Competitor Monitor

Track local competitor GBP changes, reviews, and ranking shifts by John Rippy | johnrippy.link

Stay ahead of the competition by monitoring their Google Business Profile activity. Know when competitors get new reviews, post updates, or change their listings.

Use Cases

• Competitive Intelligence - Know what competitors are doing
• Review Alerts - See when competitors get new reviews
• Strategy Insights - Learn from competitor post strategies
• Market Monitoring - Track new entrants in your market
• Gap Analysis - Compare your profile to competitors

Features

• Multi-Competitor Tracking - Monitor up to 20 competitors
• Review Monitoring - New reviews, rating changes, response patterns
• Post Tracking - GBP post frequency and content themes
• Profile Change Detection - Hours, photos, descriptions, categories
• Comparison Dashboard - Your business vs competitors
• Historical Trends - Track changes over time
• Smart Alerts - Get notified of significant changes

Input Options

Parameter	Type	Description
yourBusiness	object	Your business info for comparison
competitors	array	List of competitors (name + placeId/searchQuery)
previousRunId	string	Previous dataset for change detection
trackReviews	boolean	Monitor reviews
trackPosts	boolean	Monitor posts
trackPhotos	boolean	Monitor photos
trackProfileChanges	boolean	Monitor profile updates
webhookUrl	string	Alert destination
alertThreshold	enum	all, medium, high

Example Input

{
  "yourBusiness": {
    "name": "Acme Plumbing",
    "placeId": "ChIJ..."
  },
  "competitors": [
    { "name": "Bob's Plumbing", "placeId": "ChIJ..." },
    { "name": "Quick Fix Plumbers", "searchQuery": "Quick Fix Plumbers Dallas TX" }
  ],
  "trackReviews": true,
  "trackPosts": true,
  "webhookUrl": "https://your-app.com/webhook/competitor-alert"
}

Output Format

{
  "competitor": "Bob's Plumbing",
  "placeId": "ChIJ...",
  "monitorDate": "2024-12-19T00:00:00.000Z",
  "currentState": {
    "rating": 4.5,
    "reviewCount": 156,
    "photoCount": 42,
    "lastPost": "2024-12-18",
    "category": "Plumber",
    "website": "https://bobsplumbing.com"
  },
  "changes": [
    {
      "type": "new_review",
      "importance": "medium",
      "details": {
        "rating": 5,
        "snippet": "Great service, highly recommend!"
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "new_post",
      "importance": "low",
      "details": {
        "postType": "update",
        "snippet": "Holiday hours announcement..."
      }
    }
  ],
  "comparison": {
    "ratingDiff": -0.2,
    "reviewCountDiff": 14,
    "photoCountDiff": -8,
    "advantage": "You have more photos, they have more reviews"
  }
}

Change Types & Importance

Change Type	Low	Medium	High
New Review	Any	1-2 star	Multiple negatives
Rating Change	<0.1	0.1-0.3	>0.3
New Post	Regular update	Offer/Event	Major announcement
Profile Update	Minor	Hours/Phone	Name/Category
New Photos	1-2	5-10	10+

Integration (Zapier, Make, n8n)

This actor supports webhook notifications for easy integration with automation platforms:

Zapier

1. Create a new Zap with "Webhooks by Zapier" as the trigger
2. Select "Catch Hook" and copy the webhook URL
3. Paste the URL into the webhookUrl input parameter
4. Run the actor to send data to your Zap

Make (Integromat)

1. Create a new scenario with "Webhooks" module
2. Add "Custom webhook" trigger and copy the URL
3. Paste the URL into the webhookUrl input parameter
4. Run the actor to receive data in Make

n8n

1. Add a "Webhook" node to your workflow
2. Copy the production webhook URL
3. Paste the URL into the webhookUrl input parameter
4. Run the actor to trigger your n8n workflow

Custom Endpoints

You can also send data to any custom REST API endpoint by providing the URL in the webhookUrl parameter.

Pricing

This actor uses pay-per-event pricing:

Event	Description	Price
apify-actor-start	Base cost per run	$0.10
competitor_analyzed	Per competitor monitored	$0.03
review_analyzed	Per review analyzed	$0.02

Example costs:

• 5 competitors basic: $0.10 + (5 × $0.03) = $0.25
• 10 competitors with reviews: $0.10 + (10 × $0.03) + (10 × $0.02) = $0.60
• 20 competitors with reviews: $0.10 + (20 × $0.03) + (20 × $0.02) = $1.10

Competitive Insights

The actor provides strategic insights:

• Review Velocity - How fast are they getting reviews?
• Response Pattern - Do they respond to reviews? How fast?
• Post Strategy - What type of content do they post?
• Photo Investment - Are they actively adding photos?
• Category Optimization - What categories are they using?

Integration Ideas

• Slack Alerts - Get competitor updates in your channel
• CRM Notes - Auto-add competitor intel to client records
• Reports - Feed into monthly competitive reports
• Strategy Triggers - Auto-create tasks based on competitor moves

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Built by John Rippy | johnrippy.link - Your AI-Powered Local SEO Partner

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Keywords

competitor monitoring, competitor analysis, competitive intelligence, market tracking, competitor tracking, local seo competitor analysis, zapier integration, make integration, n8n integration