How to Find Competitors: All Your Options in One Guide

It’s a universal truth that everyone has some kind of competition. And often, it’s really tough. Okay, maybe that’s no reason to go all “Jane Austen-ish” on you, but it still stands. After all, who wouldn’t agree that online marketing is only getting more cutthroat than ever?

The only way to stay ahead is to keep tabs on everyone else — in this case, your business competitors.

If you want to dominate your niche, you need to know exactly who they are and what they are doing. And the more competitors you can locate, the better it is for your brand and its marketing strategy.

Oh, wait, but how to find out your competitor’s marketing strategy? That’s just one of the questions we’ll answer in this guide. So, let’s start right away.

Contents

• Direct competition and indirect competition: Which one is more important?
• 1. Direct competitors
• 2. Indirect competitors
• Who is the boss out of the two?
• What can you learn from your competitors?
• How to search for competitors: 9 best ways
• 1. Do a thorough market analysis
• 2. Use any SEO tool
• 3. Ask your customers
• 4. Go through your local listings and directories
• 5. Ask other business owners
• 6. Dig through social media
• 7. Pay attention to industry experts
• 8. Don’t forget to do a Google search
• 9. Check review sites
• Conclusion

Direct competition and indirect competition: Which one is more important?

You've probably gotten tired of hearing this by now, but all competitors are not cut from the same cloth. You've got your direct competitors, and there's the indirect competition as well. Which one is more important?

Before we even go into that, let's figure out how direct competition and indirect competition are different.

1. Direct competitors

These are the businesses that are offering the same or similar products and services as you. Basically, they're gunning for the exact same target audience.

Kind of like those cheesy movies where the hero and his arch-nemesis want the same girl. Except in this case, the “girl” at stake is your entire market share and your profits.

Here, we are talking about your main competitors. Clearly, the battle line is drawn.

A real-life example of this would be Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi. No matter how much their fans insist their drinks are different, they’re still both sodas in the exact same category.

Source: Deadline

There is only one type of rivalry that can compare to Coke vs. Pepsi — of course, it’s Samsung vs. iPhone.

Source: The Independent

Netflix vs. PrimeTV or Hulu and Spotify vs. Apple Music — you get the picture. All these are examples of direct competitors.

These are all companies that bombard customers with similar choices. So, if a client does not respond to one, it means they're likely going for the other.

TL;DR: Direct competitors (primary competitors) are fighting for the exact same slice of the market. They are also offering the same (or very similar) products/services.

2. Indirect competitors

Unlike the primary competition, this one is a little bit sneakier. This group does not offer the same products or services as you. Instead, they target the same customers while satisfying the same needs in a different way from you.

Some real-life examples of this would be ebooks vs. physical books or Uber vs. taxis.

Source: Woxapp

And even cinemas vs. streaming platforms like Netflix also count.

Source: Jornalismorio

More often than not, these include those emerging competitors that are offering new services. The kind that could eventually replace you — sort of like what happened with Blockbuster and Netflix.

TL;DR: Your indirect industry competitors are those who can satisfy the needs your customers have with a different offering. Basically, they have a different product/service, but they are targeting your clients (at least partially).

Who is the boss out of the two?

Now, we have established that all competitor companies are not created equal. So, which one should you worry about the most? The simple answer — it depends. Before you say that's not a real answer, let’s unpack that for a moment.

If you’re talking about immediate “threats,” then the most important one is your direct competitors.

They’re going after your customers right now while offering something extremely similar. Sometimes, your audience might not even tell the difference if they haven’t researched enough. And if they’re better at SEO or have a bigger ad budget, then they can easily win.

On the other hand, if you’re looking at a long-term plan, then you can’t afford to play ostrich with the indirect competitors. They can take you out of the industry altogether (often, it isn’t that dramatic, but still).

Don’t forget — the goal isn’t just to find the answer to the question, “What are competitors in business?” and add them to your marketing strategy. The real objective is to actually understand how to learn from the competition constructively. That’s exactly what the next section is about.

What can you learn from your competitors?

It’s easy to think of your competition as a threat to your business. But hey, what if you could see them as an opportunity for you to learn how to do things differently? Maybe little lemons to lemonade, but it does work.

So, instead of thinking of how to take them out (err, ignore them), here’s what you can learn from your competitors:

• Social media strategies. Looking at your brand competitors' SM channels can clue you in on what’s trending. Also, check what your target customers vibe to and love to engage with.

Did their funny meme video get a lot of likes and shares?

Source: X

Well then, you know it’s time you found your own funny bone and made content that makes people laugh. If they get more interactions on TikTok compared to YouTube, then you can start drawing up a plan for how to create your own TikTok channel.

