# Internet Searches: Can I Find Out...?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-searches-can-i-find-out/185799>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 2, 2003, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-searches-can-i-find-out/185799 "2003-07-02T16:22:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-searches-can-i-find-out/185799/1 "2003-07-02T16:22:41Z")

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I am wondering if the Internet can help me find out the names of a company’s competitors. Norton Navigator had a limited, but helpful option to find “related sites”, IIRC. I know Google offers such a feature, but it appears to look for webpages within a website.

Any suggestions from the SDopers as to how to dig up a company’s competition while surfing the Internet? - Jinx

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**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-searches-can-i-find-out/185799/2 "2003-07-02T16:27:11Z")

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Possibly checking out the Better Bussiness Beureau’s site. From there you can (each state has it’s own site, plus there’s a ‘national’ site, and an online site). I’m not sure about other states, but in wisconsin, you find a company by typing in a keyword and it pulls up a list of companies within that topic that are members of the BBB. You could try that and see if it helps.

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**Author:** ![NoGoodNamesLeft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoGoodNamesLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoGoodNamesLeft)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-searches-can-i-find-out/185799/3 "2003-07-02T17:22:56Z")

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Off the top of my head, I’d go thru Yahoo’s directory. Find wherever that business is listed, then see which other businesses are listed with it.

I’ve also had success with Googling using a search term like “Microsoft Alternative” to find competitors. (I’ve only used this to find alternatives to products, like “Excel Alternative”, but it may work.

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**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-searches-can-i-find-out/185799/4 "2003-07-02T17:42:38Z")

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Find the companies stock listing in yahoo financials - if you click on their “profile” listing, you will find a “competitors” section on the left hand side, linking to the competitors in their particular industry or sector. You will probably find the industry link more useful.

[http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=xxx](http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=xxx)

Substitute ticker symbol for your company for xxx to get their quote page.