Competitor Finder

Identifies 3-5 competitors for a given brand using SerpAPI, DataForSEO, or OpenAI fallback, returning names, websites, and optional reasons for competition.

Competitor Finder Skill

Purpose

Identifies 3-5 competitors for a given brand by searching the web via SerpAPI and, as a last resort, falling back to a minimal OpenAI call. Returns competitor names, websites, and optionally the reason they are considered competitors. This collector feeds into the Marketing Audit Pipeline to populate the Competitor Landscape section of the final report.

Input Schema

typescript

// Function signature
collectCompetitors(brandName: string, domain?: string): Promise<CompetitorData>

// brandName: The brand name to find competitors for (e.g. "Gymshark")
// domain: Optional domain for additional context (e.g. "gymshark.com").
// Helps refine competitor search and filter out the brand itself from results.

Output Schema

typescript

interface CompetitorData {
 competitors: CompetitorEntry[]; // 3-5 competitor entries
 error?: string; // Present only when collector fails
}

interface CompetitorEntry {
 name: string; // e.g. "Nike"
 website: string; // e.g. "nike.com"
 reason?: string; // e.g. "Direct competitor in activewear market"
}

API Dependencies

Primary: SerpAPI

• API Name: SerpAPI (Google Search)
• Endpoint: https://serpapi.com/search.json
• Auth: SERPAPI_KEY environment variable
• Cost estimate: ~$0.005 per search
• Rate limits: Depends on plan; free tier allows 100 searches/month

Secondary: DataForSEO

• API Name: DataForSEO Competitor Domain API
• Endpoint: https://api.dataforseo.com/v3/dataforseo_labs/google/competitors_domain/live
• Auth: DATAFORSEO_LOGIN + DATAFORSEO_PASSWORD environment variables
• Cost estimate: ~$0.01 per request
• Rate limits: Depends on plan; free tier allows 100 requests/month

Fallback: OpenAI (minimal call)

• API Name: OpenAI API
• Model: gpt-4.1-mini
• Auth: OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable
• Cost estimate: ~$0.001 per call (minimal prompt)
• Usage: Only used when both SerpAPI and DataForSEO fail or return no results

Implementation Pattern

Data Flow

1. Receive brandName and optional domain from the pipeline
2. Attempt Method 1: SerpAPI search
3. If Method 1 fails or returns insufficient results, attempt Method 2: DataForSEO
4. If both fail, attempt Method 3: OpenAI fallback (minimal prompt)
5. Deduplicate and filter results (remove the brand itself)
6. Return 3-5 competitors mapped to CompetitorData

Method 1: SerpAPI Search

typescript

// Query: "top competitors of {brandName}"
{
 api_key: process.env.SERPAPI_KEY,
 engine: "google",
 q: `top competitors of ${brandName}`,
 num: 10
}

• Parse organic results to extract competitor brand names and domains
• Look for listicle-style results ("Top 10 Gymshark competitors...")
• Extract domain names from result URLs
• Filter out non-competitor results (news articles, the brand's own site)

Method 2: DataForSEO Competitor Domain

typescript

[{
 target: domain, // e.g. "gymshark.com"
 language_code: "en",
 location_code: 2840, // United States
 limit: 5
}]

• Returns domains that compete for the same keywords
• More accurate than SERP search but requires the domain parameter

Method 3: OpenAI Fallback (Minimal)

typescript

// ONLY used when Methods 1 and 2 both fail
// This is a MINIMAL prompt -- keep token usage as low as possible
const response = await openai.chat.completions.create({
 model: 'gpt-4.1-mini',
 max_tokens: 200,
 temperature: 0.3,
 messages: [
 {
 role: 'system',
 content: 'You are a marketing analyst. Return only a JSON array of competitor objects.'
 },
 {
 role: 'user',
 content: `List 5 direct competitors of "${brandName}"${domain ? ` (${domain})` : ''}. Return JSON: [{"name":"...","website":"...","reason":"..."}]`
 }
 ]
});

• Parse the JSON response
• This call costs ~$0.001 and should only happen when SERP/DataForSEO APIs are unavailable
• Log a warning when this fallback is used so it can be monitored

Result Filtering

• Remove entries where the name or website matches the input brand
• Deduplicate by website domain (normalize: strip www, trailing slashes)
• Ensure each entry has both name and website populated
• Limit to 5 results maximum; aim for at least 3

Error Handling

• Entire function wrapped in try/catch
• On failure of all three methods, return EMPTY_COMPETITOR_DATA with error field set:

typescript

return { ...EMPTY_COMPETITOR_DATA, error: 'Competitor data unavailable: <reason>' };

• Never throw -- always return a valid CompetitorData object
• Log errors with Winston logger including brandName and method that failed:

typescript

logger.error('Competitor collector failed', { brandName, domain, method, err });

• Log warnings when falling back to secondary/tertiary methods:

typescript

logger.warn('Competitor finder: SerpAPI failed, falling back to DataForSEO', { brandName });
logger.warn('Competitor finder: DataForSEO failed, falling back to OpenAI', { brandName });

• Common failure scenarios:
• SerpAPI key invalid or quota exhausted
• DataForSEO credentials invalid or out of credits
• OpenAI API key invalid
• No competitors found for niche or unknown brand
• Network timeout on any API

Example Usage

typescript

import { collectCompetitors } from '../collectors/competitorCollector';

// Successful collection (via SerpAPI)
const data = await collectCompetitors('Gymshark', 'gymshark.com');
// Returns:
// {
// competitors: [
// { name: "Nike", website: "nike.com", reason: "Global leader in athletic apparel" },
// { name: "Lululemon", website: "lululemon.com", reason: "Premium activewear competitor" },
// { name: "Under Armour", website: "underarmour.com", reason: "Direct competitor in gym wear" },
// { name: "Alphalete", website: "alphalete.com", reason: "DTC fitness apparel brand" },
// { name: "Fabletics", website: "fabletics.com", reason: "Subscription-based activewear" },
// ],
// }

// Partial result (only OpenAI fallback worked)
const partial = await collectCompetitors('ObscureBrand');
// Returns:
// {
// competitors: [
// { name: "CompetitorA", website: "competitora.com", reason: "Similar product category" },
// { name: "CompetitorB", website: "competitorb.com", reason: "Same target market" },
// { name: "CompetitorC", website: "competitorc.com" },
// ],
// }

// Failed collection (graceful degradation)
const failedData = await collectCompetitors('UnknownBrand');
// Returns:
// {
// competitors: [],
// error: "Competitor data unavailable: All methods failed"
// }

Notes

• This collector uses a three-tier fallback strategy to maximize data availability. SerpAPI is preferred because it provides real SERP data. DataForSEO provides keyword-overlap-based competitors. OpenAI is a last resort.
• The OpenAI fallback is the ONLY place outside of reportGenerator.ts where an AI model call is permitted. It must be minimal (max 200 tokens) and should be logged as a warning for cost monitoring.
• When the input type is 'instagram' (no domain available), skip Method 2 (DataForSEO requires a domain) and rely on Methods 1 and 3.
• The EMPTY_COMPETITOR_DATA constant is defined in src/types/audit.types.ts and should be imported for fallback returns.
• Competitor data is inherently subjective. The report generator (GPT-4.1-mini) will contextualize the raw competitor list into strategic analysis.
• This collector must never block the pipeline. Even a complete failure returns valid typed data with an error flag.