analyzing-competitor-youtube-content-strategy

Compare original and translation side by side

🇺🇸

Original

English

🇨🇳

Translation

Chinese

Analyzing Competitor YouTube Content Strategy

分析竞争对手YouTube内容策略

Reverse-engineers a competitor's YouTube channel by analyzing their last 20-50 videos. Identifies which video topics, formats, and lengths drive the most views and engagement.

通过分析竞争对手最近20-50个视频，逆向解析其YouTube频道。确定哪些视频话题、格式和时长能带来最高的浏览量与互动量。

Prerequisites

前置条件

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

设置
```
APIFY_TOKEN
```
环境变量
可选：安装Apify MCP服务器

Inputs

输入参数

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

参数	类型	是否必填	默认值	说明
`startUrls`	array	可选	`[]`	YouTube链接 — 频道、播放列表、Shorts、搜索结果
`youtubeHandles`	array	可选	`[]`	YouTube频道账号（例如 `@kurzgesagt` ）
`getTrending`	boolean	可选	`false`	获取热门视频
`keywords`	array	可选	`[]`	搜索关键词
`gl`	string	可选	`us`	结果对应的国家代码（例如 `US` 、 `GB` ）
`hl`	string	可选	`en`	语言代码（例如 `en` 、 `de` ）
`uploadDate`	string	可选	`all`	上传日期筛选： `any` 、 `hour` 、 `today` 、 `week` 、 `month` 、 `year`
`duration`	string	可选	`all`	时长筛选： `any` 、 `short` 、 `long`
`features`	string	可选	`all`	特性筛选： `4k` 、 `hd` 、 `live` 、 `cc` 、 `3d` 、 `hdr` 等
`sort`	string	可选	`r`	搜索结果的排序方式
`maxItems`	number	可选	无限制	返回的最大视频数量
`customMapFunction`	string	可选	—	用于转换每个输出对象的JavaScript函数

Workflow

工作流程

Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Scrape competitor's recent videos
- [ ] Step 2: Classify video types and topics
- [ ] Step 3: Calculate performance metrics
- [ ] Step 4: Identify patterns and top performers
- [ ] Step 5: (Optional) Compare with own channel
- [ ] Step 6: Deliver strategy report

Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Scrape competitor's recent videos
- [ ] Step 2: Classify video types and topics
- [ ] Step 3: Calculate performance metrics
- [ ] Step 4: Identify patterns and top performers
- [ ] Step 5: (Optional) Compare with own channel
- [ ] Step 6: Deliver strategy report

Step 1: Scrape Channel

步骤1：爬取频道数据

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

bash

undefined

推荐方式 — run_actor.js（自动处理等待、输出和文件保存）：

bash

undefined

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:**

Tool: apify:run-actor Actor: "apidojo~youtube-scraper" Input: { "startUrls": [{"url": "[COMPETITOR_CHANNEL_URL]"}], "maxResults": 30, "type": "video" }


**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 '{"startUrls": [{"url": "https://www.youtube.com/@competitorhandle"}], "maxResults": 30, "type": "video"}'

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

> 必须在环境变量或`.env`文件中设置`APIFY_TOKEN`。

**若Apify MCP可用：**

Tool: apify:run-actor Actor: "apidojo~youtube-scraper" Input: { "startUrls": [{"url": "[COMPETITOR_CHANNEL_URL]"}], "maxResults": 30, "type": "video" }


