Apify Competitor Intelligence
Run Apify Actors through mcpc to scrape competitor listings, reviews, ads, and social presence into structured intel for positioning decisions.
Overview
Apify Competitor Intelligence is an agent skill most often used in Idea (also Validate, Launch) that orchestrates Apify Actors to extract competitor data from maps, travel, and social surfaces.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/apify/agent-skills --skill apify-competitor-intelligenceWhat is this skill?
- 5-step checklist: pick analysis type, fetch Actor schema via mcpc, confirm output preferences, run script, summarize fin
- Actor routing table for Google Maps places, emails, reviews, Booking hotels, and social channels
- Uses APIFY_TOKEN in .env with Node 20.6+ --env-file and global mcpc CLI
- Workflow-oriented competitor research across maps, hospitality, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok
- Schema-first runs reduce bad inputs before paid Actor execution
- 5-step tracked workflow checklist in SKILL.md
- Prerequisites include Node.js 20.6+ and global mcpc install
Adoption & trust: 2.6k installs on skills.sh; 2.1k GitHub stars; 1/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You need comparable competitor facts across many sites but lack a consistent scrape-and-summarize playbook that respects Apify schemas and billing.
Who is it for?
Indie founders validating a niche who already have an Apify account and want agent-driven competitor dossiers.
Skip if: Builders without APIFY_TOKEN budget, purely internal code tasks, or jurisdictions where targeted scraping is prohibited without legal review.
When should I use this skill?
User wants competitor strategies, content, pricing, ads, or positioning analyzed across Google Maps, Booking.com, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You receive a user-approved export plus a concise findings summary grounded in Actor output, ready to inform positioning, pricing, or content gaps.
- User-selected export file from Actor run
- Narrative summary of competitor findings
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Canonical shelf is Idea → competitors because the checklist starts by mapping user needs to competitor-focused Actors before build or launch work. Competitors subphase matches benchmarking on Google Maps, Booking.com, and social platforms rather than shipping code.
Where it fits
Map nearby SaaS agencies on Google Maps and extract emails before picking your wedge.
Compare competitor review themes on Maps and Booking to sanity-check your MVP feature list.
Audit rival YouTube and TikTok posts to spot messaging gaps for your go-to-market calendar.
How it compares
Structured Apify Actor workflow—not a single-site bookmarklet or generic “search the web” competitor guess.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is apify-competitor-intelligence for?
Solo and indie builders doing market and competitor research who are comfortable running Node scripts and Apify Actors via mcpc.
When should I use apify-competitor-intelligence?
Use in Idea to map rivals on Maps and social; in Validate to compare reviews and pricing signals; at Launch to audit competitor ads and content—whenever structured external intel beats manual browsing.
Is apify-competitor-intelligence safe to install?
It requires network access, shell, and a secret APIFY_TOKEN; review Prism Security Audits on this page and your Apify spend limits before running Actors.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Apify Competitor Intelligence
# Competitor Intelligence Analyze competitors using Apify Actors to extract data from multiple platforms. ## Prerequisites (No need to check it upfront) - `.env` file with `APIFY_TOKEN` - Node.js 20.6+ (for native `--env-file` support) - `mcpc` CLI tool: `npm install -g @apify/mcpc` ## Workflow Copy this checklist and track progress: ``` Task Progress: - [ ] Step 1: Identify competitor analysis type (select Actor) - [ ] Step 2: Fetch Actor schema via mcpc - [ ] Step 3: Ask user preferences (format, filename) - [ ] Step 4: Run the analysis script - [ ] Step 5: Summarize findings ``` ### Step 1: Identify Competitor Analysis Type Select the appropriate Actor based on analysis needs: | User Need | Actor ID | Best For | |-----------|----------|----------| | Competitor business data | `compass/crawler-google-places` | Location analysis | | Competitor contact discovery | `poidata/google-maps-email-extractor` | Email extraction | | Feature benchmarking | `compass/google-maps-extractor` | Detailed business data | | Competitor review analysis | `compass/Google-Maps-Reviews-Scraper` | Review comparison | | Hotel competitor data | `voyager/booking-scraper` | Hotel benchmarking | | Hotel review comparison | `voyager/booking-reviews-scraper` | Review analysis | | Competitor ad strategies | `apify/facebook-ads-scraper` | Ad creative analysis | | Competitor page metrics | `apify/facebook-pages-scraper` | Page performance | | Competitor content analysis | `apify/facebook-posts-scraper` | Post strategies | | Competitor reels performance | `apify/facebook-reels-scraper` | Reels analysis | | Competitor audience analysis | `apify/facebook-comments-scraper` | Comment sentiment | | Competitor event monitoring | `apify/facebook-events-scraper` | Event tracking | | Competitor audience overlap | `apify/facebook-followers-following-scraper` | Follower analysis | | Competitor review benchmarking | `apify/facebook-reviews-scraper` | Review comparison | | Competitor ad monitoring | `apify/facebook-search-scraper` | Ad discovery | | Competitor profile metrics | `apify/instagram-profile-scraper` | Profile analysis | | Competitor content monitoring | `apify/instagram-post-scraper` | Post tracking | | Competitor engagement analysis | `apify/instagram-comment-scraper` | Comment analysis | | Competitor reel performance | `apify/instagram-reel-scraper` | Reel metrics | | Competitor growth tracking | `apify/instagram-followers-count-scraper` | Follower tracking | | Comprehensive competitor data | `apify/instagram-scraper` | Full analysis | | API-based competitor analysis | `apify/instagram-api-scraper` | API access | | Competitor video analysis | `streamers/youtube-scraper` | Video metrics | | Competitor sentiment analysis | `streamers/youtube-comments-scraper` | Comment sentiment | | Competitor channel metrics | `streamers/youtube-channel-scraper` | Channel analysis | | TikTok competitor analysis | `clockworks/tiktok-scraper` | TikTok data | | Competitor video strategies | `clockworks/tiktok-video-scraper` | Video analysis | | Competitor TikTok profiles | `clockworks/tiktok-profile-scraper` | Profile data | ### Step 2: Fetch Actor Schema Fetch the Actor's input schema and details dynamically using mcpc: ```bash export $(grep APIFY_TOKEN .env | xargs) && mcpc --json mcp.apify.com --header "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" tools-call fetch-actor-details actor:="ACTOR_ID" | jq -r ".content" ``` Replace `ACTOR_ID` with the selected Actor (e.g., `compass/crawler-google-places`). This returns: - Actor description and README - Required and optional input parameters - Output fields (if available) ### Step 3: Ask User Preferences Before running, ask: 1. **Output format**: - **Quick answer** - Display top few results in chat (no file saved) -