Competitive Landscape Analysis · a paid service
Who are you really up against, and what are they doing about it?
A full read on the three to five businesses a customer weighs you against: everything they show the world online (website, search, Google reviews, other review sites, social media, advertising, listings, news), what they sell and at what price, the local market conditions you both work in, and what it adds up to for you. Scored on six dimensions, with a positioning map, the gaps nobody is filling, and the moves worth making first. See an example report.
How it works
Four steps, three to five competitors, one report.
You give us the business and the decision ahead. We find the competitors, you confirm them, we do the sweep, and you get the report.
1Tell us about the businessName, website, what it sells, who buys, the area it serves, where it sits on price, and the decision the analysis has to inform. Ten minutes.
2Confirm the competitorsWe identify the closest eight to ten rivals: the ones a customer in your area would actually compare you with. You confirm or strike each one, add any we missed, and we settle on three to five.
3The sweepA full online sweep of each confirmed competitor and of the local market, from public sources, with every claim dated and cited. Nothing is scraped from behind a login, and nothing is guessed.
4The reportA written report with scores, a positioning map, the market read, each competitor in depth, the gaps and the threats, and the moves to make first. On screen and as a PDF.
Paid. Quoted in advance as a fixed fee; the figure depends on how many competitors and markets are covered. Delivered within about a week of the competitors being confirmed.
The sweep
Everything a competitor shows the world, read closely.
For each confirmed competitor, and for your own business in the same depth, so the comparison is honest.
The businessLegal and trading names, locations, founded, ownership (family, chain, franchise, private-equity backed), size (people, fleet, revenue if published), certifications, associations, awards.
Offerings and pricingEvery service or product line listed, the ones they lead with, specialisms, brands carried, guarantees, financing, maintenance or membership plans, hours, coverage area. Published prices, price ranges, promotions and discounts, what reviews say about value, premium signals.
WebsiteLoad speed and mobile fit (PageSpeed or an equivalent), what the home page says in five seconds, the calls to action (call, book, quote, chat), proof shown (reviews, photos, case studies, certifications), content depth (service pages, guides, blog, FAQ), booking or quoting tools, chat, languages, accessibility, last visible update.
SearchWhere they rank for the terms a customer in the area would use (name the terms), presence in Google's local pack, estimated domain authority or equivalent, estimated organic traffic, the keywords they rank for, backlinks of note, paid search ads seen and their messages.
Google Business ProfileRating, review count, reviews in the last twelve months, the latest review's date, whether and how the business replies, the themes customers praise and the themes they complain about (with counts or shares where possible), photos, posts, Q&A, categories, service areas.
Other review platformsEvery other platform that applies (Yelp, Facebook, BBB, HomeStars, Trustpilot, RateMDs, TripAdvisor, Houzz, industry sites), each with rating, count and a note on consistency with Google.
Social mediaEach platform in use (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, X, Nextdoor), the handle, followers, posting cadence, typical likes and comments, what they post, whether they reply, paid social seen in the Meta Ad Library.
Advertising and listingsGoogle Ads and Meta ads running and their messages, radio, print, vehicle wraps, sponsorships, directories and marketplaces listed on (Yellow Pages, HomeStars, Houzz, Angi, industry directories), BBB accreditation.
News and signalsNews coverage, press releases, job postings (what roles and how many: growth or churn), new locations, ownership changes, lawsuits or regulatory actions in the public record, price changes, awards.
Local market conditionsMarket size and demand drivers in the area, growth or decline, seasonality, pricing norms, labour availability and wage pressure, regulation and licensing, suppliers and input costs, what customers in the area search for and how often, demographic and economic context (population growth, housing starts, income, major employers), trends shaping the next two years.
The scores
Six dimensions, 0 to 10, every business including yours.
Each score comes with its reason. The report shows where you lead the field, where you trail it, and who leads each dimension.
VisibilityHow easily a customer searching in the area finds them.Search rankings for the terms a customer would use, presence in Google's local pack, directory listings, paid search. 0 is invisible; 10 shows up first for every term that matters.
ReputationWhat customers say about them, in public, and how much of it there is.Google rating and review count, review velocity, how recent, how they respond, other platforms, consistency across them. 0 is no reviews or bad ones; 10 is many, recent, excellent and answered.
OfferThe breadth and depth of what they sell against what the customer wants.Range of services or products, specialisms, guarantees, financing, maintenance plans, hours, coverage area. 0 is a single thin offer; 10 covers everything the customer could want.
Pricing powerWhere they sit on price and whether the market lets them hold it.Published prices, promotions, discounting, what reviews say about value, premium signals (brands, certifications, awards). 0 competes on price alone; 10 charges more and is chosen anyway.
Digital presenceThe website as a selling tool: speed, mobile, clarity, booking, content.Loads fast on a phone, says what they do and where in five seconds, a clear next step (call, book, quote), proof (reviews, photos, cases), content that answers questions. 0 is no site or a broken one; 10 converts a stranger on a phone.
EngagementActivity and response on social media and in the community.Platforms used, followers, posting cadence, likes and comments relative to followers, replies, sponsorships and community presence. 0 is dormant; 10 is active, followed and answered.
The example
Northline Heating & Cooling Ltd., against four rivals.
A worked example with fictional businesses, so you can read a whole report before asking for one: the scoreboard, the positioning map, the market read, each competitor in depth, the gaps nobody is filling, and 10 moves in order.
Northline has the reputation to win the valley's conversion customer and is invisible to them: the $60,000 should buy visibility and speed, not more of the same.
Visibility4 / 10field average 6.8 · best 10
Reputation7 / 10field average 7.2 · best 9
Offer6 / 10field average 6.5 · best 9
Pricing power5 / 10field average 5 · best 8
Digital presence4 / 10field average 6 · best 9
Engagement2 / 10field average 5.8 · best 9
What is in the report
On screen and as a PDF, written for the owner.
The headline and the scoreboardThe one sentence to remember, your overall score against the field, and every business on every dimension.
The positioning mapEvery business placed on the two axes that separate this market, and the open ground between them.
The marketSize, demand, growth, seasonality, pricing norms, labour, regulation, suppliers, what customers search for and how often, and the trends shaping the next two years.
Each competitor in depthOffer, pricing, positioning, website, search, Google reviews, other review sites, social media, advertising, listings, news, strengths, weaknesses, the threat to you and the opportunity for you.
Your business, read the same wayThe same sweep and the same scores, so the comparison is honest and you see what a customer sees.
Findings and movesWhere you lead and trail, the gaps nobody is filling, the threats in the next year, the moves in order with effort and impact, and what to check again in six months.
Sources and methodEvery figure dated and sourced, what was searched, and what could not be verified.
How it is done
Public sources, dated, nothing guessed.
- Public sources only: nothing from behind a login, nothing bought, nothing scraped against a site's terms.
- Every figure carries its source and the date it was seen. Ratings, review counts and follower counts change daily, so date them.
- Never guess. Where something could not be found, write "not found" and say where you looked. A gap is a finding.
- Say what was searched: the terms, the location set in the search, the tools used.
- Describe people only in their public business role. No personal details about owners or staff beyond what the business itself publishes.
- Canadian context: prices in CAD, provincial regulation, Canadian platforms and directories where they apply.
- Scores are 0 to 10 whole numbers on the six dimensions, each with a one-line reason, scored the same way for the subject business as for its competitors.
Your company details are kept on our server in Canada. The research itself runs on an AI research assistant with web search, directed by our brief and read by us; the report is ours. General information for the owner of the subject business, not legal, financial or marketing advice.
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