The Competition tab gives you a behind-the-scenes look at what the businesses you're actually competing against are doing on their Google Business Profiles.
Instead of comparing you against random businesses in your area, Paige identifies the competitors that matter most based on the keywords you're trying to rank for.
This lets you see who's gaining momentum with reviews and photos, helping you understand what may be influencing local rankings. Important: The Competition tab requires at least 2 months of data using Paige's latest heatmap version before it can display complete information. This is because Paige compares data from one report to the previous report to calculate changes over the last 30 days.
How Paige Determines Your Competitors
Your competitors aren't selected manually or based solely on distance.
Paige analyzes the ranking data from every one of your target keywords and determines which businesses consistently perform the best across those searches.
In other words, these are the businesses that are competing with you most often—not necessarily the businesses closest to your location. This means the Competition tab focuses on the businesses that are most relevant to your SEO efforts.
Understanding the Ranking Number
Each competitor has a ranking displayed next to their name. This number represents their average Google Maps ranking across all of your target keywords included in your heatmap audits.
For example:
Average Rank | What It Means |
1.8 | This business usually appears near the very top of Google Maps for all your target keywords. |
3.4 | They rank well overall but may fluctuate depending on the search term. |
7.2 | They appear in results but are less competitive across your keyword set. |
Because this is an average across many searches, you may sometimes see a competitor ranked #1 for one keyword but have an average ranking of #9 overall.
Review & Photo Momentum
One of the most valuable parts of the Competition tab is seeing which competitors are actively improving their Google Business Profiles. Paige tracks changes over a trailing 30-day period, including:
New Google reviews
New Google Business Profile photos
These numbers are calculated by comparing your most recent report with the previous report. This lets you quickly identify competitors that are actively investing in their local SEO. For example, if a competitor gained 18 reviews over the last month while everyone else stayed the same, you'll immediately know they're putting effort into building social proof.
Why Two Months of Data Are Required
Since momentum is calculated by comparing one report to another, Paige needs two complete months of reports before it can accurately calculate review and image growth. Until enough history has been collected, some Competition metrics will remain unavailable. Once your account has enough data, the Competition tab will automatically begin showing these insights.
Why Some Changes Show as Unknown
Occasionally, Paige may not know exactly how many reviews or photos a competitor gained. This usually happens because that business wasn't in the top rankings during the previous reporting period, so Paige wasn't tracking their Google Business Profile at that time. When this happens, the current information is still shown, but the change from the previous period cannot always be calculated accurately. This is completely normal and will become less common as Paige continues collecting historical data.
Understanding Business Categories
Each competitor displays the Google Business Profile categories associated with their listing.
Blue category – The business's Primary Category
Grey categories – Their Additional Categories
These categories can help you understand how competitors are positioning their business on Google.
Why Categories May Look Different
Google doesn't always return category names consistently through its data sources.
Because of this, you may occasionally see slightly different wording than what's shown inside Google Business Profile.
For example:
Google Business Profile | Competition Tab |
Burger restaurant | Burger |
Auto repair shop | Auto repair |
Dentist | Dental clinic |
These differences are normal and come directly from Google's data.
More Reviews and Photos Don't Guarantee Top Rankings
Reviews and photos are two of the strongest signals for a healthy Google Business Profile, but they are only part of Google's ranking algorithm.
It's entirely possible to have:
More reviews than your competitors
More photos than your competitors
...and still not rank in the Top 3.
That's because Google also considers many other factors, including the overall optimization of your Google Business Profile. If you're outperforming your competitors in reviews and photos but still aren't ranking where you'd like, visit the Optimizations tab in Paige to discover additional opportunities that may be affecting your rankings.
Tips for Using the Competition Tab
For the best results, check the Competition tab each month and look for trends rather than focusing on a single report. Some useful questions to ask include:
Are competitors consistently gaining reviews faster than I am?
Has a competitor suddenly started uploading lots of new photos?
Which businesses are improving their average ranking over time?
Are the highest-ranking competitors using different primary categories than I am?
Do all my top competitors have addresses on their Google Business Profiles?
Are the top ranking businesses using many more opening hours than I am?
Watching these trends over time can help you prioritize the activities that are making the biggest impact in your local market.
Need More Help?
If you have any questions about the Competition tab or aren't sure how to interpret the data you're seeing, our support team is always happy to help. Simply reach out through our live chat and we'll walk you through it.