**REST API备选方案：**
```bash
curl -X POST   "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/apidojo~youtube-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN"   -H "Content-Type: application/json"   -d '{"startUrls": [{"url": "https://www.youtube.com/@competitorhandle"}], "maxResults": 30, "type": "video"}'

Step 2: Classify Videos

步骤2：视频分类

video_type:
  TUTORIAL = title contains "how to", "step by step", "guide", "tutorial"
  LIST = title contains "top [N]", "[N] best", "[N] things", "mistakes"
  REVIEW = title contains "review", "tested", "worth it", "vs"
  THOUGHT_LEADERSHIP = opinion, trend analysis, "the future of", "why"
  NEWS = title contains news, announcement, breaking
  CASE_STUDY = "how [brand] grew", "inside", "behind the scenes"

video_length_tier:
  SHORT = < 5 min
  MEDIUM = 5–15 min
  LONG = 15–30 min
  DEEP_DIVE = > 30 min

video_type:
  TUTORIAL = title contains "how to", "step by step", "guide", "tutorial"
  LIST = title contains "top [N]", "[N] best", "[N] things", "mistakes"
  REVIEW = title contains "review", "tested", "worth it", "vs"
  THOUGHT_LEADERSHIP = opinion, trend analysis, "the future of", "why"
  NEWS = title contains news, announcement, breaking
  CASE_STUDY = "how [brand] grew", "inside", "behind the scenes"

video_length_tier:
  SHORT = < 5 min
  MEDIUM = 5–15 min
  LONG = 15–30 min
  DEEP_DIVE = > 30 min

Step 3: Performance Metrics

步骤3：表现指标

view_ratio = viewCount / subscriberCount  # corrected by subscriberCount at time of analysis

engagement_rate = (likeCount + commentCount) / viewCount * 100

publish_cadence = total_videos / (date_range_weeks)  # videos per week

Top performer: Sort by

viewCount

; also identify

hidden gems

where engagement_rate > 2× channel average despite lower views.

view_ratio = viewCount / subscriberCount  # corrected by subscriberCount at time of analysis

engagement_rate = (likeCount + commentCount) / viewCount * 100

publish_cadence = total_videos / (date_range_weeks)  # videos per week

高表现视频： 按

viewCount

排序；同时识别「潜力视频」——即浏览量较低但互动率超过频道平均水平2倍的视频。

Step 4: Edge Cases

步骤4：边缘情况

Channel is very new (< 6 months, < 20 videos): Reduce
```
videos_to_analyze
```
to all available; note limited sample
Views are all very low (< 1K per video): Channel may be struggling or niche is very small; provide absolute numbers, not just ratios
One mega-viral video skews averages: Report median views alongside mean; flag outlier
Channel posts in multiple languages: Group by language; analyze each cohort separately

频道非常新（成立不足6个月，视频少于20个）：将
```
videos_to_analyze
```
调整为所有可用视频；注明样本量有限
所有视频浏览量极低（每个视频不足1000次）：该频道可能发展困难或所处领域非常小众；提供绝对数值，而非仅展示比率
单个爆款视频拉低平均值：同时报告浏览量中位数与平均值；标记异常值
频道发布多语言内容：按语言分组；分别分析每个群组

Output Format

输出格式

undefined

undefined

Competitor YouTube Strategy: [CHANNEL_NAME]

Videos analyzed: [N] | Subscribers: [N] | Avg Views: [N] | Avg Eng Rate: [X%] | Date: [DATE]

Content Mix

Video Type	% of Videos	Avg Views	Avg Eng Rate	Best Example
Tutorial	[X%]	[N]	[X%]	[title]
List	[X%]	[N]	[X%]
Review	[X%]	[N]	[X%]

Video Type	% of Videos	Avg Views	Avg Eng Rate	Best Example
Tutorial	[X%]	[N]	[X%]	[title]
List	[X%]	[N]	[X%]
Review	[X%]	[N]	[X%]

Video Length Performance

Length Tier	%	Avg Views	Avg Eng Rate
Short (< 5min)	[X%]	[N]	[X%]

Length Tier	%	Avg Views	Avg Eng Rate
Short (< 5min)	[X%]	[N]	[X%]

Publishing Cadence

Videos/week: [X] | Best day to publish: [Day] | Monthly trend: [↑/↓/flat]

Key Opportunities vs. Their Strategy

[Gap: e.g. "No case studies — this format gets 3× their avg views when they do it"]
[Opportunity]
[Their weakness]

undefined

[Gap: e.g. "No case studies — this format gets 3× their avg views when they do it"]
[Opportunity]
[Their weakness]

undefined

Troubleshooting

故障排除

Scraper returns channel page but no videos: Try direct video search for channel name as keyword; some channel URLs need the

/videos

suffix. View counts are very low for an established channel: Channel may have declined — check publish date of latest video; may be dormant. Can't determine channel subscriber count from scrape: Use the video view-to-video count ratio as a proxy for channel health when subscriber count is unavailable.

爬虫返回频道页面但无视频数据：尝试以频道名称为关键词直接搜索视频；部分频道URL需要添加

/videos

后缀。 成熟频道的浏览量极低：该频道可能已衰退——查看最新视频的发布日期；可能已停止更新。 无法从爬取数据中获取频道订阅数：当订阅数不可用时，使用视频浏览量与视频数量的比率作为频道健康状况的替代指标。

analyzing-competitor-youtube-content-strategy

Original

Translation

Analyzing Competitor YouTube Content Strategy

分析竞争对手YouTube内容策略

Prerequisites

前置条件

Inputs

输入参数

Workflow

工作流程

Step 1: Scrape Channel

步骤1：爬取频道数据

Quick answer (prints table to chat)

Quick answer (prints table to chat)

Save as CSV

Save as CSV

Save as JSON

Save as JSON

Step 2: Classify Videos

步骤2：视频分类

Step 3: Performance Metrics

步骤3：表现指标

Step 4: Edge Cases

步骤4：边缘情况

Output Format

输出格式

Competitor YouTube Strategy: [CHANNEL_NAME]

Competitor YouTube Strategy: [CHANNEL_NAME]

Content Mix

Content Mix

Video Length Performance

Video Length Performance

Top 5 Videos (by Views)

Top 5 Videos (by Views)

Publishing Cadence

Publishing Cadence

Key Opportunities vs. Their Strategy

Key Opportunities vs. Their Strategy

Troubleshooting

故障排除