio my laptop speakers turned all the way up? and those waveforms, is it cool for them to be peaking into the yellow? I think I know what I'm doing but I'm not sure.

I watch a lot of tutorials. Larry Jordan recommends just adding a limiter, mac break studio says use a compressor at 4:1 which brings up the valleys a lot more than a limiter. The video already sounds decent, and I'm not sure what constitutes to much amplification of the low audio or two much clipping of the high. Any advice on simple settings would be great.

This forum is always so helpful, so thank you in advance.

I think everyone has their own "secret sauce" when it comes to final audio tuning before export. Here is what I do (more or less).

1. I always compress spokesperson/interviewee dialogue at least a small amount to help it punch through the music. Using a limiter definitely can help if you have significant spikes in the audio.

2. This has changed over the years, but nowadays I try to average my audio levels around -6dB (keeping very clear of 0dB) so that people can hear through their garbage computer speakers if necessary. That seems to be solid for most of our deliverables.

Everything else you've already done sounds about right so you then should be good to go.

---> Jarrod