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APIEndpoint 36 of 40Reports / Competitive Analysis / Gap Analysis

Competitor Gap API

See exactly where you're behind your local competitors in one call.

Competitor gap analysis used to mean running five separate tool tabs — pull rankings from one, reviews from another, citations from a third, backlinks from a fourth, and manually diff them in a spreadsheet. Ahrefs Competitive Analysis Suite ($129/mo) and Semrush Competitor Reports ($139.95/mo) lock this behind dashboards. We built the API: your domain plus up to 5 competitors in, a composite report on rankings, review count, rating, profile completeness, citation authority, and backlink gaps out. One call. 10 credits per analysis. No dashboard login.

Start Free — 50 CreditsView Docs

POST /v1/report/competitor-gap · 10 credits per analysis

POST /v1/report/competitor-gapcomposite · ~10s
Where you trail your competitorsabcplumbing.com · Austin TX

Local pack rank

#2+1

Up from #3 last week

Review velocity

12/mo-3

Down 20% MoM

NAP consistency

94%+2%

3 mismatches fixed

Profile complete

78%0

Missing 3 categories

Top fix: add 3 missing service categories to profile.

▌ Ask your agent

These prompts are the new competitive-intelligence workflow.

Connect Local SEO Data as an MCP server once (60 seconds, below). Then your agent runs gap analysis on your competitive set. Replace bracketed domains with your own.

Pre-pitch competitor gap

Run a competitor gap analysis for [prospectsite.com] in [Austin, TX] vs their top 3 competitors. Show me their local pack rank, review count vs competitors, and where they're weakest.

Multi-location competitive tracking

Pull competitor gap reports for all [12 client locations] against their local top 3 competitors. Flag any location where review count is falling behind or citation authority is weak.

Full competitive audit

Analyze [my law firm] in [New York, NY] vs the top 5 local competitors. Show me side-by-side: rankings, review counts, ratings, profile completeness, and cite authority. Which areas should I focus on?

Quarterly competitive benchmarking

Compare [my plumbing company] vs [competitor1.com], [competitor2.com], and [competitor3.com]. Track changes since last quarter: who gained reviews, who moved up in rankings, who improved their profile.

▌ Real response

What you get back

Live response for a local Austin plumbing company comparing against two top competitors. Real API response, May 2026.

response · application/json~4-8s · 10 credits
{
  "status": "success",
  "credits_used": 10,
  "data": {
    "business": {
      "name": "ABC Plumbing Austin",
      "local_pack_rank": 2,
      "rating": 4.6,
      "reviews": 847,
      "profile_completeness": 78,
      "citation_authority": 68,
      "backlink_referring_domains": 34
    },
    "competitors": [
      {
        "name": "Premier Plumbing Solutions",
        "local_pack_rank": 1,
        "rating": 4.8,
        "reviews": 1203,
        "profile_completeness": 95,
        "citation_authority": 82,
        "backlink_referring_domains": 67,
        "gaps_vs_you": [
          "356 more reviews",
          "17% higher profile completeness",
          "14 points higher citation authority",
          "33 more backlink referring domains"
        ]
      },
      {
        "name": "Austin Emergency Plumbing",
        "local_pack_rank": 3,
        "rating": 4.5,
        "reviews": 632,
        "profile_completeness": 82,
        "citation_authority": 59,
        "backlink_referring_domains": 28,
        "gaps_vs_you": [
          "215 fewer reviews (you lead)",
          "4% higher profile completeness",
          "9 points lower citation authority (you lead)",
          "6 fewer backlink domains (you lead)"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "gaps": [
      "Review volume: You have 215 more than Austin Emergency, but 356 fewer than Premier Plumbing. Priority: increase review requests.",
      "Profile completeness: 17 points behind leader. Missing: full service list, recent photos (last upload 4 months ago), Google Posts.",
      "Citation authority: 14 points behind Premier Plumbing. Key gap: missing from industry directories (Angi, HomeAdvisor).",
      "Backlinks: 33 fewer referring domains than top competitor. Low-hanging fruit: local chamber links, service directories."
    ],
    "summary": {
      "your_rank_percentile": 50,
      "strongest_area": "Review count vs Austin Emergency",
      "weakest_area": "Citation authority vs Premier Plumbing",
      "quickest_win": "Add recent service photos and complete your profile"
    }
  }
}
▌ Returns

The composite metrics that show your exact competitive position

Local pack rank

Your position and competitors' positions for the keyword

Tells you immediately who's #1, #2, #3 in local search. This is the most visible ranking metric for local businesses.

