The weekly sweep: what your competitors did this week
Most home service owners find out what their competitors are doing by accident. A customer mentions a lower quote. A new truck shows up in the neighborhood. A rival suddenly has 200 reviews.
Our founder AK describes a different approach: sweep the local market on a schedule. For the businesses we work with, that sweep runs every week. We look at the other companies in the area and ask: "have any new posts come out? Any new updates come out?" We also look at what people in the region are searching for, so we can spot a trend while it's still a trend.
Use AI to watch the market, not just to write
A contractor on the call asked what he should share with his marketing guy. AK's answer surprised people: "don't just use it for content."
Use it to understand the shifts in your market in real time, and adjust while they're happening. That's where small businesses can move faster than anyone.
If inspections are picking up in your area, you want to know this week, not next quarter. If a competitor launched a new offer, you want to know before your customers start asking about it.
What we look at
When we start with a new business, the first scan is detailed. We search your top three services plus your city on Google, on Google Maps and on a phone in a private window. Then we record the top ten businesses that show up. For each one:
- Review count and star rating
- The date of their most recent review
- How many photos they have
- Whether they run Local Services Ads or Google Ads
- Whether their website has a page for each service
- Whether you can tap to call from a phone
- Whether they show a license number
Then we rank you against all ten and put the gap in plain numbers. "You have 31 reviews. The top three average 140." That kind of sentence is uncomfortable, and it's the most useful sentence in the report.
After that, the sweep runs every week, so nothing important sneaks up on you.
The fifteen minute version you can do yourself
You don't need software to start. Once a week:
- Search your main service plus your city on Google Maps from your phone.
- Write down the top three names.
- Note their review count and the date of their newest review.
- Look at their Google profile. When did they last post?
- Compare it to yours.
Do that for a month and you'll see who's pushing and who's coasting. And you'll know exactly what you need to match or beat.
This isn't about obsessing
Watching competitors can turn into a bad habit if it makes you anxious or petty. That's not the point.
The point is to never be surprised. When you know the market, a slow week makes sense and a busy week makes sense. You stop guessing and start choosing. And honestly, most owners who do this find they're closer to the top than they feared. They just weren't showing it.
Want to see how you rank against your top competitors? Start with our free Growth Ladder assessment. It takes about four minutes.
- The Honest Builder Round Table (transcript)
- The Growth Ladder, Steps by Tier, The Next Right Move