But be reasonable here. If YouTube is a super effective channel for you, don’t give it up just because TikTok works better for someone else. But a little bit of testing and diversification won’t hurt.

• SEO. It’s going to be really tough to go far in SEO without knowing who your competitors are. That’s because you’re going to need to know which keywords they’re ranking for and where they’re getting their best backlinks from.

Even just understanding which content formats or guest post sites are bringing them the most traffic can be huge. It’s like having them do some of the hard research for you. Then, all you need to do is find ways to beat them at their own game by polishing your strategy.

Source: Ahrefs

• Sales channels. Maybe some of your sales channels are not just doing as well as you had expected, or you don’t know what new channel to try. That’s where a little digging around through your competitors' distribution channels can give you some great ideas.

You just might find that you’ve been ignoring some pretty good marketplaces or platforms.

For example, if you notice they’re raking in good sales through Amazon as well as their own website, then maybe it’s your clue to sign up on Amazon, too. It’s just a basic example, but you get the idea.

• Market prices. Even if you don’t sell at the exact same prices, you still need to note their pricing offers and what they cover. You wouldn’t want to be so high that people simply run off to your competitors.

But you wouldn’t want to come across as too cheap so that customers think your products/services are low quality. Knowing what your competitors are charging helps you find a good range for your own prices based on what you offer.

Source: Backlinko

Clearly, some good can come out of having competitors in business. They can clue you in on where you need to improve, stuff you really should be offering, and even gaps that you can take advantage of.

But does this mean that you should copy everything they do? Of course not! The goal is to learn what works for them and give it your own spin. No matter what you do, you should never lose your authenticity.

How to search for competitors: 9 best ways

So far, we’ve covered the difference between direct and indirect competitors. Besides, now, you understand what you can learn from your competition.

Now, it’s officially time to look at what it takes to correctly uncover those businesses that are competing with you. Some of these tactics include:

1. Do a thorough market analysis

A market analysis is kind of like doing deep research. That’s exactly what it is. You want to learn not just about your target audience but also about your direct and indirect competitors.

This is what helps you understand the situation in your industry better and figure out how to beat the competition.

Source: Power Slides

Where do you start?

Of course, by now, you know many (if not most) of your competitors. Still, diving into this every once in a while is a good strategy for any business. You want to keep an eye on all the current trends and tendencies.

To help you narrow down your search, you can ask yourself some questions like:

• What other products/services are similar to yours in the market?
• Who are they targeted to?
• What is their unique selling proposition (USP)?
• What pain points do those similar products/services help solve?
• How much does yours stand out from it?
• What trends and opportunities are they using to corner the market effectively?

The answers to these questions will point you in the right direction. So, if you find a couple of businesses that offer the same (or very similar) products/services to the same demographics, you can note them as direct competitors.

Those that don’t offer the same product/service but market to the same demographic and cover the same needs are your indirect competitors. Kind of like what we covered earlier.

Pro tip: Ideally, you want to use a SWOT analysis (or any other similar technique) to analyze each competitor and see how they compare to your business.

Source: Word Stream

How would this work in real life?

Let’s say you own a pest control business, and you target homeowners in their 30s-50s who are busy professionals. Your goal is to try to find other similar businesses that sell to the same audience as you. Those would be the businesses to watch out for.

Along the way, you want to make notes about their main sales channels, SM presence, SEO, and other things they use for promotion. Do they offer coupons and advertise on social media or use paid ads? Looking at their tactics could give you an idea of how to make your offer unique.

Still, the main point here is to look broader than you usually do. That’s why we recommend using a SWOT analysis or something like that.

Besides, make sure you don’t forget about your indirect competitors. Who could they be if you’re in the pest control business? Basically, it could be a big range of companies:

• Cleaning services that focus on keeping your area clean and free of pests.
• Home improvement stores that sell products that basically help DIY what you’re doing.
• Even gardening companies that offer some anti-pest yard treatments, etc.

So, the idea of this first step is to find those you’re competing with in your area or globally (if you’re an international business).

First, just list the ones that you already have in mind. It’s also a great idea to brainstorm this with your team. Next, let’s see what tools and strategies you can use to discover even more competitors.

2. Use any SEO tool

If you want to analyze the digital presence of your competition, one of the most logical places to start is by using an SEO tool. With this software, you can see how well their organic traffic is working. But it isn’t just that.

You can check what referring domains link to them and what media platforms mention them in press releases, for example. Besides, you can see whether they’re using forums, Reddit, Quora, etc. for promotion.

The good news is that pretty much any SEO software offers a range of features for competitor analysis. Some of the biggest names in the industry are, of course, Ahrefs, Semrush, etc.

