Ranking your videos on YouTube can be challenging sometimes. But, with informative content and excellent SEO practices, you can rank your videos easily.
Introducing vidIQ, one of the best SEO tools for YouTube. If you’re a content creator on YouTube, VidIQ will level up your SEO game.
I have been using VidIQ for the past couple of months. It helps me complete the research process for my company’s YouTube channel and extend the reach.
As I use this tool extensively, I will highlight its core features, pros, cons, and pricing. Make sure you read this VidIQ review to the end.
What is VidIQ?
VidIQ is one of the most famous names in the YouTube SEO optimization industry. This certified YouTube browser extension is highly beneficial for content creators.
VidIQ helps you optimize your YouTube content. Moreover, it can also help you with your YouTube video research process. You can also get advanced user analytics data, which will boost your YouTube marketing.
- Keyword research
- AI generator and coach
- YouTube channel audits
- AI title and description
YouTubers can also search keywords and tags with VidIQ tool. If you’re looking for a tool that can write SEO-friendly YouTube titles and descriptions, VidIQ should be your ultimate selection.
Getting Started with VidIQ Review
Using VidIQ is super simple and straightforward. I will discuss everything regarding VidIQ, from the initial setup to connecting to your YouTube channel to use the Chrome extension properly.
I will completely focus on my honest review of VidIQ. This way, you will be able to get more familiar with the features and leverage the best benefits of VidIQ.
1. VidIQ Interface
The vidIQ dashboard is simple and easy to use. They have designed it while keeping user experience in mind. Whether you’re a professional or a novice, you can immediately use its functions.
Who said ranking your videos is tough when you can do competitive research? This tool also allows you to monitor the success of your YouTube channel, evaluate rival videos, and search for keywords.
VidIQ also allows you to audit your YouTube channel to improve its performance on the platform. Its straightforward interface makes it easy to navigate and ensures that everything works well when advertising a channel.
2. Connect your YouTube Channel
This is one of the most important things you need to learn from this VidIQ review. You cannot use VidIQ properly unless you connect your YouTube channel with it.
But don’t worry. The process is simpler than keyword research. Given my low technical knowledge, I completed the process in less than 5 minutes.
Just visit the official VidIQ website and sign in using your credentials. Then, go to “Channel Settings” from the profile icon.
Then, click on the option “Add Your YouTube Channel.” As the name suggests, this option will allow you to connect to your YouTube channel easily.
Once you connect your account, you can see it from your profile. You can connect multiple YouTube channels with your VidIQ account, depending on the pricing plan.
3. VidIQ Chrome Extension
This is another important part of my VidIQ review. VidIQ offers a browser extension. To access more features and a comprehensive YouTube experience, install the Google Chrome plugin.
The VidIQ Chrome extension is completely free. Whether you’re using a free plan or a paid plan, you can install it and get started right away.
This browser-based application allows you to study keywords, track search ranks, and assess video performance when visiting YouTube.
It's an excellent tool for video producers looking to enhance their channel and earn money from YouTube. This is what makes VidIQ an essential component of your entire YouTube strategy.
After you enable the plugin, you will find plenty of capabilities within YouTube Creator Studio.
Also, when you submit a video, the vidIQ extension will assist you with producing channel tags, video descriptions, thumbnails, video ranking scores, and much more.
First, when you submit the video, input the term for which you want to rank.
A new popup will appear, and you can discover your competitor channels currently ranking from the competitor's tab.
This approach will help you study and compete with others. As a result, you can improve the performance of your video. We will go over every feature of VidIQ in great detail.
While the free version is undoubtedly beneficial, it has limited possibilities. Subscribing to its Pro version offers more features and benefits, allowing you to get the most out of VidIQ.
VidIQ Review: Core Features
I have discussed how to get started with VidIQ. Now, it’s time to look at the core features. Remember that most of the features mentioned below are included in the premium plans.
Beginner and professional YouTube content creators can use VidIQ's core features to boost their channels. Features such as video optimization and competitor analysis are intended to get more views and rank better in YouTube search results.
But you need to understand how these features work. This way, you can make data-driven content decisions. Why not gain an excellent competitive advantage when you have VidIQ?
