YouTube Competitor Analyzer

Find and analyze competitor channels using YouTube Data API v3.

Usage

/youtube-competitor-analyzer @MyChannel
/youtube-competitor-analyzer @MyChannel --keywords "meditation" "mindfulness"
/youtube-competitor-analyzer --competitors @rivalA @rivalB UCxxxxxxx
/youtube-competitor-analyzer @MyChannel --top 15 --max-queries 4

Instructions

Step 1: Parse Arguments

• --channel (optional): the user's channel for context and ranking
• --competitors (optional): specific channels to analyze directly (@handles, URLs, or IDs)
• --keywords (optional): discovery keywords; defaults to keywords derived from the user's channel
• --max-queries N (optional): max discovery searches, 100 units each (default: 3)
• --top N (optional): how many competitors to profile in depth (default: 12)

At least one of --channel or --competitors is required.

Step 2: Get the API Key

Get a key from Google Cloud Console with YouTube Data API v3 enabled. Check Claude memory first; if not found, ask the user to paste it.

Step 3: Run the Bundled Script

Run scripts/analyze_competitors.py — resolve the path relative to this skill's own directory:

YT_API_KEY=API_KEY python3 <skill-dir>/scripts/analyze_competitors.py --channel "@MyChannel"
YT_API_KEY=API_KEY python3 <skill-dir>/scripts/analyze_competitors.py --competitors "@rivalA" "@rivalB"

Dependency: pip3 install google-api-python-client.

Step 4: Read the Data

reports/data/competitor-analysis-<slug>-<YYYY-MM-DD>.json

Step 5: Write the Report

Write to the path the script printed: reports/competitor-analysis-<slug>-<YYYY-MM-DD>.md

Competitor Discovery Methods

1. Keyword search — search.list(type=channel) on terms drawn from the user's brandingSettings.keywords, channel description, and recent video titles.
2. Content similarity — frequent 5+ character words from the user's last 25 video titles feed the same discovery queries.
3. Direct input — --competitors accepts @handles, channel IDs, or URLs and resolves each for 1 unit. Directly supplied channels are weighted above search hits.
4. Manual keywords — --keywords overrides the derived terms entirely.

Niche-Specific Search Terms

Useful starting points for --keywords:

Spiritual/wellness: meditation, mindfulness, yoga, spiritual, consciousness, wellness, self-help, awakening
Tech:               tech review, unboxing, tutorial, how to, comparison, tips, gadget
Gaming:             gameplay, let's play, walkthrough, gaming, stream, esports

Competitor Ranking

sizeSimilarity  = 1 - |log10(compSubs + 1) - log10(targetSubs + 1)| / 10
relevanceScore  = discoveryHits(channel) / maxDiscoveryHits     # normalized 0-1
overallScore    = sizeSimilarity * 0.3 + relevanceScore * 0.7

Sorted by overallScore; the top N (default 12) get a full recent-content profile. Without a --channel for comparison, sizeSimilarity is held neutral at 0.5.

Comparative Analysis

Per competitor:

Plus a recent_content profile per competitor from their last 25 uploads: average duration, Shorts percentage, average recent views, average days between uploads, preferred publishing days, top title words, and top tags.

positioning compares the user's channel against the competitor averages on every metric (as a percentage of average) and gives their rank by subscribers.

Content Gap Analysis

Compare across the recent_content profiles:

• Content types and topics they cover that the user does not (top title words / tags)
• Duration preferences and Shorts adoption
• Upload schedules and cadence
• High-performing topics by average recent views

Output Report Structure

# Competitive Analysis Report: [Channel Name]
*Analyzed [date] | [N] competitors from [N] candidates*

## Executive Summary
- Competitors found, key positioning insights

## Competitor Table
| Channel | Subs | Videos | Total Views | Views/Video | Uploads/Mo | Score |
|---------|------|--------|-------------|-------------|------------|-------|

## Competitive Positioning
- User vs competitor averages (use `positioning.vs_average`)
- Rank by subscribers, market position assessment

## Content Strategy Comparison
- What competitors do differently (duration, Shorts %, cadence)
- Common patterns among top performers
- Topic and tag overlap vs whitespace

## Opportunities
- Content gaps to fill
- Underserved niches
- Schedule optimization

## Recommendations
- Strategic actions based on analysis, each tied to a data point

## Quota Usage
| Operation | Calls | Units |
|-----------|-------|-------|
Use the `quota_used.breakdown` block from the JSON.

Step 6: Report Completion

Tell the user the report path, how many competitors were profiled, their market position in one line, the top opportunity, and the quota consumed.

Quota Estimate

Channel discovery is one of the few places search.list is genuinely required; everything after discovery uses 1-unit endpoints.

Direct mode (--competitors, no discovery): ~1 unit to resolve each channel plus 2 units per profile — about 40 units for 12 competitors.

Lower --max-queries to cut 100 units per query removed. Daily default allowance is 10,000 units, resetting at midnight Pacific Time.