Understanding the Basics of YouTube Competitor Analysis

Published on 19.10.2025 by Chizoba T

YouTube is the most popular video-sharing platform, making it suitable for individuals and brands to showcase their video content. However, with over 3 million videos posted daily, it's easy for your content to get lost among the millions of others competing for the same eyeballs.

One way to get your content noticed is through YouTube SEO. When done well, it will enable your videos to rank on the YouTube home and For You pages, increasing the chances that people will click on them. 

A key part of YouTube SEO is competitor analysis. This form of social media competitor analysis provides essential insights for benchmarking your competitor strategy and identifying gaps and opportunities your competitor has missed. In this article, we will guide you on YouTube competitor analysis.

What is YouTube Competitor Analysis? 

YouTube competitor analysis involves evaluating your competition’s channels and strategy to determine the content and trends that resonate with your target audience. You can do the competitor analysis weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually. During a YouTube competitor analysis, you can check in to:

  • Video formats, content themes, and upload frequency of your competitor videos.
  • The type of videos that have the highest engagement, such as comments, likes, and shares.
  • Competitor video strategy includes choosing the right video titles and using the right keywords, tags, and descriptions.
  • Visual and branding elements, such as the channel graphics and thumbnails.

Importance of YouTube Competitor Analysis

As noted earlier, every channel on YouTube competes with the same audience. To get more viewers, you want to analyze the content and strategies of channels ranking better than yours. You can easily understand the videos that resonate with your target audience through YouTube competitor analysis. This will also provide insights into:

  • YouTube trends that are driving the highest engagement.
  • The kind of content that resonates with viewers. For instance, if you notice that specific topics, video lengths, or formats are doing quite well, you can use the insights to create more such content.
  • Determine content gaps. These are the kind of videos your competitors aren't creating or addressing well. For instance, you can find that your competitor’s videos lack important information. You can then use the shortcomings to create outstanding videos that drive the highest engagement.

Steps in YouTube Competitor Analysis

When performing a YouTube competitor analysis, make sure you follow these steps:

Determine Your Top Competitors

First, you want to understand the channels that you are competing for an audience with. To do that, create a list of 5 to 10 channels that are targeting the same:

  • Industry. This refers to the broader YouTube channel category your video falls under, such as tech reviews, cooking, AI, etc.
  • Niche. An industry is usually too broad, making it hard to rank for videos within an industry. For instance, it can be hard to compete if you are creating AI-generated videos. This is why you need to find a niche within the industry to focus on, such as generative AI or conversational AI. If you are making videos in the cooking industry, you can focus on vegan cooking.
  • Target audience. Make sure you better understand the viewers you are focusing on, such as beginner athletes, busy parents, or AI video creators.

These three categories will ensure you are truly competing against competitors in your industry rather than against someone in a broader field. Make sure you find the topics or keywords relevant to your niche, and check the top results to determine the channels that consistently appear at the top. You can find your competitors by searching for a keyword in your niche on YouTube, such as YouTube marketing.

Note the channels that consistently appear at the top. For instance, in YouTube marketing, you may find that your top competitors are Dave Nick and TubeBuddy. Don't focus on the videos ranking on the top page. Instead, dig deeper to identify upcoming channels that may become your future competitors.

Analyze the Audience’s Feedback

Before you start investigating the competitor's strategies and content, pay attention to how the audience interacts with the videos. One of the most important places to do that is the comment section, which will provide insights into whether the audience loves or hates the content. 

Consider the kind of questions the audience is asking. What do they like or dislike about the content? This will also give you an amazing context and help you understand how to make your channel stand out. When you find so many positive comments, it shows that the videos hit the market and delivered true value to viewers.

Pay attention to the length of the videos that are getting positive responses, how the competitor structures them, and how they present the information. However, you shouldn't copy the competitor. Instead, look for a unique perspective that will enable you to deliver real value to your competitor searching for it.

Consider whether there are any common recurring themes in the video comments. For instance, people may ask for more detailed information or want insights into in-depth content. 

Also, consider whether there are any recurring issues or complaints. If viewers seem quite unhappy about something, this will be an opportunity to offer them a better solution. 

Use social listening to monitor what viewers are saying about the competitor by tracking its mentions across different social media platforms. This will provide you with insights into your audience preferences and pain points.

Analyze Competitor Channel and Content

You should go deep into the competitor's YouTube channel to understand why their content is ticking. When analyzing your competitor videos, you need to pay attention to these:

  • Check the structure of their videos. Check whether they use catchy intros and an outstanding conclusion. What strategy are they using to hook viewers from the beginning until the end of the video? Check the video and the length of their most popular videos to determine whether their most popular videos are detailed or shorter.
  • Video content format. Are they producing reviews, tutorials, or vlogs? For instance, if competitors are holding roundtable discussions and interviews that are garnering lots of views, you can also create similar content with a unique dimension.
  • Title and thumbnail strategy. How good are their thumbnails, and are they attracting clicks?
  • Content upload frequency. How often do the competitors upload content? Is it daily, weekly, or monthly? This will provide you with insights into the frequency of content upload.

By analyzing these details, you can spot the strategies and trends that seem to work, so you can focus on developing a unique approach to grabbing the viewer’s attention and standing out from the competition.

Check the Competitor's SEO Strategies

YouTube SEO tools such as Tubebuddy and VideoIQ can provide insights into what makes your competitor’s videos rank better and attract clicks. Use the best YouTube tools to determine the keywords the competitors are ranking for. You can then add those keywords to your content while adding a unique angle.

Pay attention to how competitors create their video titles and descriptions. Are there any specific phrases they use to help their videos rank? You can add these to the videos. For instance, if you realize that a competitor is using a term like 'fast and efficient' and the videos are performing well, you can use a similar phrase in your videos.

Check the structure of the competitor's video description. Which area are they placing the keywords, and what extra content or link are they adding? This will provide you with essential insights into creating great video descriptions. Check the competitor hashtags and if you notice a trending hashtag your competitors are using that is relevant to your videos, consider adding it, too.

Find Content Gaps to Refine Your YouTube Strategy

After you have spent enough time analyzing the competitor, check the content they may be creating and grab that opportunity. Check if there are areas that your competitors aren't focusing on. For instance, if their niche is YouTube marketing and they aren't creating content for local YouTube SEO, you can create content for that niche.

Also, check if they cannot create well-detailed content. If they are only creating surface-level content, you can step in to create in-depth tutorials and guides to provide practical advice and advanced insights. 

Take time to scan competitor videos to see which questions their audience regularly asks. If there is a topic they are asking for content on, you can create content on that niche while adding a fresh perspective. Doing that will enable you to offer a fresh, valuable perspective, helping your channel stand out in the crowded space.

In Conclusion

YouTube competitor analysis can provide essential insights into content gaps, trends, and audience engagement, thereby presenting a new opportunity for growth. Use these insights as a foundation for your growth, but keep adapting to evolving audience preferences and trends. Once you combine competitor analysis with regular innovation, you can be assured of a content strategy that resonates with your target audience. We recommend you read our guide on increasing your income stream through a YouTube membership.