Capturing competitor sites that block page monitors
Many websites block simple automated fetchers, so a basic page monitor gets an error, a challenge page or nothing at all instead of the content. PMM Tools records when a capture was blocked and keeps serving your agent the latest good capture of each page. On Business and above, a blocked capture is retried automatically with heavier capture methods, one step at a time. A page that still can't be captured can be captured from your own browser with the PMM Tools Chrome extension, into the same competitor collection your agent reads.
Why does my page monitor fail on some competitor sites?
- Step 01
Every capture is checked
PMM Tools records whether each capture was blocked. Your agent is served each page's latest good capture, and the app shows which pages were blocked.
- Step 02
Blocked captures are retried
On Business and above, a blocked capture is retried automatically with a heavier capture method, one step at a time, up to what your plan includes. Plans include 1 to 6 bot-protected competitors, and a competitor takes one of those slots the first time it needs the heavier methods.
- Step 03
Capture the rest from your browser
If a page still can't be captured automatically, open it in Chrome and capture it with the PMM Tools extension. The capture is saved to the same competitor, and your agent reads it like any other.
What to know before you start
Why do page monitors fail on some competitor sites?
Many sites check whether a visitor is an automated tool before they serve the page. A simple fetcher then receives an error, a challenge page or an empty response, and the monitor either reports a failure or saves that response as if it were the page.
Which plans retry blocked captures?
Business and above. Plans include 1 to 6 bot-protected competitors. When every slot is taken, blocked pages from other competitors are not retried with the heavier methods; you can change which competitors are protected in the app or with pmm_competitor_protect. Starter, Growth and Pro do not include bot-protected competitors.
Can my agent tell whether pages were blocked?
Yes. pmm_run_status reports a run's progress, including its blocked and escalated captures, and pmm_competitor_protection_status shows whether a competitor holds a protected slot.
Will every page be captured automatically?
No. Some pages still can't be captured after the retries. The app shows those pages as blocked, and you can capture them from your browser with the Chrome extension.
Put this workflow on top of current, inspectable sources.
Start with a competitor domain, keep the collection current, and let your own agent analyze the evidence in context.