How to See (And Use) YouTube Analytics for Other Channels

Team Locowise posted on 29 May 2024

You may be paying pretty close attention to the performance of your YouTube channel. But do you know how it stacks up against the competition? Knowing how other YouTube channels are progressing by accessing their analytics ensures you have a benchmark to use and goals to reach.

When you analyse the performance of other channels, especially those of your competitors or industry leaders, you can uncover valuable information that can inform your content strategy. For example, what types of videos perform well on similar channels? This information helps identify content gaps and opportunities that your channel can capitalise on. Additionally, analysing other channels can help you discover trending topics, popular keywords, and effective engagement tactics that you might not have considered.

Want to know what your competitors are up to on YouTube? Try a free trial of Locowise!

Understanding Competitor Strategies

Understanding Competitor Strategies

Diving into the analytics of other YouTube channels, especially your competition, can offer a treasure trove of insights. By observing their content types, upload schedules, and engagement tactics, you can get a feel for what’s working well in your niche. This knowledge helps you pinpoint successful patterns and strategies that you can adapt for your own channel. Plus, keeping an eye on competitor strategies keeps you in the loop about industry trends, allowing you to stay ahead of the curve.

Identifying Content Gaps and Opportunities

Analysing other channels is fantastic for spotting content gaps and opportunities. When you see what your competitors are producing and how their audience is reacting, you can identify topics or formats that are either underrepresented or in high demand. This guides you to create content that fills these gaps, meeting audience needs that others might be missing. It also helps you avoid oversaturated topics, ensuring your channel stands out with unique and innovative content.

Improving Your Content Strategy Based on Successful Channels

Studying successful channels gives you practical ideas to improve your content strategy. Look at what makes their videos popular—things like video length, production quality, thumbnail design, and keyword usage. Also, pay attention to engagement metrics like likes, comments, and shares to see what resonates with viewers. Incorporating these insights into your own strategy can make your content more appealing, increase viewer retention, and boost overall engagement.

Analysing other YouTube channels provides you with valuable information to enhance your channel’s performance. It helps you understand competitor strategies, find content gaps, and refine your approach based on what works best. With these insights, you can create compelling content that captures your audience’s attention and drives your channel’s growth.

6 Tools to Access YouTube Analytics for Other Channels

1. Locowise

Locowise is a comprehensive social media analytics tool that provides detailed insights into YouTube channel performance. It’s designed to help you track key metrics, analyse trends, and optimise your content strategy.

Key Features:

• Channel Performance Tracking: Monitor views, subscribers, and engagement metrics.
• Competitor Analysis: Compare your channel’s performance with competitors.
• Content Insights: Analyse which videos perform best and why.
• Custom Reports: Generate detailed reports to share with your team or clients.

Benefits: Locowise offers a user-friendly interface and powerful analytics capabilities, making it ideal for both small businesses and large agencies. Its comprehensive reporting tools help you make data-driven decisions to improve your YouTube strategy. Take a look for yourself with a free trial.

2. SocialBlade

SocialBlade is a popular tool for tracking YouTube channel statistics. It provides a wealth of data on views, subscribers, and estimated earnings, making it a go-to for many content creators and marketers.

Key Features:

• Real-Time Analytics: Track real-time stats for any YouTube channel.
• Historical Data: Access historical data to analyse growth trends.

Benefits: SocialBlade offers a quick snapshot of any channel’s performance. It’s especially useful for benchmarking and competitor analysis.

3. Popsters

Overview: Popsters is a versatile tool that provides detailed analytics for YouTube and other social media platforms. It allows you to analyse your own channel as well as competitors’.

Benefits: Popsters helps you understand what content works best, when to post, and how to engage your audience effectively. It’s great for detailed competitive analysis and content planning.

4. Vidooly

Vidooly offers in-depth analytics for YouTube channels, providing valuable insights to improve your content strategy and engagement.

Features:

• Video Performance Metrics: Track views, watch time, and audience retention.
• Audience Insights: Demographic data and viewing habits.
• Competitive Analysis: Compare your channel with others in your niche.

Benefits: Vidooly stands out for its detailed audience insights and video performance tracking. It helps you understand your viewers better and tailor your content accordingly.

5. TubeBuddy

TubeBuddy is a browser extension that provides a suite of tools to help YouTube creators optimise their channels.

Features::

• SEO Tools: Keyword explorer, tag suggestions.
• Bulk Processing: Edit annotations, cards, and descriptions in bulk.
• Advanced Analytics: Track video performance and engagement.

Benefits: TubeBuddy’s intuitive interface and browser integration make it easy to use. It’s particularly beneficial for creators looking to improve their SEO and streamline channel management.