Review metrics

Review count and rating vs each competitor

Review volume is a local ranking factor. See if competitors are outpacing you in review collection, and if your average rating is competitive.

Profile completeness

How complete your Google Business Profile is relative to competitors

Incomplete profiles rank lower. See exactly what photos, categories, or attributes you're missing that competitors have filled in.

Citation authority

Local directory authority score vs competitors

Citations (business listings in directories) are a major local ranking factor. See which competitors are cited in high-authority directories you're missing.

Backlink gaps

Referring domains you're missing that competitors have

Backlinks are off-page authority. The API shows which domains link to competitors but not to you — your link-building targets.

Actionable gaps

Specific gaps and priority areas to address

Not just metrics — the report tells you exactly where you're losing points and which gaps are easiest to close fast.

▌ Built for

What operators ship with this endpoint

Pre-pitch competitive position audits

Before a sales call with a prospect, run their competitor gap report. Walk in knowing their exact rank position, review count deficit, which directories they're missing, and which competitors are outranking them. Closes deals because the diagnosis is data-backed.

→ For consultants

Quarterly client competitive benchmarking

Agencies run quarterly gap reports for all client locations. Agent tracks which competitors moved up, which client gained reviews, where the gap widened or closed. Surface only the changes that matter. Build once, run quarterly on cron.

→ For agencies

Multi-location competitive tracking

For MSBs with 10+ locations, batch gap analysis across all locations. Each location compared against their local competitive set. Agent surfaces the top priorities for each location: 'Location 3 is 200 reviews behind, focus on review requests there.'

→ For local operators

Integrated multi-metric competitive workflows

Pair with [Backlink Gap API](/backlink-gap-api) for deep link analysis, [Keywords for Site API](/keywords-for-site-api) for keyword rank gaps, and [Reputation Audit API](/reputation-audit-api) for sentiment analysis. One call identifies the gaps, follow-up calls get the details to build your action plan.

→ Backlink Gap API
▌ vs. the alternatives

Why not use Ahrefs Competitive Analysis, Semrush, or Moz Competitor Research?

Competitor gap analysis is a mature category. Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, and BrightLocal all lock it behind SaaS dashboards at $99–299/month per seat. Here's why the API model works better for agents.

ToolCost modelMetrics includedSetupAI-agent ready
Ahrefs Competitive Analysis ($129/mo)$129–299/mo per seatRankings, backlinks, keywords, contentDashboard loginAPI available but dashboard-first
Semrush Competitor Reports ($139.95/mo)$139.95–499.95/mo per seatRankings, keywords, ads, trafficDashboard loginLimited API, dashboard-first
Moz Competitor Research$99–599/mo (Standard+)Domain authority, keywords, competitorsDashboard loginAPI but not agent-optimized
BrightLocal Competitor Reports$40–50/mo flatLocal listings, citations, reviewsDashboardCSV export only
DataForSEO Competitor API$0.10–0.25 per domain pairRankings, keywords, backlinksREST API onlyREST-only, no MCP
LocalSEOData Competitor Gap API$0.05 per analysis, no seatsComposite: rankings, reviews, citations, backlinks, profileAPI key + 1-line MCP configNative MCP + REST, agent-first
▌ Connect in 60 seconds

Use it from your agent

Two integration surfaces: MCP for clients that speak MCP, REST API for everything else.

Direct MCP integration

Drop-in support in Claude Desktop, OpenClaw, Hermes Agent, and any MCP-aware client.

Add to your client's MCP config (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "localseodata": {
      "url": "https://mcp.localseodata.com",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer sk_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

REST API

For Perplexity Computer, ChatGPT Custom GPTs, custom agents, and any platform that calls REST endpoints directly.

Base URL:

api.localseodata.com

See the docs for endpoint reference and auth.

▌ Quickstart

Your first call in three lines

Three required parameters: `business_name` (your business), `location` (city, state), and `keyword` (the search query you're competing on). Optional: `competitors` (default 5, max 10) to control competitive set size. One call returns all metrics plus gaps. One call = 10 credits (~$0.05).

terminal · curl
POST /v1/report/competitor-gap
curl -X POST https://api.localseodata.com/v1/report/competitor-gap \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "business_name": "ABC Plumbing",
    "location": "Austin, TX",
    "keyword": "plumber",
    "competitors": 5
  }'
Full endpoint reference → · Get an API key →
▌ Pricing for this endpoint

$0.05 per competitor gap analysis

10 credits per call analyzing up to 10 competitors. Free tier on signup includes 50 credits (5 analyses). Monthly plans start at $19 and never expire. No per-seat fees, no competitor caps.

