What Your Local Competitors Are Doing Better (And How to Actually Check)

Most business owners have a rough sense of who their competitors are, but rarely sit down and genuinely compare — not out of laziness, but because it's not obvious where to actually look, or what the numbers mean once you find them.

Start with review volume, not just rating

A competitor with a lower star rating but three times your review count is often winning more customers than you, not fewer — volume signals an established, trusted business to anyone scrolling past. Check review count specifically, not just the star average.

Look at how recently they've been reviewed

A business with 200 reviews from three years ago and nothing since reads very differently to Google — and to customers — than one with 40 reviews, all from the last six months. Recency signals a business that's actively trading and engaged, regardless of the total count.

Check their photo count and freshness

Open a competitor's Google listing and count their photos. If they've got 40 recent photos and you've got 6 from two years ago, that's a real, visible gap a prospective customer notices immediately when comparing listings side by side.

Read their negative reviews specifically

This is the most overlooked, most useful comparison you can do. A competitor's complaints tell you exactly what they're weak at — and if it's something you're genuinely good at, that's a real, honest point of difference worth actually saying in your own marketing, not just knowing privately.

• Do they reply to reviews? If not, and you do, that's a real differentiator.
• Is their website mobile-friendly? Check it on your own phone, not just imagine it.
• Are they active on the same social platforms as you, and how often do they actually post?

None of this requires paid tools or specialist knowledge — just twenty honest minutes actually looking, rather than assuming. Most business owners are surprised by what they find, in both directions. If the honest answer is "I don't know where to even start," a proper marketing audit does this comparison for you, with real data instead of a manual check.