How to use vidiq to analyze competitor's videos?

 Understanding your competitors’ strategies is crucial for success on YouTube. VidIQ, a powerful tool for YouTube creators, provides insights into competitor performance, helping you refine your content strategy and discover opportunities for growth. In this guide, we’ll walk through how to use VidIQ to analyze your competitor’s videos effectively.

Why Analyze Competitors?

Analyzing competitors allows you to:

• Identify trends and successful video formats.
• Discover content gaps and opportunities in your niche.
• Gain insights into video SEO strategies (titles, descriptions, tags, etc.).
• Benchmark your channel’s performance against others.
• Learn what drives engagement for your competitors.

VidIQ’s features make it easier to gather data and uncover these valuable insights. Let's dive into how to use these features to your advantage.

Step 1: Set Up VidIQ for Competitor Analysis

Install VidIQ

If you haven’t already, start by installing the VidIQ browser extension. After installation:

1. Log into Your VidIQ Account: Make sure you’re logged in so that you can access the full range of features.
2. Connect to Your YouTube Channel: Link VidIQ with your YouTube channel to get personalized insights and recommendations.

Find Your Competitors

1. Identify Competitors in Your Niche: You likely know some of your key competitors already, but you can also use VidIQ’s “Competitors” feature to discover new ones.
2. Add Competitors: In your VidIQ dashboard, click on the "Competitors" tab and add channels you want to track. This will allow you to regularly monitor their performance.

Step 2: Analyze Competitor’s Video Performance

Once you’ve identified your competitors, it’s time to dig into the specifics of their video performance.

Use the Video Scorecard

1. Access the Scorecard: When you visit any competitor’s video, VidIQ’s video scorecard will appear next to the video. The scorecard offers a wealth of information, including:

   • Video Views: How many views the video has accumulated.
   • Engagement Rate: A breakdown of likes, comments, and shares.
   • Social Media Influence: How well the video is performing across various social media platforms.
   • SEO Score: This measures how well-optimized the video is for search engines.

2. Key Metrics to Focus On:

   • Engagement Ratio: This shows the level of interaction (likes, comments, etc.) compared to the views. High engagement rates indicate a highly involved audience.
   • Watch Time and Retention: These metrics are often displayed in VidIQ’s advanced analytics (available in the paid version). They show how long viewers are watching the video, which can help you understand how engaging the content is.
   • SEO Score: Videos with high SEO scores rank better in search, so pay attention to what keywords and tags they’re using (more on this below).

Monitor Views Over Time

VidIQ provides historical data for competitor videos, showing how views accumulate over time. By looking at this, you can:

• Spot Patterns: Determine which types of videos consistently perform well over time.
• Identify Viral Content: Pinpoint videos that may have suddenly spiked in views and analyze what made them go viral (topic, timing, etc.).

Step 3: Examine Competitor’s Video SEO Strategy

SEO plays a huge role in how videos rank on YouTube. VidIQ gives you access to the SEO tactics your competitors are using.

Analyze Titles, Descriptions, and Tags

1. Title and Description Analysis: Look at the titles and descriptions of top-performing competitor videos. VidIQ highlights important keywords, making it easier to see what search terms competitors are targeting.

   • Focus on Keywords: Are there any common themes in the keywords they use? Do they focus on high-volume, competitive keywords or low-competition, niche ones? This will give you insights into their ranking strategy.
   • Call to Action (CTA): Pay attention to whether the descriptions contain effective CTAs that drive views, subscriptions, or engagement.

2. Tag Analysis: VidIQ shows you the tags used in competitor videos.

   • Compare Tags: Identify which tags appear consistently across your competitors' videos, especially those that are performing well.
   • Use Tag Suggestions: VidIQ provides tag suggestions based on your content and your competitors' strategies. You can use these to optimize your own videos for better search visibility.

Evaluate Thumbnails and Titles

1. Thumbnail Comparison: Thumbnails are often the first thing viewers notice, and competitors with eye-catching thumbnails tend to outperform others.
   • A/B Testing: See if competitors are using thumbnails with bold colors, text overlays, or facial expressions to attract clicks. Identify patterns that lead to higher click-through rates (CTR).
2. Title Effectiveness: Look at the structure of competitor titles. Are they optimized for keywords, or do they use a more enticing, clickbait-style approach? Learn what type of titles seem to resonate with viewers and adapt these strategies to your own content.

Step 4: Competitor Trending Videos

VidIQ allows you to see what videos are currently trending on your competitors’ channels. This feature is valuable for content ideation and understanding current trends in your niche.

Trending Videos Feature

1. Track Trends: In your VidIQ dashboard, click on the “Trending” tab under your competitors’ analysis to see which videos are performing best in real-time.

   • Identify Patterns: What topics or formats are trending on competitor channels? Are there recurring themes, such as product reviews, how-to videos, or news-related content?

2. Capitalize on Trends: Use these insights to create timely and relevant content for your own channel. By aligning your content with trending topics, you increase the chances of gaining more views and engagement.

Step 5: Competitor Subscriber Growth

VidIQ tracks subscriber growth for your competitors, offering a clear view of how quickly their audience is growing compared to yours.

Subscriber Analysis

1. Monitor Subscriber Growth: In the VidIQ dashboard, you can see how many subscribers your competitors gain over time. Look for periods of rapid growth and investigate which videos or strategies led to that increase.
2. Leverage Subscriber Trends: If a competitor is gaining subscribers at a faster rate, analyze what they’re doing differently. This could include content frequency, collaboration with other YouTubers, or engagement tactics such as giveaways.

Step 6: Competitor Engagement and Audience Retention

VidIQ offers insights into how your competitors engage with their audience, including comment activity and audience retention rates.

Comment Analysis

1. Monitor Comments: See how competitors interact with their viewers through comments. Are they actively responding and engaging with their audience, or are they passive? Channels that engage more tend to build a stronger community.

2. Engagement Rate: VidIQ also tracks engagement rates (likes, shares, and comments). Videos with higher engagement rates are more likely to be promoted by YouTube’s algorithm.

Conclusion

Analyzing your competitors on YouTube is one of the most effective ways to improve your own channel's performance. By using VidIQ to track metrics like video views, SEO, engagement, and trending content, you can gain valuable insights that help you refine your content strategy.

VidIQ's features allow you to:

• Uncover competitor SEO tactics.
• Track video performance and view trends.
• Learn from your competitors' successes (and failures).
• Capitalize on trending topics in your niche.

Incorporating these insights into your own YouTube strategy will not only help you stay competitive but can also lead to faster growth and better content creation.

Start using VidIQ today to analyze your competitors and give your channel the edge it needs to succeed!