VidIQ Review (2023) – How To Rank On YouTube with VidIQ – 6 Pros

Last Updated on: March 13, 2023 by Kripesh Adwani

Ranking your videos on YouTube can be tricky sometimes, but with good content & SEO practices it can be done.

Want to know how?

Let me introduce you to VidIQ, an SEO tool for YouTube. If you are a YouTube Creator, VidIQ is going to be of great help for your YouTube SEO game.

In the past few months, it has helped me a lot with researching topics for my videos and improving my YouTube reach.

After using this tool extensively, I’ll walk you through its exciting features, its pros and cons, how you can efficiently use it to rank your videos on YouTube and if it’s worth spending your money on..

TubeBuddy & VidIQ are one of the most popular YouTube tools. I’ve used both of them but today for this article we will stick to VidIQ Review. It will be based on my personal experience. I’ve used

One feature that really stand out for me was views per hour. Best part is that you don’t even need to pay for VPH. It is FREE…. I’ve discussed more about VPH and how to use it later.

Now, let’s quickly get started with our VidIQ review.

VidIQ Review

Kripesh Adwani

Ease Of Use

Keyword Research

Pricing

Support

Analytics

Summary

A combination of Keyword Research & Analytics makes it a good video SEO Tool for YouTubers. Even FREE version is loaded with features.

4.3

Get VidIQ

Table Of Contents

 [show]

Disclaimer : I strongly believe in transparency. If you buy using the links on our site, we may earn a small commission without any extra cost to you. This helps me to keep producing honest reviews. Read More >>

What is VidIQ?

VidIQ is a YouTube certified analytics and video marketing tool designed to help YouTube creators. This tool scans through your channel and provides you insights on how to rank your content better. 

It’s the perfect SEO tool for YouTubers and is available as a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox browsers.

VidIQ Video Review

For those interested in the VidIQ Review video along with training and a how-to-use guide, check out this video!

How to Use VidIQ Free Version

The VidIQ Free version comprises some basic features that can be used by everyone. Let’s see how you can get the most out of VidIQ if you are not a YouTuber.

Likes to Dislikes Ratio

VidIQ enhances your YouTube surfing experience by showing you the Likes to Dislikes ratio on every video.

Once you install its browser extension and scroll through the YouTube feed, you’ll find a tiny percentage icon mentioned beside every video. 

It refers to the number of likes and dislikes on a video. How is this helpful to you? 

With this feature, you can easily identify which content is merely a clickbait and which video provides you value. 

Generally, if a video has millions of likes, but also several thousand dislikes, then it’s most probably clickbait! Take, for example, 5-Minute Crafts, or other news related videos.

Pro Tip: If the ratio is less than 80%, you can safely avoid watching it!

How to Use VidIQ Free Version For YouTubers

If you are a YouTuber like me, VidIQ Free has some really exciting features for growing your channel. Let’s see what they are!

Views Per Hour

What is Views Per Hour?

Views per hour is an important metric for ranking on YouTube. It refers to the number of views a video gets per hour. 

This helps us in analyzing which videos are trending.

How To Select Video Topic Using Views Per Hour

Let’s say we wish to create a video around ‘graphic design’. When we enter this keyword on YouTube, we will get a list of the top videos created for it.

Now, clicking on any video will show you its VPH in the Overview tab. 

Views Per Hour is essential to analyse the potential of a topic and if it can rank on YouTube.

Competitor Views Per Hour

With the free version, VidIQ lets you add up to 3 competitors. 

How to calculate your competitor’s VPH? Just go to their channel and click on the Trending option. 

You’ll get the top 6 videos trending on their channel. For detailed YouTube analytics data, you can upgrade to the Pro Plan!

I think this feature helps a great deal with Competitor tracking and market research. You can get a hint of what type of videos are working and improve your content accordingly. 

How To Copy Tags From Another YouTube Video

Relevant tags are essential for reaching the right audience on YouTube. VidIQ comes in super handy here.

 It shows you the list of tags used in a particular video, which you can directly download or copy and paste in your videos. 

However, make sure to only use the relevant tags for best results! 

YouTube Tag Suggestions

VidIQ integrates the YouTube Autocomplete feature in its Tag suggestion. 