If you use Semrush Market Explorer, you can just go for the “Find Competitors” option on the menu.

Source: Semrush

Enter your domain and choose your location, then press “Research a market.” The results page might seem overwhelming with so much information, but take a breath and prepare to find tons of data on your competition.

First, take a look at the Market Summary section. It provides an overview of who are the competitors you need to know about right away.

Source: Semrush

Next, carefully check the sections that follow. This includes keywords, growth quadrant, geographical distribution, market traffic, etc.

Source: Semrush

3. Ask your customers

Chances are that asking your clients about the competition is not your idea of fun. Still, it does work if you are serious about the question of how to find competitors. Why? Well, customers are surrounded by different options all the time.

So, before coming to you, they probably looked around a bit. They can also just as easily find an alternative if they are not digging you anymore.

Source: Reddit

That’s why they know where to look for the same stuff and experience you can give them, even if they are sticking with you right now. Think about it — you have also compared products from different vendors before a purchase, haven’t you?

Use this to your advantage by conducting surveys from time to time. It's best to do this as a follow-up, though. The idea is to check how satisfied people are with your service/product.

Most of the big companies do that. Here is, for example, how Airbnb approaches this.

Source: Retently

But, of course, they are not the only ones, which also makes sense as getting this feedback from customers is priceless.

There are two crucial points you should consider, though:

1. Make these surveys as simple and short as possible. If they’re longer, offer some type of incentive or create a focus group.
2. Remember that the reason you collect this data isn’t just to insert it into some report. The idea is to act upon this information to improve your product/service.

If you don’t know where to start, there are many templates online, like this one from Smart Survey, that can come in handy.

Source: Smart Survey

When it comes to competitor analysis, you don't have to ask your clients outright to list your competitors. Simply asking about other products or services they prefer or like as well would do the trick.

Also, if you can analyze lost deals, do that right away. Because asking people why they decided not to proceed with you can be a real game-changer for your business’s future.

Hint: The responses also come in handy as part of your discrete data that lets you quantify your operations.

4. Go through your local listings and directories

Since you know what is the difference between direct and indirect competitors, you can do this easily. First, you should go through the local listings in your area. Then, you will be able to see what other businesses are offering the same services as you.

Have no idea how to find company competitors in the directories? Start by googling “your niche + location + directory” and see what comes up.

Source: Google

You can also check your trade association memberships. That’s because sometimes, some of your competitors might not be online. This way, you don’t miss those in this category.

You can even find out what prices they are setting and see what customers think about them. This makes your job a whole lot easier as you can suss out most of the competition from one place.

5. Ask other business owners

No matter what your niche is, most likely, you have lots of direct vs. indirect competitors. So, it wouldn't hurt to network with other business owners around you. You don't even have to limit yourself to only those in your industry.

At the same time, you don’t want to only ask those in your immediate location. The wider your network, the easier it is to know when a new business is popping up. This way, you can get the scope on them before they even know of you.

If they are going to be a competition, you can get to the drawing board quickly. This means you can brainstorm attractive incentives to keep your customers from jumping ship.

How can you build this network? There are actually more options than you might think:

• Find some industry events and training sessions.
• Join business associations (if there are any).
• Go through LinkedIn and other socials to start conversations with fellow entrepreneurs.
• You can even consider organizing your own meetup and inviting others as speakers or visitors.

Source: Google

Plus, one big perk of making friends with other business owners is that you get to learn from them. Most of them will be happy to share some stories from their day-to-day workflows. You can also come across some interesting approaches and ideas you haven’t been thinking about.

Best part? Networking with other business owners works for everything — from scoping the competition to creating PR activities for your business.

After all, brands have been partnering up with each other for as long as we can remember.

Source: HubSpot

6. Dig through social media

Do you know that 85% of customers use social media for product research? You do? Well, so could your competitors. And whether you like it or not, some of them are going to use it to their advantage. That’s just one more reason why every business should use social media.

So, how to search for competitors on socials? It isn’t as complicated as it might seem. There are a couple of options:

1. Use the search feature. You can simply type in your main keywords with or without location (e.g., flower delivery Michigan). There, you’ll see profiles, locations, top publications, hashtags, etc. Use all of those options.
2. Find suggested accounts. You can simply go to your competitors’ profiles and click on that little icon next to “Follow” and “Message.” This will show you the accounts suggested for you.
3. Research Reels. You can create a separate account for this and only view everything related to your niche. Then, go to the Reels or Recommendation tabs to see what comes up. It’s also incredible to get some inspo for your content.

Source: Social Media Examiner

If all this sounds quite overwhelming, just start with hashtags. Simply typing your hashtags into the search bar can show you other posts with the same hashtags.

