Section 7: YouTube

Step 3: Analyze Your Competition

Step Three:  Analyze Your Competition

 

One of the biggest advantages YouTube offers is the ability to easily analyze your competition. 

 

1. Choose the location from which you'd like to collect results by scrolling down to the bottom of the page and using the "Location" tab, if different from the default you see there:

2. Input a search keyword into YouTube's search bar.

3. View the results for your best keyword.

4. Note that your exact keyword phrase (i.e. "buying a hamster") will feature in the top results with the most views.  The only exception to this will occur when you see the word "hamster" repeated multiple times in a clip description:

Multiple uses of a keyword will not push you to the top of YouTube's results for your keyword phrase, but you still may make the first page.  Rather, finding out and using the exact keyword phrase will give you your best chance.

 

5. Select the top video in your search results and immediately check its actual statistics by pressing the graph button under the number of views, (under the video):

6. You will immediately see a graph showing the total views along with other forms of user engagement.

Figure 1

 

This graph shows your video's growth in popularity, as well as the number of ratings, the number of comments, likes and dislikes; and how many have declared it a “favorite”.

 

Figure 2, below, shows the number of referrals from other videos

Figure 3

 

What the Spikes Say

 

When viewing the Total Views graph of any video (example:  Figure 1), you may notice "spikes" in the graph.  If you check these sharp climbs in popularity against Significant Discovery Events (Figure 2), you may see "clues" to what caused the spike -- for instance, "First view from a mobile device" resulted in 1,688 hits, in our Figure 2 example. 

 

When viewing Figure 2, you would discard any results from referrals that aren't relevant (for example, "How to Cut Class" doesn't apply to "Buying a Hamster"!)  Pay attention to results that seem most closely related.  Check out the actual referral videos.

 

Pay attention to the clues—especially the ones that cause spikes in viewership:  You'll get better and better at "reading" them and extracting useful information to help optimize your own videos more effectively. For example, if adding a certain keyword, or getting the help of a certain blogger helps your competition, it may help you as well. Maybe that same blogger will want to interview you, or refer your videos.

Figure 2

 

Figure 3 shows your audience age and gender statistics, as well as the most popular locations where your video is being viewed.