For example, if we type a keyword ‘password manager’, we can find more similar tags in the Recommended Tags column.  

This is an excellent feature to target the right audience with the right keywords!

How To Use VidIQ Pro

Well, if you wish to enjoy some more advanced features, you can upgrade to VidIQ Pro for a decent price. Let’s check out what it offers!

Historical Analysis of YouTube Video

Historical Analysis uses graphs to show you a channel’s views at different points of time.

Videos without any high spikes in their graphs generally perform well in the long run. A CSV file of this data can also be downloaded. This feature is good for you if you’re doing digital marketing for a client!

YouTube Keyword Tool

During my testing for VidIQ review, I’ve used the Keyword Tool a lot. It really helped me find topics that are getting searched on YouTube, even Ahrefs failed in YouTube keyword research.

To use it, just click on the Keyword Inspector from the right sidebar, or directly access it from their website.

Entering a keyword, for example ‘credit card’, will show you a list of top related keywords along with their search volume and competition. 

Now, you can either make videos on these keywords or use them as tags. I found this a suitable tool for performing keyword research on YouTube.

Finding Trending Videos on YouTube – Using VidIQ

This feature is helpful when you’re still in the research phase of your video. Click on the Most Viewed tab and enter a keyword. 

You can sort the results by time and views to narrow down your search. This feature will give you an idea about potential video topics that your audience would like!

Set Trend Alerts on YouTube

If you are into creating viral content, then Trend Alerts will definitely interest you. 

We choose a keyword, for example ‘Gaming’ and apply a views per hour threshold on it, say 1k. 

Now, if a video is released with ‘Gaming’ keyword and receives over 1k views/hour, then we will be notified through email. Notifications can be set to daily or weekly as per your preference. 

I rarely care about trends because I create review videos. My keywords are hosting, Cloud Storage, VPN, etc, which don’t go into trending often. But if you create trending content, this tool will be super helpful!

Competitor Analysis

Competitor Analysis is like the Competitor’s VPH feature in the free plan, except that here you have no limit on the trending videos of your competitors. 

You can easily analyze the videos trending on your competitors’ channels and find inspiration from their topics to grow your viewership. 

VidIQ Channel Audit

Channel Audit feature scans through your channel to show 

• Which of your videos are performing well

• Which ones have good engagement rates

• Which videos are gaining subscribers, etc.

Personally, I prefer YouTube Studio for Analytics because it has improved a lot now. So, VidIQ doesn’t stand out much for me. But I do like some of its features like:

YouTube Most Viewed Playlist

Under the Channel Audit tab, you can find which of your playlists are performing better than the others.

This feature helps you understand your audience’s interests and create more content around the topic viewed most. 

It also keeps track of videos that

• Do not belong to any playlist

• Do not have a card or end screen.

I found these very convenient and time saving. 

VidIQ Description Campaigns

Description Campaigns help you edit your video descriptions together.

For example, if I conduct a giveaway, I can add a link to it in all my videos at once. You can also edit descriptions of lists or playlists separately. 

After your purpose is accomplished, you can even remove the edited part from all video descriptions together.

Mass Edit YouTube Videos

Using the Mass Edit feature, you can edit a lot of video descriptions together. 

It allows you to search and replace a particular content in all videos at once. 

Preview In Search

Do you know thumbnails play a very important role in increasing click ratio? 

Preview in Search feature lets you preview your thumbnail against other competitors for the same keyword. 

It is important to design an attractive thumbnail that outshines the others. This is how your videos will be more click-worthy!

How To Use VidIQ Boost Plan?

With the Boost plan of VidIQ, you get all the above features plus a few more like

VidIQ Keyword Engine 

Keyword Engine is a powerful tool for keyword research. 

Entering a keyword and clicking the Boost button will unlock a comprehensive list of top-ranking tags to use in your videos. You can boost up to 40 videos in a month with the Boost plan.

Keyword Suggestion in Description and Title

After you include a sufficient number of keywords in your video, The Keyword Engine also tells you which keywords you should include in your description and the title. 

This truly gives you an edge over other Youtubers. Even I have purchased their Boost Plan, and it’s like a blessing for my YouTube Channel. It has helped me a lot with SEO! 

How To Grow YouTube channel using VidIQ?

