How to Inventory a YouTube Channel

Inventorying a YouTube channel is the process of cataloging every video on a channel into a structured Google Sheet that captures the video title, URL, publish date, featured speaker, Google ranking data, social media links, view count, duration, and word count from the transcript. This is a foundational analytics task in the Content Factory because the inventory reveals exactly what content exists, how it performs, and where the gaps are.

A YouTube inventory belongs to the Promote stage—specifically the “Analyze” sub-component. Before you can decide what new pillar content to produce, you need to understand what already exists. The inventory tells you which speakers generate the most views, which topics rank on the first page of Google, and where the channel has untapped potential. It also feeds into positive mentions collection and content authority scoring.

Where YouTube Inventory Fits in the Content Factory

This task bridges the Promote and Produce stages. It is an analysis task that informs content strategy. The inventory depends on having an active YouTube channel with published videos. Once complete, it feeds into decisions about which content to repurpose, which speakers to feature more, and which topics deserve new pillar content recordings.

Step-by-Step Inventory Process

Step 1: Load the Videos Page

Navigate to the YouTube channel’s Videos tab. Start with the first video on the list. For YouTube Shorts, replace “shorts/” in the URL with “watch?v=” to access the full video page with view count, duration, and transcript.

Step 2: Gather Core Information

For each video, copy the video name, URL, and publish date into the appropriate columns. Identify the featured speaker—if the client is interviewing someone, record that person’s name. Check the video description for additional details about the speaker including their company affiliation.

Step 3: Check Google Rankings

Search the featured speaker’s name on Google. Record whether the client or their company appears on the first page of results under “First Page.” Check if the specific video appears in search results and record the ranking under “Video Ranking.” Use “1st” for first-page results and “n/a” when not found.

Step 4: Find Speaker Social Profiles

Locate the featured speaker’s LinkedIn and Twitter/X accounts. Check the video description first, then Google their name with their company name in quotes for more specific results. Verify you have the correct person before recording the URLs. If no account exists, record “n/a.”

Step 5: Record View Count and Duration

Copy the video’s view count and duration from the YouTube video page into the appropriate columns. For Shorts, make sure you are viewing the “watch?v=” version to see accurate counts.

Step 6: Get the Word Count from the Transcript

Click “Show Transcript” on the YouTube video page, select all transcript text from the first to last timestamp, and copy it. Paste it into a timestamp removal tool to strip the timestamps. Then paste the clean text into a word counter tool or MS Word to get the word count. Record this number in the spreadsheet.

Step 7: Complete the Summary Tab

After inventorying all videos, update the Summary tab with the analysis date, total number of YouTube videos, total channel views, total duration, and total words. Verify that the formulas capture all populated cells. Calculate your time to completion, time per entry, and cost per entry.

Related Resources

The YouTube inventory feeds into content authority scoring and positive mentions collection. Use the inventory data to decide which content to repurpose into new formats. For the full Content Factory workflow, see The 4 Stages of the Content Factory.