How to Use the RetainerReach Local Competitor Intel Chrome Extension
By Brittany Winters, Director of Client Relations
RetainerReach Local Competitor Intel is a free Chrome extension that reads any competitor’s Google Business Profile straight from the Google Maps profile you are viewing. Save your own firm once, then open any rival to see a prioritized list of the map-pack gaps between you: reviews, photos, website, posts, hours, and primary category. It also flags business names that may be keyword-stuffed so you can confirm and report them. Install it, save your firm, and start closing gaps.
RetainerReach Local Competitor Intel is a free Chrome extension that reads any competitor's Google Business Profile straight from the Google Maps listing you are already looking at, then scores it against your own saved firm. No spreadsheets, no exports, no separate rank tracker. You open a rival in Maps, and the side panel tells you exactly where you are winning, where you are losing, and what to fix first. Here is how to use it.
What it does
The extension lives as a side panel on Google Maps. When you open any business profile, it reads the public signals on that profile and shows them the way a local SEO would: primary category, review count and rating, whether a website is linked, hours, and photo count. Because eight of the top ten map-pack ranking factors come from the Google Business Profile, those few numbers tell you most of what decides who shows up in the local pack. It reads what is already public on the profile in your tab. Nothing is scraped in bulk and nothing is stored as history; each read is a snapshot.
Step 1: Install it and save your own firm
Add the extension from the Chrome Web Store, then do the one setup step that makes everything else work: open your own firm's profile in Google Maps and click Save as my firm. That saves your baseline. From then on, every competitor you open is scored head to head against you, so the panel can show gaps instead of raw numbers you have to interpret alone.
Step 2: Open any competitor in Google Maps
Search your money keyword (for example "personal injury attorney" plus your city), click a competitor that outranks you, and the panel fills in instantly. At the top you get their name, primary category, and a View on Maps link. This is the one-click read: no tool to log into, no report to run. If you want to check a whole map pack, just click each pin in turn.
Step 3: Read the head-to-head gap list
With your firm saved, the panel leads with the thing that matters most: a gaps versus your firm card. It is a plain, prioritized list of where the competitor beats you, for example:
- Reviews: they have 412 vs your 88. Close the gap with a steady review-request cadence.
- Photos: they show 156 vs your 22. Add fresh, original media.
- Website: they link a locally-optimized page and you do not.
- Posts: they publish Google updates and you do not. Start a weekly cadence.
That is your to-do list, ranked. You are not guessing what to work on; you are closing a specific, measurable gap against a firm you already know outranks you.
Step 4: Read the individual ranking signals
Below the gap list, each signal gets its own card with a short note on why it matters. This is the part that turns numbers into moves.
| Signal | What the panel shows | Why it moves the map pack |
|---|---|---|
| Primary category | The exact category, e.g. "Personal injury attorney" | The single biggest relevance lever. Match it exactly, then differentiate on secondary categories |
| Reviews | Total count and star rating | Volume and recency are among the strongest signals. Save and re-check weekly to see velocity, not just totals |
| Website | Whether a page is linked, and the URL | A linked, locally-optimized landing page reinforces the profile. Check it is not a generic home page |
| Hours | How many days a week they are open | Wider hours widen the effective ranking radius and unlock "open now" filtering. Often low-effort to beat |
| Photos | How many photos are shown | Fresh, original photos drive engagement and photo-view signals. Recency beats raw count |
Step 5: Use the name-integrity flag responsibly
The panel also runs a name-integrity check. If a competitor's business name looks like it includes service keywords (say, "personal," "injury," or "attorney" stuffed into the name), it flags possible keyword stuffing. A keyword-stuffed name that does not match the real-world signage violates Google's guidelines and can be reported through the business redressal form, which is one of the few legitimate ways to knock a spammy competitor down.
Two rules the tool builds in on purpose:
- It is framed as "confirm," never a verdict. The flag means "worth checking," not "guilty." Confirm the name against the competitor's actual storefront or signage before you act.
- It is built on Google's own guidelines. You are reporting a real violation, not gaming the system. Never report a name that matches the real business name.
What it does not do
Being clear about the limits keeps you out of trouble. The panel reads the profile currently open in your tab and shows a snapshot, not history, so a single read gives you totals, not how fast a competitor is adding reviews or photos. To measure velocity, save the profile and re-check it weekly. And always confirm a spam flag against the real storefront before reporting. It is a scouting tool, not an auto-pilot.
Turn the intel into signed cases
A gap list is only worth something if you close the gaps. The signals the extension surfaces map directly to the work that wins the local pack: a matched primary category, a steady review cadence, a fully optimized Google Business Profile, and a locally-optimized site. Do that consistently and you stop scouting the firms above you and start being the one they scout.
If you would rather have all of it built and run for you, one firm per metro, that is the personal injury SEO engine we run.
Frequently asked questions
What is the RetainerReach Local Competitor Intel extension?
It is a free Chrome extension that reads any competitor’s Google Business Profile from the Google Maps listing you are viewing and shows the local-pack ranking signals (primary category, reviews, website, hours, photos). Save your own firm once and every competitor you open is scored head to head against you, with a prioritized list of the gaps to close.
How do I use the extension to compare my firm to a competitor?
Install it, open your own firm in Google Maps, and click "Save as my firm" to set your baseline. Then open any competitor’s profile in Maps and the side panel shows a "gaps versus your firm" card ranking where they beat you: reviews, photos, website, and posts. That list is your prioritized to-do list.
Can the extension report a competitor for a keyword-stuffed name?
It flags names that appear to include service keywords as "possible keyword stuffing," framed as something to confirm rather than a verdict. A stuffed name that does not match the real-world signage violates Google’s guidelines and can be reported through the business redressal form. Always confirm against the competitor’s actual storefront before reporting, and never report a name that matches the real business name.
Does the extension track competitors over time?
No. Each read is a snapshot of the profile open in your tab, showing totals, not history or velocity. To see how fast a competitor is adding reviews or photos, save the profile and re-check it weekly. It is a scouting tool for one-at-a-time reads, not an ongoing rank tracker.
Want this run for your firm?
See exactly where your retainers are leaking, then decide. One firm per metro.