VidIQ helps you effectively grow your YouTube Channel using features like:

• Keyword Research to analyze the volume and competition from a list of relevant keywords.

• Tag Suggestions to download and include the tags used by other creators.

• Keyword Engine to make your video’s meta descriptions more friendly to your YouTube audience.

VidIQ Chrome Extension

The VidIQ Extension is available for Chrome and Firefox browsers. All you need to do is download and install the VidIQ extension from the Web Store and sign up for an account. 

Now, when you surf through YouTube and search for a particular keyword, this tool will show you the likes to dislikes ratio. 

And when you upload a new video, it will score you for best SEO measures. It’s friendly and convenient. 

Similarly, you can also upgrade your account to the Pro or Boost versions for enhanced engagement analytics and video SEO features. 

VidIQ Web Interface

VidIQ is a cloud-based product. Its interface is decent, but might be a little overwhelming for beginner YouTubers. 

1. The Dashboard shows an overview of your channel’s performance in the past 30 days. It shows data on

• The increase in your YouTube views 

• Subscribers gained

• Average watch time

• Top videos and search terms from your channel

2. The Keywords tab shows a list of potential keywords to include in order to multiply your reach.

3. The Competitors tab shows your competitors’

• Top videos in the past 48 hours/a week/a month

• Average views/day

• Subscribers gained/day.

4. You also get Subscribers and SEO tabs on the Boost plan.

VidIQ Academy

VidIQ has its own educational platform called VidIQ Academy that helps YouTubers grow their channel and build a good audience base.

It offers informative courses covering topics like

• How to launch your first YouTube video

• How to conduct Keyword Research

• How to shoot a YouTube video,

• The equipment you need for recording videos

• How to use VidIQ, etc. 

VidIQ Pricing

VidIQ offers 4 plans. Every plan fulfills different requirements.

Basic Plan

Pro Plan

Boost Plan

Boost+ Plan

Monthly Pricing

Free

$7.50

$39

$415

No. of Channels Allowed

1

1

1, 3 or 5

Upto 5

Trend Alerts

1

1

5, 10, or 15

15

Support

Email

Email + Chat

Email + Chat

Priority Email + Chat

Keyword Engine 

N.A.

N.A.

40, 100, or 200 videos/month

200 videos/month

No. of Competitors Tracked

3

6

20

20

VidIQ Promo Code

If you guys are interested, here’s the VidIQ deal!

The first 20 viewers who purchase from my link will get an extra 25% off on the Boost and Pro plans of VidIQ. 

YouTubers can surely give it a try!

VidIQ Free Trial

Well, VidIQ doesn’t provide any free trials, but I have a good news for you.

You can get a free trial of VidIQ for 1 month using my link. Go grab this opportunity right away!

VidIQ Customer Support

The customer support of VidIQ is decent. 

They have a blog featuring hundreds of informative articles, and a help center with 60+ articles too.

For any queries, you can talk to their chatbot. But if you need assistance of an actual person, they reply within 2 hours. I received a reply within just 5 minutes, which is impressive!

Which Plan Should You Use?

It all depends on your usage and requirements. 

The free version of VidIQ is a must-use for everyone. It offers features to identify clickbaity content and perform a basic SEO of your YouTube Channel.

The Pro version comes with advanced keyword research and video marketing features sufficient for maximum YouTube creators. 

The Boost Plan is equipped with premium features like the Keyword Engine. It is designed for professional creators earning over $500/month from their channel. 

However, one thing to keep in mind is that VidIQ is not a magic wand that will immediately rank your videos on page 1! For best results, your content has to be very strong too.

VidIQ can help you with the SEO part, but the first step always is creating good content!

Advantages/Pros 

Using VidIQ tool has many advantages. Let’s go over some of them.

1. Keyword Research

VidIQ helps you find the right keywords, along with providing trending ideas, so you can create videos around them.

2. Helpful Analytics

You get lots of insights of other videos like VPH to find the right topic.

3. Good Free Plan

VidIQ Free is also feature packed to use. It’s Pro plan is the most value for money option. You get access to adequate features for boosting your YouTube growth.

4. Boosts YouTube Ranking and Views

With its efficient SEO functions, VidIQ helps you rank higher on YouTube results and reach a wider audience.