1. Video Optimization
Use video optimization to ensure your YouTube content has the maximum visibility. Regular auditing combined with video-enhancing tools will help you gain more views.
Video optimization checklists, tag suggestions, and bulk SEO – these are the most important aspects of VidIQ review. Implementing these will boost the search performance of the particular video you’re planning to upload.
When you upload your YouTube shorts or videos, you will get a list of optimization checklists. Make sure you pay close attention to that checklist and do the necessary.
This way, you will know an actionable list. The checklist will prove extremely beneficial in optimizing your videos. Implementing the SEO Audit tool is another excellent method to optimize your YT content.
As you can see from the above image, the dashboard is showing 14 videos with 14 recommendation tags.
Using secure internet protocols like WWW allows you to protect both content and viewers. Optimizing video by video will help you compete more efficiently while considering marketing opportunities.
2. Keyword Research
Conducting keyword research is the ultimate key to monetizing YouTube content. Thanks to VidIQ, you can research and use the best keyword on your YouTube video.
It will help you determine the most effective keywords associated with your content. Hence, it can enhance your video ranking in search results and earn you more views.
Keyword research using VidIQ is super simple. There are two ways to do that. The first one is researching keywords from the VidIQ interface itself.
This feature will let you find the Top Keyword Opportunities, Rising Keywords, and Top Search Terms. Together, these three features will help you research the most relevant keywords.
The second method is searching keywords while uploading your YouTube video. When you scroll down to the tag section, you will find a keyword inspector tool.
You can focus on features like Keyword Search Engine, Most Viewed, or Keywords Tab. These are effective ways to gather data about top trends in your industry.
When you know what’s trending, you can use it to create appealing video content. It will suit a specific target audience, increasing your chances of going viral.
3. Daily Ideas
Creating engaging YouTube videos is undoubtedly challenging. It has become harder due to fierce competition. So, how do you stand out?
VidIQ has a feature called Daily Ideas. This tool makes your job easier by generating content ideas that match your channel preferences and performance.
If you’re having a creative block, VidIQ can help you greatly. Thanks to its Daily Ideas feature, it can instantly generate content ideas.
You can also use this feature from the Google Chrome extension. Go to the menu, and you will find the option and some other essential features.
With these personalized daily ideas, you can access many creative themes. These themes can keep your YouTube audience amused and engaged.
4. AI Generator
Another eye-catching feature in this VidIQ review is the AI Generator. It will help you create engaging titles and descriptions for your YouTube videos. Don't forget to create catchy thumbnails too.
The best thing is that the AI is extremely advanced. It can always craft something that will definitely appear in the search results.
VidIQ’s AI Generator uses a modern machine-learning algorithm. It analyzes the videos thoroughly to recommend the best metadata.
In a single click, the AI Generator can craft the following things:
You can access the AI Generator features directly from the VidIQ dashboard. You will find it at the top feature bar.
When you click on it, a new window will open. There, you will see a search button. Now, you don’t need to explain the details of your topic.
Just write down the keywords you want to rank for and click the Go button.
This is the result you will get. As you can see, I only wrote Rank Math, and the AI Generator gave me satisfactory responses.
5. AI Coach
VidIQ's AI Coach function uses AI and the YouTube API. It can assist you in developing a more successful plan for your YouTube channel.
VidIQ provides specialized suggestions to ensure data-driven decisions are made to maximize growth. This personalized coaching service provides insights that enable customers to remain ahead of the competition.
Thanks to this beneficial tool, optimizing your YouTube campaign is faster than before. You can access AI Coach directly from the dashboard and Chrome extension.
The AI Coach has a ChatGPT-like interface and your channel data. Thus, you can ask anything about your channels. However, do not rely 100% on the given results.
The AI Coach has two modes: Advanced and Basic. The Advanced Mode can fetch channel data and give you responses according to your channels. Thus, the process is slightly slower.
The other mode, Basic, generates results comparatively faster. However, it can only provide generic responses.
Regardless of the mode you use, they can prove to be a great way to save time and effort. You can focus more on optimization while ensuring a higher success rate.
6. Competitors Research
YouTube video producers always need to stand out from the competition. The best way to do this is by using VidIQ's Competitors Research tool.
