AI-Enhanced Competitor Monitor - GBP Tracking, Rankings, Ads & Social Intelligence

AI-Powered competitive intelligence for local businesses. Track Google Business Profile changes, keyword rankings, Google Ads activity, and social media presence across up to 20 competitors. Claude AI (BYOK) provides strategic analysis with threat assessment, opportunity identification, and actionable recommendations. Essential for local SEO agencies, multi-location businesses, and franchise operations.

Features

Core Competitor Tracking

• Multi-Competitor Monitoring - Track up to 20 competitors simultaneously
• Review Monitoring - New reviews, rating changes, response patterns
• Post Tracking - GBP post frequency and content themes
• Profile Change Detection - Hours, photos, descriptions, categories
• Photo Count Tracking - Monitor competitor photo activity
• Change Importance Scoring - Low, medium, and high importance alerts
• Comparison Dashboard - Your business vs all competitors side-by-side

Enhanced Intelligence (v2.0)

• Keyword Rankings - Track local SERP positions for target keywords
• Local Pack Status - Know if competitors appear in the map pack
• Google Ads Detection - Discover if competitors are running ads with ad copy
• Social Media Discovery - Find competitor profiles on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok

AI Strategic Analysis (BYOK)

• Strategic Summary - AI analyzes all competitor data and provides actionable insights
• Threat Assessment - Prioritized list of competitive threats with severity
• Opportunity Identification - Market gaps based on competitor weaknesses
• Recommended Actions - Specific next steps ranked by impact
• Competition Score - 0-100 overall competitive position rating
• Anti-Detection - Residential proxies for reliable access
• Demo Mode - Test with sample data before going live

Who Should Use This Actor?

Local SEO Agencies

Monitor client competitors at scale. Build data-driven competitive reports with ranking changes, review activity, and AI-powered strategic recommendations.

Multi-Location Businesses

Track competitors in each market. Compare competitive landscapes across locations and identify markets needing attention.

Franchise Operations

Monitor competitors across all franchise territories. Standardize competitive intelligence gathering and strategy recommendations.

Small Business Owners

Keep tabs on local competitors without expensive tools. Know when competitors get new reviews, change their hours, or start running ads.

Marketing Consultants

Provide clients with competitive intelligence reports. AI analysis adds strategic value beyond raw data.

Reputation Management Firms

Monitor competitor review velocity and ratings. Identify when competitors gain or lose reputation ground.

Quick Start

Demo Mode (Free Test)

{
  "demoMode": true
}

Basic Competitor Tracking

{
  "competitors": [
    { "name": "Bob's Plumbing", "searchQuery": "Bob's Plumbing Dallas TX" },
    { "name": "Quick Fix Plumbers", "searchQuery": "Quick Fix Plumbers Dallas TX" }
  ],
  "trackReviews": true,
  "trackPosts": true,
  "demoMode": false
}

Full Intelligence Suite

{
  "yourBusiness": {
    "name": "Acme Plumbing",
    "placeId": "ChIJ..."
  },
  "competitors": [
    { "name": "Bob's Plumbing", "placeId": "ChIJ..." },
    { "name": "Quick Fix Plumbers", "placeId": "ChIJ..." },
    { "name": "Pro Pipe Services", "placeId": "ChIJ..." }
  ],
  "trackReviews": true,
  "trackPosts": true,
  "trackPhotos": true,
  "trackProfileChanges": true,
  "trackRankings": true,
  "targetKeywords": ["plumber dallas", "emergency plumber", "water heater repair"],
  "targetLocation": "Dallas, TX",
  "detectGoogleAds": true,
  "trackSocialMedia": true,
  "anthropicApiKey": "sk-ant-...",
  "enableAiAnalysis": true,
  "demoMode": false
}

With Webhook Alerts

{
  "competitors": [
    { "name": "Competitor 1", "searchQuery": "Competitor 1 City ST" }
  ],
  "trackReviews": true,
  "alertThreshold": "medium",
  "webhookUrl": "https://hooks.zapier.com/hooks/catch/...",
  "demoMode": false
}

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
yourBusiness	object	-	Your business info (name, placeId) for comparison
competitors	array	-	Competitors to track (name + placeId or searchQuery)
previousRunId	string	-	Previous dataset ID for change detection
trackReviews	boolean	true	Monitor review activity
trackPosts	boolean	true	Monitor GBP posts
trackPhotos	boolean	true	Monitor photo changes
trackProfileChanges	boolean	true	Monitor profile updates
trackRankings	boolean	false	Track keyword rankings
targetKeywords	array	-	Keywords to track rankings for
targetLocation	string	-	Location for ranking tracking
detectGoogleAds	boolean	false	Check for competitor Google Ads
trackSocialMedia	boolean	false	Find social media profiles
alertThreshold	string	all	Minimum alert importance: all, medium, high
anthropicApiKey	string	-	Your Anthropic API key for AI analysis (BYOK)
enableAiAnalysis	boolean	true	Enable AI strategic analysis
proxyConfiguration	object	Residential	Proxy settings
demoMode	boolean	true	Return sample data for testing
webhookUrl	string	-	Webhook URL for alerts