6. VidIQ

VidIQ is an analytics and SEO tool designed to help YouTube creators boost their channel’s performance.

Features:

• SEO Recommendations: Keywords, tags, and description optimisation.
• Channel Audit: Detailed performance audit to identify areas for improvement.
• Trend Alerts: Stay updated with trending topics and keywords.

Benefits: VidIQ’s strength lies in its SEO capabilities and trend alerts, helping creators optimise their content for better visibility and engagement. It’s ideal for those looking to enhance their video SEO and stay ahead of trends.

Key Metrics to Track

Views and Subscribers

Views and subscribers are fundamental metrics that provide a clear picture of a channel’s reach and popularity. Views show how many times the channel’s videos have been watched, while subscribers indicate a dedicated audience that regularly follows the channel.

How to Analyse Views and Subscribers on Other Channels:

• Views: When analysing other channels, look at the total views and views per video to identify which content resonates most with their audience. 
• Subscribers: Check the growth rate of subscribers on competitor channels. A sudden increase might indicate a successful video or campaign. Consistent growth suggests a strong, engaging content strategy.

Engagement Metrics

Engagement metrics such as likes, comments, and shares reflect how actively viewers are interacting with the content. High engagement levels often correlate with better audience retention and loyalty.

How to Analyse Other Channels’ Engagement Metrics on YouTube:

• Likes: Track the number of likes to gauge which videos are the most popular and well-received. Compare the like-to-view ratio to determine the overall engagement.
• Comments: Analyse the volume and sentiment of comments to understand viewer feedback and engagement. Look for common themes or suggestions that could be useful for your content strategy.
• Shares: High share counts indicate content that viewers find valuable enough to recommend to others. This can help identify topics that have high virality potential.

Audience Demographics

Understanding the demographics of your competitors’ audiences can help you tailor your own content to better meet the needs and interests of your target viewers.

How to Use Audience Demographics from Other Channels:

• Age and Gender: Use tools like VidIQ and Popsters to analyse the age and gender distribution of your competitors’ audiences. This information can help you tailor your content to attract similar viewers.
• Geographic Location: Identify where the majority of the competitor’s audience is located. This can influence your posting schedule and content themes to better align with those regions.
• Interests: Knowing what interests your competitor’s audience can guide your content creation to appeal to the same or similar interests, potentially drawing their viewers to your channel.

Traffic Sources

Analysing where your competitor’s views are coming from helps you identify effective promotional strategies and discover new ways to attract viewers to your own channel.

How to Understand Competitor Channels’ Traffic Sources:

• YouTube Search: Check how well your competitors’ videos rank in YouTube searches. This can give insights into their SEO strategies and popular keywords.
• Suggested Videos: Determine how often your competitors’ videos appear as suggested videos. High visibility here indicates effective engagement and relevance in their content.
• External Sources: Look at the external sources driving traffic to your competitors’ channels, such as social media, blogs, or websites. This can help you identify new platforms for promoting your own content.
• Playlists and End Screens: Analyse how your competitors use playlists and end screens to keep viewers engaged and navigate them to more content. This can inform your own strategies to increase watch time and viewer retention.

How can you find past YouTube analytics for other channels?

Finding past YouTube analytics for other channels can be challenging, as YouTube primarily provides detailed analytics only for your own channel. However, there are several methods you can use to gather historical data on other channels:

1. Use a YouTube Analytics Tool

The quickest and simplest way to view past analytics for other YouTube channels is with a third party tool. For example, with Locowise, you get access to one year of historical analytics data on YouTube channels.

2. Manual Tracking and Recording

One way to track historical data is to manually record key metrics from other channels at regular intervals. By noting down the number of views, subscribers, and other visible engagement metrics periodically, you can build a dataset over time.

3. Use Publicly Available Information

YouTube channels often display certain statistics publicly, such as total views, subscriber count, and engagement metrics on individual videos. While this information may not be as detailed as YouTube Analytics, it can still provide valuable insights into the channel’s performance over time.

4. Archive Services

Web archive services like Wayback Machine can sometimes capture snapshots of YouTube pages, including channel statistics, at various points in time. These archives can be useful for retrieving historical data.

Maximise Your YouTube Success with Competitor Analytics

Using YouTube analytics for other channels lets you benchmark your performance and enhance your content strategy. By understanding competitor strategies, identifying content gaps, and leveraging detailed insights, you can create more engaging and effective videos. Analysing other channels helps you stay ahead of trends, discover new opportunities, and refine your approach to achieve better results.
Ready to elevate your YouTube game? Sign up for a free trial of Locowise to access comprehensive YouTube analytics for your channel, and your competitors. Gain the insights you need to optimise your channel strategy and drive your channel’s growth.