Free tier
5
competitor gap analyses on signup (50 credits)
Starter · $19/mo
380
gap analyses/mo at this rate
Per-analysis cost
$0.05
or 10 credits (up to 10 competitors)
▌ FAQ

Common questions

What is the Competitor Gap API?+
A REST endpoint that runs a composite competitive analysis of your business against 1-10 local competitors and returns side-by-side metrics across five dimensions: local pack rankings, review count and rating, Google Business Profile completeness, citation authority (local directory presence), and backlink referring domains. The output includes not just metrics but specific gaps — 'you have 200 fewer reviews,' 'top competitor is in 3 directories you're not,' 'you're missing backlinks from these 5 domains.' One call replaces running five separate reports and diffing them manually. The endpoint is POST /v1/report/competitor-gap; one call costs 10 credits (~$0.05).
How many competitors can I analyze?+
Up to 10 competitors per call. The API automatically identifies competitors based on the keyword and location you provide, then runs the analysis. Most workflows focus on your top 3-5 local competitors, which fits in a single call. If you're managing a large competitive set (20+ competitors), you can split into two calls, but that's rarely necessary — you usually care about your realistic local competition, not the entire market.
What metrics does the Competitor Gap API return?+
Five core dimensions: (1) Local pack ranking — your position and each competitor's position for the keyword. (2) Review metrics — review count and average rating for each business. (3) Profile completeness — how complete your Google Business Profile is vs competitors (0-100 score). (4) Citation authority — how many high-authority local directories list you vs competitors. (5) Backlink gaps — referring domains that link to competitors but not to you (actionable link-building targets). The response also includes specific gaps ('you're 356 reviews behind') and a summary of your strongest and weakest areas.
How does this compare to Ahrefs Competitive Analysis or Semrush?+
All three products compare you against competitors. The difference is the package. Ahrefs ($129–299/mo) focuses on keywords, content, and backlinks, with some local data. Semrush ($139.95–499.95/mo) is similar but less deep on local metrics. Moz ($99–599/mo) emphasizes domain authority. All three require a dashboard login and charge per-seat. The Competitor Gap API is purpose-built for local SEO — it composites the metrics that actually matter for local rank (reviews, citations, backlinks, profile) and returns them in one call for $0.05. For agencies managing 5+ client sites doing quarterly competitive reports, this pricing model wins decisively. For teams that live in an Ahrefs dashboard, Ahrefs may feel more integrated.
Where does the data come from?+
A composite of multiple upstream sources. Rankings come from DataForSEO's SERP index. Review data comes from Google Business Profiles via DataForSEO. Citation authority is calculated from local directory data (Google, Yelp, BBB, Angi, HomeAdvisor, and 50+ industry-specific directories). Backlink data comes from DataForSEO's backlink index. Because we're compositing multiple sources into a single report, we disclose the methodology — if you're running real client work, you need to know where the data comes from.
How fresh is the competitor gap data?+
Data refreshes on these schedules: Rankings update daily. Review counts and ratings update daily. Profile completeness updates weekly (profile changes are captured at crawl time). Citation authority updates weekly as directory data is crawled. Backlink data updates weekly. When you call the endpoint, you get the latest snapshot. For strategic quarterly benchmarking, weekly-to-daily refresh is appropriate. For real-time competitive monitoring (did a competitor gain 5 reviews today), you'd want a monitoring tool; this API is built for periodic analysis and planning.
How is profile completeness calculated?+
Profile completeness is a 0-100 score measuring how complete your Google Business Profile is relative to the category and industry standard. It factors in: business name, address, phone, website, hours of operation, categories, description, photos, attributes, service areas, and recent activity (Google Posts, Q&A replies, review replies). A profile with all of these is 100. One missing category is 85. Photos from 4+ months ago costs points. The score is relative to category — a plumber's profile is scored against other plumbers, not dentists.
What is citation authority?+
Citation authority is a composite score (0-100) measuring how many high-authority local directories list your business, weighted by directory authority and freshness. High-authority directories include Google, Yelp, BBB, Angi, HomeAdvisor, Findlaw (for legal), Healthgrades (for medical), and 50+ industry-specific directories. A business listed in 20 high-authority directories with consistent NAP (name, address, phone) will have high citation authority. A business listed in only 3 directories will have low citation authority. The API shows not just your score but gaps — 'you're not listed in HomeAdvisor (domain rank 92) but top competitor is,' which is actionable.
