# Competitor Content Refresh Tracker (`junipr/competitor-content-refresh-tracker`) Actor

Track competitor content pages for title, heading, date, section, FAQ, media, and CTA changes between snapshots.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/junipr/competitor-content-refresh-tracker.md
- **Developed by:** [junipr](https://apify.com/junipr) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $11.50 / 1,000 content target checkeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Competitor Content Refresh Tracker

Compare two captured versions of a competitor content page and receive source-linked change records. The Actor checks titles, meta descriptions, structured or visible dates, headings, FAQ questions, calls to action, embedded media counts, and visible text size. Each dataset row identifies the exact observed field, old value, new value, change direction, and evidence excerpt.

Use it for recurring editorial monitoring, competitor research, content refresh digests, and change alerts. The Actor describes observable differences between supplied snapshots. It does not infer why a publisher made a change or assign business impact without source evidence.

### How comparison works

Provide matching `sourceUrl` values in `baselineSnapshots` and `currentSnapshots`. The Actor pairs those records, extracts the supported signals from each HTML document, and emits added, removed, updated, or unchanged rows. A captured HTML record may instead include `previousHtml` and `currentHtml` in `htmlInputs`.

`changeSensitivity` controls which observable differences are returned:

- `low` keeps every supported field difference;
- `medium` removes small text-length movement while retaining structural changes;
- `high` focuses on title, date, heading, and FAQ-question differences.

Missing pairs, access-denied responses, and absent snapshots return diagnostic rows. They never become fabricated change records.

### Input

| Field | Purpose | Default / cap |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `competitorUrls` | Competitor pages eligible for explicit current-page retrieval | empty |
| `baselineSnapshots` | Earlier HTML snapshots keyed by `sourceUrl` | empty |
| `currentSnapshots` | Later HTML snapshots keyed by `sourceUrl` | empty |
| `fetchCurrent` | Fetch `competitorUrls` as current snapshots | `false` |
| `changeSensitivity` | `low`, `medium`, or `high` filtering | `medium` |
| `includeDiffSnippets` | Include old-to-new evidence text | `true` |
| `maxTargets` | Maximum paired competitor targets | 25 maximum |
| `maxComparisons` | Maximum change rows per pair | 50 default, 250 maximum |
| `htmlInputs` | Captured records with HTML or previous/current HTML | empty |
| `allowedDomains` | Optional hostname allowlist for retrieval | empty |
| `maxPages` | Maximum pages retrieved | 1 default, 25 maximum |
| `includeEvidence` | Preserve evidence excerpts in dataset rows | `true` |
| `includeRawSnapshots` | Store accepted raw snapshots in key-value storage | `false` |
| `maxChargeUsd` | Stop before the next event exceeds this amount | 35 USD maximum |

Example:

```json
{
  "baselineSnapshots": [
    {
      "sourceUrl": "https://publisher.example/guide",
      "html": "<html><title>2025 Guide</title><h1>Annual planning</h1></html>"
    }
  ],
  "currentSnapshots": [
    {
      "sourceUrl": "https://publisher.example/guide",
      "html": "<html><title>2026 Guide</title><h1>Quarterly planning</h1></html>"
    }
  ],
  "changeSensitivity": "medium",
  "maxComparisons": 20,
  "maxChargeUsd": 5
}
```

The Store default performs no network request and returns a nonempty `snapshots_required` diagnostic. Enable `fetchCurrent` only when the supplied competitor URLs should be retrieved during the run.

### Dataset output

Every row includes provenance fields such as `sourceUrl`, `canonicalUrl`, `httpStatus`, and `scannedAt`. Comparison fields include:

- `competitorUrl` for the paired target;
- `changeType` as `added`, `removed`, `updated`, or `unchanged`;
- `fieldName` for the observed signal;
- `oldValue` and `newValue` for the source-backed values;
- `changeMagnitude` for a bounded structural or size indicator;
- `dateChangedSignal`, `sectionAdded`, and `sectionRemoved` flags;
- `diffSnippet` when evidence snippets are enabled;
- `issueCode`, `severity`, `evidenceSnippet`, and `recommendation` for audit use.

An unchanged row means that no difference crossed the chosen sensitivity. It is not a claim that the entire page is identical outside the supported extraction fields.

