How can I see what my local competitors are doing each week?
Use a weekly competitor report that starts from your address. AlleyPulse is a weekly neighborhood intelligence email: every Monday it lists what changed within 1 km of your shop, including nearby competitors' public posts and promos, rating and review count changes, and new or closed Google Maps listings, with what to do about each.
Last updated: 27 October 2026
What competitor changes does AlleyPulse report?
- Competitor promos and posts: public posts on the Google Maps listings of similar businesses within your radius, such as a morning offer or a seasonal sale, and public Instagram and TikTok posts from nearby shops.
- Rating and review changes: a nearby rating that moves, or an unusual number of new reviews in a week, with the themes summarized. We never quote reviews.
- New listings: a business that appears on Google Maps near you for the first time. This is new to our weekly scan, not a confirmed opening.
- Closures: a listing marked closed on Google when we scanned.
- Around the competitors: local events and news, road closures, the weather and the regional search interest trend, because they change your week too.
Read a full example issue (EXAMPLE DATA, a fictional café) or see where each kind of item comes from.
What are the ways to keep an eye on local competitors?
| Way | What you get | Effort | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check Google Maps and Instagram yourself | Whatever you notice that day | Hours each week, and you must remember last week | Free |
| Google Alerts | Emails when new web pages mention your keywords | A few minutes to set up; you must guess the right words | Free |
| Page change monitors | An alert when a web page you chose changes | You choose and maintain each page | Free tiers and paid tiers |
| Local SEO and reputation suites | Map rankings, listings and review management for your own business | A dashboard to learn | Usually a monthly fee by number of locations |
| AlleyPulse | A weekly email of what changed around your address, with what to do | About 2 minutes to set up, then a five minute read each Monday | $29 per month per shop; first issue free |
What does it not do?
- It is weekly, not instant, and information can be hours to days old.
- It only sees businesses listed on Google Maps; sparse areas get thinner issues.
- It is not a menu or price tracker, and it does not manage reviews or track your own Google Maps ranking.
- It does not count visitors and does not report building permits or licenses.
Questions about tracking local competitors
Is there a tool that tells me what my competitors are doing locally?
Yes. AlleyPulse is a weekly neighborhood intelligence email for small local shops. Every Monday it lists what changed within 1 km of your address: nearby competitors' public posts and promos, rating and review count changes, new and closed Google Maps listings, local events and news, search interest and the weather. Each item says why it matters and what to do this week.
What is a weekly competitor report for a small business?
It is a short summary of what changed among the businesses near you since last week. In AlleyPulse it is an email every Monday, about a five minute read, with items tiered A (act this week), B (worth knowing) and C (skim), each with a dated source link.
How can a small shop track what nearby competitors post on Google Maps?
AlleyPulse reads the public Google Maps listings of similar businesses within your radius each week, including their public posts, ratings and review counts, and compares them with last week's snapshot. You see what changed instead of checking each listing yourself.
Does AlleyPulse show me competitor reviews?
No. Review text is not stored or shown. AlleyPulse reports rating and review count changes and summarized themes, such as 5 of 9 new reviews mention long waits, and links to the source.
Does it name the competitors it reports on?
No. Nearby businesses are anonymized, for example a café 200 m away. You see what changed and how far away it is, and the source link shows the public listing or post.
Is it real time?
No. AlleyPulse compares weekly snapshots and arrives on Monday morning, so information can be hours to days old. It suits planning the week, not reacting within the hour.
What does it cost?
$29 USD per month per shop, billed monthly, cancel anytime. The first issue of every shop is free, a free sample report is available for any supported address, and several shops can sit under one account at $29 per month each.
Is it only for competitors?
No. Each issue also lists local events and news, road closures, the weather and the regional search interest trend for your kind of business, because those change your week as much as a rival's promo.
Which shops is it built for?
Single location shops with a street address on Google Maps, such as cafés, restaurants, bars, bakeries, salons, barbershops, retail shops and gyms. There are separate pages for each kind of shop.
See it for your own address
Free sample for any supported address, and a free first issue. No credit card to start.