# Review Gap Check — Google Reviews vs Competitors for AI & SEO (`moonlings/review-gap-check`) Actor

Google reviews competitor comparison for local SEO and AI visibility: AI assistants and the local pack lean on review signals. Compares your rating and review count against top same-category rivals nearby, with the gap math done — who leads, by how much, what closing it takes.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/moonlings/review-gap-check.md
- **Developed by:** [moonlings](https://apify.com/moonlings) (community)
- **Categories:** AI, Lead generation, SEO tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$390.00 / 1,000 review gap checks

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Review Gap Check — The Review Data Behind AI Recommendations

When ChatGPT, Perplexity, or the Google local pack picks which business to
recommend, review signals do heavy lifting — rating, and above all review
volume. This Actor measures exactly where you stand: your Google rating and
review count against the top same-category rivals nearby, with the gap math
done for you. One comparison costs **$0.39** and returns in seconds.

It's a live Google Maps lookup at run time — a comparison and a verdict, not
a pile of scraped rows.

### What you get back (real run)

```json
{
  "businessName": "Graeter's Ice Cream",
  "own": { "name": "Graeter's Ice Cream", "rating": 4.3, "reviewCount": 408 },
  "ownMatch": "category_listing",
  "competitors": [
    { "name": "Aglamesis Bro's Ice Cream & Chocolates", "rating": 4.7, "reviewCount": 1300 },
    { "name": "Hello Honey", "rating": 4.7, "reviewCount": 577 }
  ],
  "gap": {
    "leader": "Aglamesis Bro's Ice Cream & Chocolates",
    "ratingDelta": -0.4,
    "reviewCountRatio": 3.2,
    "verdict": "trailing"
  },
  "method": "Google Maps local results via live lookup at request time"
}
```

- **`gap.verdict`** — `leading`, `rated_equal_or_better_but_outreviewed`, or
  `trailing`. The middle one is the classic local-business trap: great
  rating, invisible review mass.
- **`reviewCountRatio`** — "the leader has 3.2× your reviews" is a number an
  owner acts on.
- **`ownMatch`** — how your listing was matched (`exact`, `normalized`, or
  `category_listing`). If it can't be confidently found, the result says so
  honestly instead of guessing.

### Who uses this

- **Agencies**: a $0.39 pre-pitch fact — "your top rival has 3× your
  reviews" — for any prospect, in seconds.
- **Owners**: track whether the review push is actually closing the gap
  (schedule it weekly).
- **AI agents**: callable via the Apify MCP server; returns in seconds, well
  inside any tool-call window.

### Input

```json
{
  "businessName": "Graeter's Ice Cream",
  "location": "Cincinnati, OH",
  "businessType": "ice cream shop"
}
```

All three fields required — rivals are the top Google Maps results for the
category near the location.

### Pricing

One `review-gap-check` event ($0.39) per **delivered** comparison. Failed
runs are never charged — if the lookup produces nothing, you pay nothing.

### Not what this does

- It does **not** query ChatGPT or Perplexity — for live AI-answer checks,
  that's the
  [AI Visibility Check](https://apify.com/moonlings/ai-visibility-check)
  ($0.79). This Actor measures the review signals those answers lean on.
- It does **not** scrape review text or authors — counts, ratings, and gap
  math only. For review contents, use a reviews scraper.
- It does **not** invent a reputation grade — real numbers from Google Maps,
  compared honestly.

### Go deeper

The [AI Visibility Report](https://apify.com/moonlings/local-business-competitor-analysis)
combines the AI-answer check with competitor research, up to a full graded
research report with sources ($1.99 scan / $9.99 report). For service
businesses, the [Thumbtack Scraper](https://apify.com/moonlings/thumbtack-scraper)
adds the Thumbtack side of the review picture — ratings, review counts, and
hires for the pros competing in your market.

The [AI Fact-Check](https://apify.com/moonlings/ai-fact-check) checks whether
AI assistants have a business’s hours, address, and phone *right*.

### For AI agents (MCP)

Agents can run this check directly: add Apify's MCP server as a connector —
`https://mcp.apify.com/?actors=moonlings/review-gap-check` — and it appears
as the `moonlings--review-gap-check` tool, metered through your Apify
account like any other run. For chains, pass the optional `address` input so
the comparison anchors to the right location.

### Who this is for

Local SEO practitioners, marketing agencies, and owners doing **Google reviews
competitor analysis**: reputation benchmarking against the local pack, review
velocity gaps, and the review-count math that feeds both map rankings and AI
assistant recommendations (AEO). Handy as a standing weekly check or a one-off
audit line in a client report.

### Works with AI agents

Agent-callable via the Apify API or MCP, and **x402-payable** — autonomous
agents can run a review gap audit with no account. Structured JSON out.

# Actor input Schema

## `businessName` (type: `string`):

The local business to check, e.g. "Harbor Fitness".

## `location` (type: `string`):

City and state/region, e.g. "Cincinnati, OH".

## `businessType` (type: `string`):

Category, e.g. "gym", "salon", "dentist". Required — rivals are the top Google Maps results for this category near the location.

## `address` (type: `string`):

For chains / multi-location businesses: the street address of the SPECIFIC location to anchor, e.g. "332 Ludlow Ave". Without it, the best-rated matching listing is used.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "businessName": "Harbor Fitness",
  "location": "Cincinnati, OH",
  "businessType": "gym",
  "address": "332 Ludlow Ave"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Own rating/review count, competitor rows, and the gap {leader, ratingDelta, reviewCountRatio, verdict}.

## `run` (type: `string`):

Console view of this run, including the charged event and log.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "businessName": "Graeter's Ice Cream",
    "location": "Cincinnati, OH",
    "businessType": "ice cream shop"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("moonlings/review-gap-check").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "businessName": "Graeter's Ice Cream",
    "location": "Cincinnati, OH",
    "businessType": "ice cream shop",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("moonlings/review-gap-check").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "businessName": "Graeter'\''s Ice Cream",
  "location": "Cincinnati, OH",
  "businessType": "ice cream shop"
}' |
apify call moonlings/review-gap-check --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=moonlings/review-gap-check",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/QHde1mfmnVwkV5vxs/builds/le86YObpeR5LwSfAi/openapi.json