Basically, your target keyword could be your hashtag. In this case, it’s #ecofriendlyfashionnewyork. When you search for that on all the platforms, you will see different social media profiles that have used that hashtag, too.

Source: Instagram

Some of them might be new businesses you have not heard of. But you will also find popular and perhaps bigger competitors as well.

Even better, since customers are likely to not hold back online, you can also check some forums. Type your brand name and see what people are saying about you. Did they mention any other alternatives to you? What other companies are they also following?

Plus, what do the comments say? All these add up and can help you gauge how much of a “threat” those other product competitors are.

7. Pay attention to industry experts

Typically, when people are asking, “How do I find my competitors?” they don’t really think of this one. But here is why it works so well.

Like you, most other businesses in your niche are going to want to be in the loop. You know, there is always so much going on — the latest industry trends, tech news, and stuff like that. Odds are they are going to take the same approach as you to be able to keep up.

So, they follow industry experts across professional platforms like LinkedIn and other socials. These people are the ones who are most likely to post about the latest research, innovations, and cool projects.

That’s why there is a great chance that your competition follows niche experts that you are subscribed to as well. So, by checking the followers list of these experts, you will be able to find a competitor or two.

For example, if your niche is SEO, go and see who follows the industry leaders you follow. On top of this, you can simply search for different profiles of people who have worked in SEO for a long time and then check who follows them.

Source: X

8. Don’t forget to do a Google search

Yeah, right, we forgot the obvious one — Google search.

Wondering why this isn’t on the top of a list talking about how to identify direct competitors? It’s because this one is usually the most common one. Yep. Most times, your first instinct is to google your business to see what other names pop up, too.

But we won’t focus on the most straightforward approach to this — we’re pretty sure you can do this without any guide. Instead, let’s see how you can bring your Google search to the next level with keywords.

By now, you probably have your target keywords, right? You know the queries that perfectly capture your products/services and brand. If you are not sure how keywords work in SEO, we have a post about that here.

But let’s just say that for now, yours is “eco-friendly furniture.”

Now pop that into the Google search box to see who else comes up. You can also narrow down your search if you are a location-specific business. Simply add your location or use “near me.”

Source: Google

You can also google something like “X best eco-friendly furniture in X city 2025.” These listicles are great for finding a handy list of your top direct competitors on one site.

What are the other tips you could use?

1. Don’t just focus on one keyword. If your main query is “eco-friendly furniture,” try searching for something like “sustainable furniture,” “recycled furniture,” “non-toxic sofas,” “natural bed frames,” etc.
2. See who appears in Featured snippets, in the Places section, in the People also ask section, etc. Make a note of what these companies are doing and try using similar tactics.
3. Go through the images that show up. Image optimization is also a big thing, so you might find some new businesses.
4. Check whether some of your competitors use videos. If they show up high in search results thanks to their video content, maybe you could consider using this strategy as well.
5. Go through those who appear in ads. It’s also helpful to know what companies opt for organic promotion and which ones heavily rely on paid traffic.

Source: Google

Another thing you can do is use an SEO tool to find the sites ranking at the top for most of your target keywords. This one is very handy for digging up both your direct and indirect competitors.

In fact, you might be surprised that you are not only competing with people in your niche for the same keywords.

9. Check review sites

Guess how many review sites are there? A bajillion, as toddlers would say. No, really. There are tons of them out there, which is actually a good thing (Trustpilot, Clutch, Google Reviews, and so on). Especially when you want to know the competitors you should be watching closely.

When you really think about it, review sites are usually one of the places people go to check if a brand is credible. So, it makes sense that it’s also one of the places you need to take a look at as well.

If you can, it’s better to stick to review sites that are specifically for your niche. Just check for your brand or target keywords. On platforms like Yelp, you can choose your location as well, right after you enter your keyword.

Source: Yelp

Like with the other tactics, scroll through all the potential competitors and check what people think of each company. Then, take a peek at those businesses to know what they are offering and how it relates to your products/services.

Conclusion

Alright, so now we have come to the end of our long and hopefully helpful post. We have covered a lot of ground. This includes everything, from competitor definition in business to real-life direct and indirect competitors' examples. Quite a lot, huh?

When searching for how to find direct competitors, the good news is that there are many options you can try.

Regardless of which way you choose, be sure to remain consistent. That’s the best way to beat the competition since new businesses are created every day. So, clearly, you can’t afford to slip up.

Be sure to make a list of your competitors grouped by their “strength level.” You can then go through their sites to see what you can learn from their strategy and what aspects they are missing.

Finally, check how their strategies can inspire you to do better and how you can fill the gaps they left. This way, you will carve a unique space for yourself.