Short answer
Check high-stakes competitor pages daily (pricing, core positioning) in normal markets; use hourly during active launch or pricing-war windows; use weekly for stable informational pages (about, careers, old blog hubs). Automate captures so frequency is consistent-manual “when I remember” checks miss overnight changes.
Match cadence to page type
| Page type | Suggested cadence | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Competitor pricing / plans | Daily (hourly during promos) | Revenue and packaging move fast |
| Competitor homepage / positioning | Daily to weekly | Narrative shifts matter; less daily churn than pricing |
| Feature or changelog pages | Daily | Ship cadence exposes product strategy |
| Your own launch landing | Hourly to daily during launch week | Catch deploy mistakes and CMS drift early |
| Legal / footer-only pages | Weekly or off-monitor | Low strategic value; high noise if over-monitored |
Match cadence to market velocity
Hyper-competitive categories (SaaS pricing wars, ad-heavy consumer) - bias toward daily minimum on pricing URLs.
Stable enterprise cycles - daily or every few days may suffice outside renewal seasons.
Launch windows - temporarily tighten schedule for 2–4 weeks, then relax.
Automation vs manual checks
Manual bookmark review fails because:
Changes happen outside business hours
No shared record of what the page looked like before
Different teammates check different days
Scheduled monitoring with a timeline and visual compare fixes all three. You review on your rhythm; the system holds proof.
Avoiding alert fatigue
Monitor fewer, higher-value URLs per competitor-not the entire sitemap.
Rely on tools that score meaningful change vs pixel noise.
Use a weekly review ritual instead of reacting to every notification instantly.
Tier competitors: Tier A daily, Tier B weekly.
GetWhatChanged schedules
Plans offer different minimum intervals (hourly on higher tiers). Pick per-monitor frequency inside those limits-see pricing and plan limits. Setup takes minutes: start free and add your Tier A pricing URLs first.
Frequently asked questions
Is hourly monitoring overkill?
Not during a known launch or pricing test window. For a static About page, yes-weekly is enough.
What time zone are checks based on?
Scheduled runs typically use UTC boundaries for daily caps; check your workspace settings for run-now limits and monitor schedules.
Can I run an extra check on demand?
Yes-manual “run now” captures are useful when you hear a rumor and need immediate proof before the next scheduled run.