Analyzing Youtube Competitor Channel Strategy

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

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):

# 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:
{
  "searchTerms": "https://www.youtube.com/@[COMPETITOR_CHANNEL]",
  "maxItems": 100
}

REST API fallback:

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:

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

Step 3: Classify Results

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

Step 4: Score Each Result

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

# 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.

analyzing-youtube-competitor-channel-strategy