What does 'backlink gaps' mean?+
Backlink gaps are unique referring domains that link to at least one of your competitors but not to you. These are your best link-building targets because they already link to similar businesses in your space. The API returns which domains are missing links to you but do link to competitors, their domain authority (rank), and which competitors they link to. Pair with the Backlink Gap API to get deeper details on each gap domain and rank them by authority.
Can I filter results or export the data?+
The API returns the full composite report for all competitors you specify. Results are returned in JSON so you can integrate into your own tools, export to CSV, or pipe into another API call. If you want to filter results (e.g., 'show me only competitors in the local pack,' 'show me only gaps with domain rank >50'), your agent can apply that filtering on the JSON response. For deeper analysis of any specific gap, pair with the Backlink Gap API, Keywords for Site API, or Google Reviews API.
Can my AI agent use this directly?+
Yes, two ways. MCP: Add Local SEO Data to your claude_desktop_config.json (or any MCP-compatible client), and Claude calls this endpoint from your prompt without you writing integration code. You just say 'show me the gap report for my business vs competitors' and it happens. REST: Any agent that can make HTTPS calls (ChatGPT Custom GPTs, Perplexity Computer, custom Python agents) hits api.localseodata.com with Authorization: Bearer sk_live_.... The agent receives the gap report and can reason about it — flagging the biggest gaps, prioritizing quick wins, and building an action plan.
What changed in 2026 that made this category exist?+
Two things. First, MCP (Model Context Protocol) became standard in late 2024 and went mainstream through 2025. It let agents call external APIs without bespoke integration work. The moment that happened, competitive analysis flipped from a dashboard-driven workflow ('log in to Ahrefs, click around') to an agent-driven workflow ('my Claude instance runs gap analysis on all clients, highlights the top gaps, and I act on them'). Second, competitors are consolidating — Ahrefs and Semrush have become feature-complete mega-tools, but they're expensive and slow to innovate on local SEO. The gap in the market is a purpose-built API for local competitive analysis that agents can call directly. That's what we built.
What does it cost?+
$0.05 per competitor gap analysis (10 credits), regardless of how many competitors you analyze (up to 10). If you run a quarterly gap report for 12 client locations × 5 quarters per year = 60 analyses/year = $3 in API costs. Compare that to a $129/mo Ahrefs subscription ($1,548/year) or a $139.95/mo Semrush subscription ($1,679.40/year). For small agencies or solo consultants doing quarterly competitive benchmarking, the API model wins decisively. For teams that need daily dashboard access to Ahrefs, the subscription tools may be better.
Can I use this for both my clients and prospects?+
Yes. The endpoint accepts any business name and location, so you can run gap reports on your own client, a prospect (pre-pitch audit), a competitor, or an acquisition target. No verification required. This makes it ideal for pre-pitch competitive position audits — walk into a call with a prospect knowing their exact rank position, review count vs competitors, and which directories they're missing. It's also great for agencies auditing prospects' competition before proposals.
Does this pair with other APIs?+
Yes. Run a gap report to identify that your top competitor outranks you and has 50 more backlinks from local directories. Then call the Backlink Gap API on that competitor's domain to see which specific directories you're missing. Or call Keywords for Site API to see what keywords your competitor ranks for that you don't. Or call Reputation Audit API to see if their review sentiment is higher. The composite gap report identifies the gaps; the specialized APIs give you the details to build a strategy.
▌ Related endpoints

Often used in the same agent prompt

POST /v1/backlinks/gap
Backlink Gap API

Which competitor domains link to competitors but not you. Link-building targets.

GET /v1/keywords/site
Keywords for Site API

What keywords a competitor ranks for. Keyword gap analysis.

POST /v1/ai/compare
AI Compare API

Your domain vs competitors in ChatGPT and Google AI outputs.

POST /v1/audit/local
Local Audit API

Composite: rankings + reviews + profile + citations all-in-one.

Build your first competitor gap report in 60 seconds.

50 free credits on signup. Run a gap analysis against your competition in your first agent prompt. Get a prioritized action plan instead of a spreadsheet export.

Start FreeRead the docs
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