With this tool, users may monitor and evaluate videos, keywords, and channels relevant to them to devise a better plan for generating their own content.
To use this feature, you first need to add your competitors. Just go the Competitors section, search your competitors, and add them.
After you add them, you need to go to the Competitors tab again. From there, you can conduct a thorough competitor research as per your channel.
On the same page, you can also view metrics for your competitors' videos. This includes particular YouTube videos from their channels.
The free edition has all of the functionality. However, it is relatively limited compared to the premium version.
Examine what effective strategies work for others. This will help you avoid repeating your competitor’s mistakes.
7. YouTube Analysis
Understanding your YouTube channel's stats is vital for its growth. Use VidIQ's Analytics function to measure statistics like views, subscribers, and engagement numbers for your videos.
You can use the Chrome Browser extension to access YouTube analytics.
This is how it looks when you access the analytics from the Chrome extension. You will also get other reports just below the Overview section. However, you need to connect your YouTube account with VidIQ to do so.
Alternatively, you can also see the stats from the VidIQ dashboard. It will prove to be an excellent option to analyze the performance of your videos.
Thanks to this feature, you will have a better understanding of the recent trends. You can also review progress and make data-driven choices regarding video optimization. This way, you can ensure your videos reach the most relevant audiences and they engage for a long time.
8. Channel Audit
The Channel Audit Tool in my VidIQ review is an excellent feature. It offers a detailed audit of the performance of your YouTube channel.
It's like having a personal YouTube SEO expert who is always monitoring your channel's health. Moreover, it recommends strategies to improve YouTube views and expand your audience.
To use the Channel Audit Tool, you need to install the VidIQ extension on your browser. Once within YouTube, look for the VidIQ symbol in the lower middle area of the screen. Clicking on it will bring up the vidIQ menu.
The dropdown menu will show three dots. Click on these three dots to enlarge the menu and choose ‘Channel Audit'. This will take you to a thorough report on your channel's performance.
The Channel Audit Tool is included in the free edition of VidIQ, making it an invaluable resource for all YouTube producers regardless of budget. It offers a detailed analysis of your videos, including views, watch time, engagement rate, views per hour, and SEO performance.
It will also help you know what’s working in your favor and what’s not. The metrics will help you improve your YouTube marketing strategy and get you more views.
Channel auditing is a crucial component of video SEO. It will help you understand how your videos perform in terms of SEO. Thus, you can make the required changes to increase your exposure and reach on the platform.
With vidIQ's Channel Audit Tool, you can quickly perform frequent audits. This method guarantees that your channel is constantly optimized for success.
VidIQ Review: Pros and Cons
Now that you know the features of VidIQ, you should also know where it lacks. While I must admit that it's extremely beneficial, you still need to be aware of the pros and cons of VidIQ.
Pros
- The basic plan is sufficient for beginners
- It comes with superb competitive analysis features
- It has a powerful keyword research tool
- You can access relevant metrics
- Highly effective optimization tools
Cons
- Features in paid plans require a steep learning period
- No refund policy
- VidIQ Boost is expensive
As you can see, the pros clearly outweigh the cons. If you’re planning to use VidIQ, don’t hesitate to try the free plan first to test the features yourself.
VidIQ Pricing Plans
VidIQ has different pricing plans. Hence, you can choose something that suits best to your needs. Let's take a look at the pricing plans.
VidIQ Pricing Plan
Basic: $0
Pro: $7.50/month
Boost: $39/month
Max: $79/month
As mentioned earlier, the Basic or free pricing plan od VidIQ has numerous helpful features. While the Pro is cost-effective, the Boost and Max plan is undoubtedly expensive. Also, you will save a significant amount of money upon choosing the yearly plan.
Ready to use VidIQ?
In my opinion, VidIQ is an extremely helpful tool. I would recommend it to anyone planning to improve their YouTube content creation skills.
It’s one of the most important tools for YouTube marketers, content creators, digital marketing, SEO specialists, startup brands, etc.
Even though I started with the free trial, I upgraded to a VidIQ pro plan to leverage the benefits of its advanced features.
So, if you want to boost your YouTube channel and video marketing strategy, try VidIQ today!
