Competitor intelligence system

Competitor Intelligence

Research and monitor competitors across multiple channels. Build profiles, track changes, and translate competitor moves into strategic recommendations.

Three layers:

1. Data collection — Research competitor activity across web, Reddit, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and blogs
2. Content tracking — What competitors publish, which topics get engagement, where you have content gaps
3. Strategy analysis — What competitor moves mean for your positioning, pricing, and messaging

When to Use

• "Research [competitor] for me"
• "What are our competitors doing?"
• "Build a competitor profile for [company]"
• "Monitor competitor content and positioning"
• "Competitive landscape analysis"

Phase 0: Intake

1. Which competitors? — Ask the user for 2-5 competitor names + websites
2. Your company context — What do you sell? Who's your ICP? What's your positioning?
3. Focus areas — Everything, or specific focus? (pricing, content, product, messaging, hiring)
4. Depth — Quick scan (30 min) or deep dive (comprehensive)?

Phase 1: Competitor Profile Research

For each competitor, research across these dimensions using web search and web fetch:

Company Overview

• What do they do? (fetch their homepage, about page)
• Who's their ICP? (check their marketing copy, case studies)
• What's their pricing model? (fetch pricing page)
• Funding stage and size? (web search: "[company] funding")
• Key leadership? (web search: "[company] founders", "[company] leadership team")

Product & Positioning

• Core value proposition (from homepage hero section)
• Key features and differentiators (from features/product page)
• How do they position against alternatives? (check /vs/ pages, comparison content)
• Recent product launches (web search: "[company] launch OR new feature OR announcement 2026")

Content & Marketing

• Blog topics and frequency (fetch /blog, check RSS feed)
• Social presence — LinkedIn company page, Twitter/X handle, founder's LinkedIn
• Content themes — what topics do they write about most?
• Top-performing content (look for social share counts, engagement indicators)

Customer Evidence

• Customer logos on their site
• Case studies (fetch /customers or /case-studies)
• G2/Capterra reviews — overall rating, common praise, common complaints (web search: "[company] G2 reviews")
• Testimonial quotes from their marketing

Competitive Signals

• Who do THEY position against? (check their /vs/ and /alternatives/ pages)
• Job postings — what roles are they hiring for? (web search: "[company] careers" or fetch /careers)
• Partnerships and integrations (fetch /integrations or /partners)

Optional: Social Monitoring (requires APIFY_API_TOKEN)

If Apify is available, scrape deeper data:

• Reddit mentions: Search for competitor name across relevant subreddits
• Twitter/X activity: Track competitor's account and founder's recent posts
• LinkedIn posts: Track founder/CMO LinkedIn content and engagement

Without Apify, web search covers the basics — just less structured.

Phase 2: Competitor Profile Output

For each competitor, produce a structured profile:

# Competitor Profile: [Company Name]
**Last updated:** [DATE]
**Website:** [URL]

## Overview
- **What they do:** [1-2 sentences]
- **ICP:** [who they sell to]
- **Stage:** [funding, headcount]
- **Pricing:** [model + price points]

## Positioning
- **Value prop:** [their core claim]
- **Key differentiators:** [what they emphasize]
- **Positioning against us:** [how they frame the comparison, if any]

## Product
- **Core features:** [list]
- **Recent launches:** [last 6 months]
- **Integrations:** [key partners]

## Content & Marketing
- **Blog frequency:** [posts/month]
- **Top topics:** [themes they write about]
- **Social activity:** [LinkedIn, Twitter/X presence and engagement level]
- **Content strategy:** [what type of content dominates — thought leadership, SEO, product marketing]

## Customer Evidence
- **Notable customers:** [logos]
- **G2/Capterra rating:** [score + review count]
- **Common praise:** [what customers love]
- **Common complaints:** [what customers dislike]

## Signals
- **Hiring:** [what roles, what it signals]
- **Partnerships:** [recent partnerships]
- **News:** [recent press/announcements]

## Strengths & Weaknesses (vs. You)
### Where they're strong:
- [strength 1]
- [strength 2]

### Where they're weak:
- [weakness 1]
- [weakness 2]

### Your opportunity:
- [gap you can exploit]

Phase 3: Competitive Landscape Summary

After profiling all competitors, produce a landscape view:

# Competitive Landscape — [Your Company] — [DATE]

## Positioning Map
| Company | Core Claim | ICP Focus | Price Point | Key Differentiator |
|---------|-----------|-----------|-------------|-------------------|
| You | [claim] | [ICP] | [price] | [differentiator] |
| Comp 1 | [claim] | [ICP] | [price] | [differentiator] |
| Comp 2 | ... | ... | ... | ... |

## Content Comparison
| Company | Blog Frequency | Top Topics | Social Presence |
|---------|---------------|-----------|-----------------|
| You | [X/month] | [topics] | [LinkedIn/Twitter activity] |
| Comp 1 | [X/month] | [topics] | [activity] |

## Feature Comparison
| Feature | You | Comp 1 | Comp 2 | Comp 3 |
|---------|-----|--------|--------|--------|
| [feature 1] | ✓/✗ | ✓/✗ | ✓/✗ | ✓/✗ |

## Key Takeaways
1. [Most important competitive insight]
2. [Second]
3. [Third]

## Recommended Actions
1. [What to do based on competitive gaps]
2. [Positioning adjustment]
3. [Content/feature opportunity]

Phase 4: Ongoing Monitoring (Optional)

For recurring competitive tracking, set up a periodic review:

Monthly check:

• Re-fetch competitor pricing pages (detect changes)
• Check for new blog posts and content themes
• Search for recent news, funding, product launches
• Update profiles with changes
• Produce a "what changed" summary

What to monitor:

• Pricing page changes (compare against last snapshot)
• New /vs/ or /alternatives/ pages (competitive positioning shifts)
• Blog topic shifts (new content themes)
• Job posting patterns (hiring signals)
• New customer logos (market momentum)

Cost

Component	Cost
Web search + fetch (all research)	Free
Apify social scraping (optional)	~$0.50-2.00 per competitor
Analysis	Free (LLM reasoning)
Total per competitor (baseline)	Free
Total per competitor (with Apify)	~$0.50-2.00

Dependencies

• Web search and web fetch capabilities (always available)
• APIFY_API_TOKEN (optional — for Reddit/Twitter/LinkedIn scraping)