### Reports

When `includeReport` is enabled, key-value storage receives a Markdown digest, full CSV records, issue rows in JSON, bounded evidence excerpts, and run metadata. Raw HTML is stored only when `includeRawSnapshots` is explicitly enabled.

### Pay-per-event pricing

| Event | Price (USD) | When charged |
| --- | ---: | --- |
| `actor-start` | 0.0350 | after successful startup |
| `content-target-checked` | 0.0115 | once for each accepted competitor target |
| `content-snapshot-compared` | 0.0115 | before a supported snapshot comparison is emitted |
| `content-change-detected` | 0.0225 | before each paid observed-change row |
| `digest-generated` | 0.0900 | before the change digest is stored |
| `executive-report-generated` | 0.1800 | before the executive report artifacts are stored |

Apify platform usage pass-through is off. Higher-tier Store discounts are reserved in the pricing policy. `maxChargeUsd` is checked before every event; rejected, partial, or over-budget charges stop the related output write.

### Safety and interpretation

Only HTTP and HTTPS URLs are accepted for optional retrieval. Loopback and private IPv4 targets are rejected, domain allowlists can narrow accepted hosts, and page counts, timeouts, and comparison counts stay bounded. Discovered links are not crawled. Authentication walls and human-verification responses are recorded as diagnostics.

HTML comparison cannot observe browser state, content omitted from the response, or business intent. Retain dated snapshots, review the evidence excerpt, and validate material editorial decisions against the source page.

# Actor input Schema

## `competitorUrls` (type: `array`):

Competitor page URLs to compare against target or historical snapshots.

## `baselineSnapshots` (type: `array`):

Records with sourceUrl and html or currentHtml.

## `currentSnapshots` (type: `array`):

Current records paired by sourceUrl.

## `fetchCurrent` (type: `boolean`):

Fetch current public pages when current HTML snapshots are not supplied.

## `changeSensitivity` (type: `string`):

Minimum change score or sensitivity profile used to classify detected changes.

## `includeDiffSnippets` (type: `boolean`):

Include short before and after diff snippets in output rows.

## `maxTargets` (type: `integer`):

Maximum target pages or snapshot pairs to evaluate.

## `maxComparisons` (type: `integer`):

Maximum competitor comparison records to inspect.

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

Optional public page URLs to analyze when actor-specific URL fields are not used.

## `sitemapUrls` (type: `array`):

Optional public XML sitemap URLs. Accepted pages remain bounded by maxPages.

## `htmlInputs` (type: `array`):

Records may include sourceUrl, previousHtml, and currentHtml.

## `allowedDomains` (type: `array`):

Optional hostname allowlist for fetched pages.

## `maxPages` (type: `integer`):

Maximum pages to fetch in one run.

## `maxDepth` (type: `integer`):

General link discovery is disabled.

## `includeEvidence` (type: `boolean`):

Include short source evidence snippets in output rows.

## `includeRawSnapshots` (type: `boolean`):

Opt in to raw HTML artifacts in key-value storage.

## `requestDelayMs` (type: `integer`):

Delay in milliseconds between outbound page requests.

## `timeoutMs` (type: `integer`):

Maximum time in milliseconds to wait for a page request.

## `userAgentMode` (type: `string`):

User agent profile to use for public page requests.

## `maxChargeUsd` (type: `number`):

Maximum estimated PPE spend before the actor exits gracefully.

## `includeReport` (type: `boolean`):

Write the markdown summary report to the run key-value store.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "competitorUrls": [],
  "baselineSnapshots": [],
  "currentSnapshots": [],
  "fetchCurrent": false,
  "changeSensitivity": "medium",
  "includeDiffSnippets": true,
  "maxTargets": 25,
  "maxComparisons": 50,
  "startUrls": [],
  "sitemapUrls": [],
  "htmlInputs": [],
  "allowedDomains": [],
  "maxPages": 1,
  "maxDepth": 0,
  "includeEvidence": true,
  "includeRawSnapshots": false,
  "requestDelayMs": 250,
  "timeoutMs": 15000,
  "userAgentMode": "standard",
  "maxChargeUsd": 35,
  "includeReport": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

## `report` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("junipr/competitor-content-refresh-tracker").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("junipr/competitor-content-refresh-tracker").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call junipr/competitor-content-refresh-tracker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,junipr/competitor-content-refresh-tracker"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/3PuhciQEPKGScIk8n/builds/9DLbrjcW6MZ4ETFcM/openapi.json