Phantombuster tutorial for tracking competitor LinkedIn activity automatically

If you’re serious about keeping tabs on your competitors, LinkedIn is the place to watch. But nobody has time to manually check profiles every week for new posts or company updates. Enter Phantombuster—a tool that automates the boring parts, so you can focus on what matters: actually using the intel you gather. This guide will walk you through how to set up Phantombuster to track your competitors’ LinkedIn activity automatically, with real talk about what works, what doesn’t, and how to avoid wasting time.

Who this is for

  • Marketers, founders, or sales folks who want a leg up on what their competitors are doing on LinkedIn.
  • Anyone tired of copy-pasting LinkedIn URLs into spreadsheets.
  • Those who want honest advice—not hype—about what’s realistic with automation.

If you’re looking for a push-button “spy on everything they do” solution, you’ll be disappointed. But if you want a practical, working setup that’ll save you hours, keep reading.

Step 1: What can (and can’t) you track on LinkedIn?

Let’s set expectations. Here’s what you can reliably scrape from LinkedIn with Phantombuster:

  • Recent posts and articles from public profiles or company pages
  • New job changes or promotions (if public)
  • Activity feeds (likes, comments, shares)
  • Profile data (name, title, company, location)

And here’s what you can’t do (or at least, shouldn’t bother trying):

  • Scrape posts from private profiles or restricted company pages
  • Get notified of every comment or reply in real time
  • Track “stealth” activity (e.g., when someone views a post but doesn’t engage)

Pro tip: If you’re just looking to monitor public-facing activity (posts, articles, and job changes), Phantombuster works well. For anything private, don’t waste your time—LinkedIn’s anti-bot protections are too strong, and you’ll risk locking your account.

Step 2: Sign up for Phantombuster and get your LinkedIn session cookie

Before you can automate anything, you’ll need a Phantombuster account. There’s a free tier, but for ongoing tracking, you’ll probably want a paid plan. (No affiliate links here—just the facts.)

Now, Phantombuster needs to act “as you” to access LinkedIn. That means you’ll have to copy your LinkedIn session cookie. Here’s how:

  1. Log in to LinkedIn in Chrome (or your browser of choice).
  2. Right-click anywhere on the page and choose Inspect or Inspect Element.
  3. Go to the Application tab, then Cookies (left sidebar), then select https://www.linkedin.com.
  4. Look for a cookie named li_at. Copy its value—this is your session cookie.

Warning: Don’t share this cookie with anyone. It gives access to your LinkedIn account.

  1. Paste this cookie into Phantombuster when prompted during setup.

A bit of a pain, but it’s necessary. You’ll need to redo this step every few weeks when LinkedIn logs you out.

Step 3: Pick your Phantombuster “Phantom”

Phantombuster has a bunch of prebuilt automations (they call them “Phantoms”). For tracking competitor activity, the ones you’ll actually use are:

  • LinkedIn Profile Scraper: Pulls profile data and recent activity. Good for individuals.
  • LinkedIn Company Page Scraper: Grabs posts and updates from company pages.
  • LinkedIn Search Export: Exports search results—handy to track multiple competitors at once.

For most people, the Profile Scraper and Company Page Scraper are all you need.

Ignore: Anything promising to scrape private profiles, mass-message people, or “bypass LinkedIn limits.” That’s a fast track to getting your account flagged.

Step 4: Prepare your competitor list

Before you run any automations, make a simple spreadsheet (Google Sheets, Excel, whatever) with two columns:

  • Name (e.g., Acme Corp, Jane Doe)
  • LinkedIn URL (the direct link to their company page or profile)

Keep it short—start with 3–5 competitors. You can always add more later.

Step 5: Set up and configure your Phantom

Let’s walk through setting up the LinkedIn Company Page Scraper (the steps are similar for the Profile Scraper):

  1. In Phantombuster, find the Company Page Scraper and click “Use this Phantom.”
  2. Paste your list of LinkedIn company URLs in the input box.
  3. You can upload your spreadsheet, paste plain URLs, or link a Google Sheet.
  4. Paste your li_at session cookie if asked.
  5. Configure “Number of results per launch” (start low—LinkedIn doesn’t like heavy scraping).
  6. Set a schedule—e.g., daily, weekly, or whatever fits your needs.
  7. Preview your settings, then hit “Launch.”

If you’re tracking individuals, do the same with the Profile Scraper.

Pro tip: Start with manual runs before scheduling. Make sure you’re getting the data you want.

Step 6: Where does the data go?

By default, Phantombuster outputs to a CSV file you can download. But you can (and probably should):

  • Connect to Google Sheets for always-up-to-date tracking.
  • Use Zapier or Make.com to send data elsewhere (if you’re into that sort of thing).
  • Set up email notifications for new activity (handy, but don’t overdo it).

Most people just want a Google Sheet with the latest posts and updates. Keep it simple.

Step 7: Making sense of the results

You’ll get a spreadsheet with columns like:

  • Profile or company name
  • Post content
  • Post date and URL
  • Number of likes/comments
  • Engagement metrics

What do you actually do with this? A few ideas:

  • Spot new product launches, campaigns, or big hires
  • Track posting frequency (are they ramping up?)
  • See what kind of content gets traction for your competitors

Don’t: Assume every post or update is a major strategic move. Use the data to spot patterns, not to obsess over every like.

What to watch out for

  • LinkedIn bans: Scrape too aggressively and LinkedIn might flag your account. Stick to reasonable daily limits. If you get captchas or warnings, slow down.
  • Incomplete data: Sometimes Phantombuster misses posts or skips updates, especially if LinkedIn changes its layout. Double-check results now and then.
  • Session cookie expires: Phantombuster will stop working if your session cookie is stale. Refresh it every couple weeks.
  • Legal/ethical lines: Don’t use this for anything shady. Stick to public info.

Pro tip: Phantombuster isn’t magic. It’s just a smart scraper. If you need deep analysis, you’ll have to do the thinking yourself.

Real talk: What works, what doesn’t, and what to ignore

What works well: - Tracking public posts and updates, especially for company pages. - Monitoring new job changes and profile tweaks for public accounts. - Getting a high-level view of content cadence and engagement.

What doesn’t: - Real-time notifications or instant alerts (Phantombuster runs on a schedule, not live). - Scraping private or restricted info. - Large-scale “set and forget” monitoring—eventually, LinkedIn will notice if you go overboard.

What to ignore: - Overly complicated automation chains. Unless you’re a power user, keep it basic. - Any service or script promising to “unlock” private LinkedIn data. That’s just asking for trouble.

Keep it simple and iterate

It’s tempting to automate everything and build a dashboard with all the bells and whistles. Don’t. Start with tracking a handful of competitors, review the data every week or two, and adjust. If you get value from the basics, then think about fancier setups.

Remember: tools like Phantombuster are here to save you time, not create new busywork. Stick to what matters—consistent, actionable tracking of your competitors’ public moves. That’s all most people really need.