Output Format

Per-Competitor Output

{
  "competitor": "Bob's Plumbing",
  "placeId": "ChIJ...",
  "monitorDate": "2026-01-28T10:30:00.000Z",
  "currentState": {
    "rating": 4.5,
    "reviewCount": 156,
    "photoCount": 42,
    "lastPost": "2026-01-25",
    "category": "Plumber",
    "website": "https://bobsplumbing.com"
  },
  "rankings": {
    "plumber dallas": { "position": 3, "inLocalPack": true },
    "emergency plumber": { "position": 7, "inLocalPack": false }
  },
  "googleAds": {
    "detected": true,
    "adCopy": "24/7 Emergency Plumbing - Call Now!"
  },
  "socialProfiles": {
    "facebook": "https://facebook.com/bobsplumbing",
    "instagram": "https://instagram.com/bobsplumbing"
  },
  "changes": [
    {
      "type": "new_review",
      "importance": "medium",
      "details": { "rating": 5, "snippet": "Great service!" }
    }
  ],
  "comparison": {
    "ratingDiff": -0.2,
    "reviewCountDiff": 14,
    "advantage": "You have more photos, they have more reviews"
  }
}

AI Strategic Analysis Output (BYOK)

{
  "type": "ai_strategic_analysis",
  "overallScore": 72,
  "strategicSummary": "Your competitive position is moderately strong. Key threats include Bob's aggressive review acquisition and Quick Fix's Google Ads presence.",
  "threats": [
    {
      "competitor": "Bob's Plumbing",
      "threat": "Gaining reviews 3x faster than you",
      "priority": "high",
      "recommendation": "Implement post-service review request automation"
    }
  ],
  "opportunities": [
    {
      "area": "Social Media",
      "insight": "Competitors have minimal Instagram presence",
      "action": "Establish Instagram with before/after project photos"
    }
  ],
  "recommendedActions": [
    "Set up automated review request system (high impact)",
    "Create Instagram business profile with project portfolio",
    "Optimize for 'emergency plumber' keywords"
  ],
  "analyzedAt": "2026-01-28T12:00:00.000Z"
}

Pricing (Pay-Per-Event)

Event	Description	Price
competitor_analyzed	Per competitor monitored	$0.03
review_analyzed	Per review analyzed	$0.02

Example costs:

• 5 competitors basic: 5 x $0.03 = $0.15
• 10 competitors with reviews: (10 x $0.03) + (10 x $0.02) = $0.50
• 20 competitors full suite: (20 x $0.03) + (20 x $0.02) = $1.00
• Demo mode: $0.00

Note: AI analysis uses your own Anthropic API key (BYOK) - no additional Apify charge.

Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: Weekly Competitive Report

{
  "yourBusiness": { "name": "Your Business", "placeId": "ChIJ..." },
  "competitors": [
    { "name": "Comp 1", "placeId": "ChIJ..." },
    { "name": "Comp 2", "placeId": "ChIJ..." },
    { "name": "Comp 3", "placeId": "ChIJ..." }
  ],
  "trackReviews": true,
  "trackPosts": true,
  "trackPhotos": true,
  "anthropicApiKey": "sk-ant-...",
  "enableAiAnalysis": true,
  "demoMode": false
}

Schedule weekly for consistent competitive monitoring with AI insights.

Scenario 2: Local Pack Monitoring

{
  "competitors": [
    { "name": "Comp 1", "searchQuery": "Comp 1 Dallas TX" }
  ],
  "trackRankings": true,
  "targetKeywords": ["plumber", "emergency plumber", "drain cleaning"],
  "targetLocation": "Dallas, TX",
  "demoMode": false
}

Track who's in the local pack for your target keywords.

Scenario 3: Ad Intelligence

{
  "competitors": [
    { "name": "Comp 1", "searchQuery": "Comp 1 City ST" },
    { "name": "Comp 2", "searchQuery": "Comp 2 City ST" }
  ],
  "detectGoogleAds": true,
  "trackSocialMedia": true,
  "demoMode": false
}

Discover which competitors are running Google Ads and their ad copy.

Webhook & Automation Integration

Zapier / Make.com / n8n

1. Create a webhook trigger in your automation platform
2. Copy the webhook URL to webhookUrl
3. Route alerts to Slack, email, CRM, etc.

Popular automations:

• High-importance changes -> Slack alert (real-time competitive alerts)
• AI analysis -> Email (weekly strategic briefing)
• Review changes -> Google Sheets (competitive dashboard)
• Ranking changes -> Airtable (rank tracking database)

Apify Scheduled Runs

Schedule daily or weekly runs for continuous competitive monitoring.

FAQ

Q: Do I need Google Business Profile access?

A: No. This monitor uses public Google data. No login required. Provide either a Place ID or search query for each competitor.

Q: What is a Place ID?

A: A unique Google identifier for a business location (e.g., "ChIJ..."). You can find it using Google's Place ID Finder or from Google Maps URLs. Alternatively, just provide a search query.

Q: How many competitors can I track?

A: Up to 20 competitors per run. For more, run multiple instances or schedule sequential runs.

Q: How does change detection work?

A: Provide a previousRunId to compare against a previous run's dataset. The monitor identifies what changed (new reviews, rating changes, profile updates) and scores importance.

Q: What does BYOK mean?

A: Bring Your Own Key. You provide your own Anthropic API key for Claude AI strategic analysis. This gives you control over AI costs while getting premium competitive intelligence.

Common Problems & Solutions

"Competitor not found"

• Verify the Place ID or search query is correct
• Try a more specific search query (include city and state)
• Some businesses may have limited Google profiles

"No changes detected"

• This is normal if nothing changed since the last run
• Provide previousRunId for change detection between runs
• First run establishes a baseline (no changes to detect)

"AI analysis not working"

• Verify your Anthropic API key is correct
• Ensure enableAiAnalysis: true is set
• Check your Anthropic account has available credits

"Demo data showing"

• Set demoMode: false - no account required

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📞 Support

• Actor Arsenal: Full Actor Catalog
• Developer: John Rippy

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Built by John Rippy | Actor Arsenal