Ever wonder how your competitors always seem a step ahead with their tech stack—switching analytics tools, suddenly running new A/B tests, or adding live chat out of nowhere? You could check their sites manually, but let’s be honest: nobody’s got time for that. This guide is for marketers, founders, and product folks who want a no-nonsense way to keep tabs on what’s powering competitor websites, using Similartech alerts.
If you’re looking for a hands-off way to spot tech changes as they happen—without drowning in noise—keep reading.
Why Bother Monitoring Competitor Tech Stacks?
Before we get into the “how,” it’s worth spelling out the “why.” Here’s what you actually get out of tracking competitor website tech changes:
- Spot trends early: See when someone adopts a new marketing tool, analytics platform, or payment provider.
- Find gaps or opportunities: Maybe they ditched a heatmap tool you use. Is it buggy, or are you onto something they’re missing?
- Benchmark your stack: If you’re always a year behind, maybe you’re too cautious—or maybe you’re avoiding expensive mistakes.
But let’s be clear: you won’t get some magic playbook. You’ll get signals, and it’s on you to interpret them.
Step 1: Get Access to Similartech
First things first: you’ll need an account with Similartech. It’s a service that scans millions of websites to map out what technologies they’re running—everything from content management systems to obscure JavaScript widgets.
What you need to know: - There’s a free tier, but the good stuff (alerts, more tracked sites) usually costs money. Pricing isn’t cheap. If you’re in a tiny startup, get ready for sticker shock. - Some features are gated behind demos or sales calls. Annoying, but not a dealbreaker if you’re serious about tracking competitors.
Pro tip: If you just want a taste, sign up for a trial and see how much signal you actually get before committing.
Step 2: Pick the Competitors (and Pages) That Matter
Don’t try to monitor everyone in your industry. Start with 3–5 direct competitors—the ones whose moves actually worry you.
How to choose: - Go beyond just big names. Include up-and-comers who seem scrappy or unusually fast-moving. - If a competitor has several products or country sites, focus on the main ones for now.
Ignore: - Companies that are way outside your market—no point tracking Amazon’s stack if you run a niche SaaS. - Sites that never change (dead projects, corporate info pages).
Step 3: Set Up Technology Change Alerts
This is where Similartech’s alerts come in. Once you’ve plugged in your competitor sites, you can set up notifications for tech stack changes.
Here’s what actually matters: - New technologies added: Analytics, CRMs, chat, personalization, etc. - Tech removed: Sometimes more interesting than what’s added—did they drop their A/B testing tool? - Major upgrades: Sometimes Similartech catches when a version changes (e.g., upgrading from Magento 1 to Magento 2).
How to do it: 1. Log in and search for your competitor’s domain. 2. Add their site to your “watchlist” or “tracked websites.” 3. Set up alerts—usually via email or dashboard—for: - All tech changes, or - Only specific categories (e.g., only marketing tools)
What to ignore: - Don’t set alerts for every single tech change if you value your sanity. Most sites swap out tiny libraries all the time. - Skip tracking ad networks unless that’s core to your business—they change constantly.
Pro tip: Start broad, then narrow your alerts after a few weeks when you see what’s useful and what’s just noise.
Step 4: Make Sense of the Alerts
You’ll start getting notifications—sometimes a lot of them. Here’s how to separate signal from noise:
- Look for patterns: One-off changes might mean nothing. Multiple competitors adopting the same tool? That’s worth a closer look.
- Check for false positives: Similartech isn’t perfect. Sometimes it misidentifies scripts or flags temporary changes (like a test that lasted a day).
- Dig into context: If a competitor adds Hotjar, did they also launch a new landing page? Use tools like the Wayback Machine or page monitoring to see what changed alongside the tech.
What doesn’t work: - Treating every tech change as a big deal. You’ll burn out, and your team will start ignoring the alerts. - Assuming you know why they made a change. Reach out to your network or look for public statements—sometimes a vendor just raised prices or went bust.
Step 5: Build a Simple Tracking Workflow
You don’t need a fancy dashboard to make alerts useful. Here’s a dead-simple way to actually use what you learn:
- Create a spreadsheet or doc. List competitors, track changes, and jot down your own notes or hypotheses.
- Review alerts weekly. Don’t let them clutter your inbox—batch process so you can spot trends.
- Share only what matters. Send a quick summary to your team when you see meaningful shifts. No need to forward every email.
Optional: - If you’re a data nerd, you can pipe alerts into Slack, Notion, or even a custom database. But honestly, most teams never look at these after week one.
Pro Tips (and Things No One Tells You)
- Don’t get FOMO. Just because a competitor adds a tool doesn’t mean you need it. They might be running an experiment, or chasing shiny objects.
- Combine with other tools. Similartech is great, but not perfect. Use BuiltWith or Wappalyzer as a backup if you spot gaps.
- Privacy and ethics: Don’t try to “hack” your competitors or scrape behind login screens. Stick to what’s public.
- Expect misses. Some tech (especially custom or server-side) won’t show up. Use alerts as hints, not gospel.
What Similartech Alerts Do Well—And Where They Fall Short
What works: - Catching visible, client-side tech changes (analytics, chat, marketing tags). - Simple, actionable notifications if you don’t overload yourself.
What doesn’t: - Detecting backend tech or stuff running on subdomains (unless you track those too). - Explaining why a change happened. You’ll have to dig for real context. - Staying up-to-date if a competitor uses a lot of custom code, or moves fast (alerts can lag by days or weeks).
Bottom line: Similartech’s alerts are a solid early warning system, not a crystal ball.
Keep It Simple—Iterate as You Go
Start small. Track a handful of competitors, set up basic alerts, and see what actually helps you make better decisions. Ignore the urge to monitor everything. Most insights come from patterns over time, not any single email alert.
If you realize you’re getting nothing but noise, dial it back—or try a different tool. Either way, the goal isn’t to obsess over every competitor move, but to spot the genuinely interesting ones before they become old news.
Now go set it up. You can always tweak as you learn.