analyzing-youtube-competitor-channel-strategy

Analyzes competitor YouTube channel strategy and content performance using apidojo's YouTube scraper. Triggers when the user asks to: analyze a competitor's YouTube channel strategy, understand what makes a competitor YouTube channel successful, benchmark a YouTube channel against a competitor, find patterns in a competitor's YouTube content that drive growth, analyze the content mix and publishing cadence of a competitor channel, understand a competitor's YouTube audience and engagement, or reverse-engineer what a competitor is doing well on YouTube. Returns content mix, format performance, publishing cadence, engagement benchmarks, and strategic insights. Ideal for YouTube content strategists, brand video teams, and competitive intelligence analysts.

Executes analyzing youtube competitor channel strategy using apidojo scrapers. Part of the apidojo intelligence skills library.

Prerequisites

• APIFY_TOKEN environment variable set
• Optional: Apify MCP server installed

Inputs

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Notes
startUrls	array	Optional	[]	YouTube URLs — channels, playlists, Shorts, search results
youtubeHandles	array	Optional	[]	YouTube channel handles (e.g. @kurzgesagt)
getTrending	boolean	Optional	false	Retrieve trending videos
keywords	array	Optional	[]	Search keywords
gl	string	Optional	us	Country code for results (e.g. US, GB)
hl	string	Optional	en	Language code (e.g. en, de)
uploadDate	string	Optional	all	Upload date filter: any, hour, today, week, month, year
duration	string	Optional	all	Duration filter: any, short, long
features	string	Optional	all	Feature filter: 4k, hd, live, cc, 3d, hdr, etc.
sort	string	Optional	r	Sort order for search results
maxItems	number	Optional	Unlimited	Maximum videos to return
customMapFunction	string	Optional	—	JavaScript function to transform each output object

Workflow

text

Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Define parameters
- [ ] Step 2: Run youtube-scraper
- [ ] Step 3: Filter and classify results
- [ ] Step 4: Score by quality and relevance
- [ ] Step 5: Deliver output

Step 2: Run the Actor

Recommended — run_actor.js (handles waiting, output, and file saving automatically):

bash

# Quick answer (prints table to chat)
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~youtube-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}'

# Save as CSV
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~youtube-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}' \
  --output YYYY-MM-DD_results.csv --format csv

# Save as JSON
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~youtube-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}' \
  --output YYYY-MM-DD_results.json --format json

APIFY_TOKEN must be set in environment or .env file.

If Apify MCP is available:

text

Tool: apify:run-actor
Actor: "apidojo~youtube-scraper"
Input:
{
  "searchTerms": "https://www.youtube.com/@[COMPETITOR_CHANNEL]",
  "maxItems": 100
}

REST API fallback:

bash

curl -X POST \
  "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/apidojo~youtube-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"searchTerms": "https://www.youtube.com/@[COMPETITOR_CHANNEL]", "maxItems": 100}'

Wait for SUCCEEDED. Fetch dataset:

bash

curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/actor-runs/$RUN_ID/dataset/items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN"

Step 3: Classify Results

text

classification: GROWING (view rate > 20%) | HEALTHY (10-20%) | PLATEAU (5-10%) | DECLINING (< 5%)

Step 4: Score Each Result

text

score = channel_health = avg_views/subscriber_count * 100  # view rate; healthy > 10%

Step 5: Edge Cases

• Channels with old viral videos have inflated subscriber counts relative to current performance — use median views from last 20 videos as the current health indicator

Additional fallbacks:

• < 20 results: Broaden search terms; remove secondary filters
• No results: Verify the search terms are correct; try alternate phrasings
• Data quality issues: Remove entries with missing key fields; note count in output

Output Format

text

# Analyzing Youtube Competitor Channel Strategy
Results: [N] | Date: [DATE]

| # | [Key Field] | [Metric 1] | [Metric 2] | [Classification] | [Score] |
|---|------------|-----------|-----------|-----------------|---------|
| 1 | [value] | [value] | [value] | [type] | [0.XX] |

## Summary
Top result: [description]
Key finding: [insight]

Troubleshooting

Too few results: Broaden the primary search term; remove restrictive filters. Low quality results: Apply minimum score threshold (≥ 0.50) to filter noise. Actor fails to run: Verify API key; check actor status at apify.com/apidojo.