5. Market Research 

With the ability to analyse your competitors’ trending content, you can figure out what works well in the market and how to improve your own content according to it. 

6. Build Brand Awareness

If you own a brand, VidIQ can be of immense help in YouTube marketing. 

With the right keywords in your pocket, better market research and improved SEO practices, you can build an awareness for your brand among your target audience.

Cons

1. VidIQ Boost Is Expensive

VidIQ Pro plan comes at $7.50 per month which, I think, is justified for this tool. But the Boost pricing starts with $35 per month which, I think, is on the expensive side.

I’ll talk more about cons when I compare it with other similar services like TubeBuddy.

So stay tuned! I will share my views on this after a detailed comparison. Right now, you can buy VidIQ as per your usability and requirements.

How can VidIQ Help You Get More Views?

VidIQ tool comes in super handy for YouTube creators who wish to increase their viewership in less time!

It can help you select topics

The ability to check the Views per Hour of any video helps you identify the potential of a topic.

It can help you find trending topics

With the Most Viewed feature, you can keep track of videos trending for a particular keyword. 

It can help you rank better

Relevant and accurate keyword suggestions help you rank your content better on YouTube Search page. 

Is VidIQ Boost worth it?

For most people, VidIQ Pro plan will get the job done. But if you generate a constant revenue of around $500/month from your YouTube channel, then VidIQ Boost will be a great option for you. 

It has advanced analytics features like Keyword Engine that suggests relevant tags and keywords to include in the description and title. VidIQ Boost plan will help you power up your SEO game to a new level!

Is VidIQ worth it?

Certainly! If you are a YouTuber with a constant revenue coming through your channel, VidIQ tool is going to work wonders for you. 

Not only will it save your time spent on keyword research, but also make it super convenient to market your videos in the best possible manner. 

If you are just starting out, VidIQ Pro Plan has sufficient features and would be a good fit for your requirements. 

In case you can’t afford it, check out the free plan. It has limited features but will prove to be good for newbies or even non-YouTubers.

And if you’re still confused, I have a little surprise for you. You can get a one-month free trial of VidIQ Pro by using my link. 

Conclusion

In my experience, VidIQ is a super helpful tool, and I would recommend it to anyone who uses YouTube. It is a must-have for YouTube content creators, YouTube marketers, SEO specialists, digital agencies, startup brands, etc.

I started out with its free plan and then upgraded to the Pro version after a while to get access to its advanced SEO features. VidIQ tool has given a much-needed boost to my YouTube Channel growth.

So, if you are a normal online user who feels like this tool would do you good by helping you differentiate between clickbaity and genuine content, then check it out here.  

And if you are a Youtuber, then believe me, VidIQ is your ladder to ranking videos. Every budding Youtuber should use it to grow their reach. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this VidIQ review article. I hope it helps you realise how important SEO is and why your awesome content won’t make its mark without using some SEO tools. VidIQ is the smart way!

So, have you used VidIQ before? Which plan have you used? How was your experience with it? Let me know in the comments section below. 

By the way, I’m hoping you have subscribed to my Newsletter by now! If you haven’t, you’re missing out on some interesting stuff, friend! It’s your loss, haha. 😀

This is Kripesh signing off. Take care and keep growing, guys! See you in the next article. Cheers! 

FAQ

Is VidIQ Safe?

Yes, VidIQ is absolutely safe. It collects data from YouTube API and does not violate any terms and conditions of YouTube. 

Your channel won’t be deleted by using VidIQ tool. I have myself been using it since the last few years for my channel.  

Is VidIQ Legit?

Yes, VidIQ is a legit tool. It provides you real YouTube analytics and data for keyword volume, trending videos, competitors’ VPH, tag suggestions, and a lot more. 

Is VidIQ Accurate?

Well, no keyword research tool is 100% accurate! Doesn’t matter how expensive your keyword research tool is, the original data always rests with Google. 

SEO tools only make educated estimates based on their data. If we specifically talk about YouTube, then VidIQ is better when compared with other SEO tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, etc. 

Should you pay for VidIQ?

I think everyone should use the free version of VidIQ. And if you have a growing channel, then paying for it is worth all the money. 

If you need help with YouTube SEO, starting out with its Pro plan would be a good idea.