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What are the Best Search Criteria to find People and Company Data?

Last Update : 07.12.23 • Publication : 14.12.22 • Reading :

Would you like to expand your contact base? There are many solutions available to find people and company data. These various search engines and directories contain large volumes of information. To find your way around them, it is best to identify search criteria that are relevant to you. Here is a brief overview of common criteria.


Basic Criteria for a Useful People Search

These criteria are those used in a directory known as “White Pages“. To develop your prospection file, you need to have contact information for the persons you are searching for.


In simple databases of individuals, you can perform a search on:

  • First and last name
  • Postal address
  • Telephone number

More detailed databases provide additional information such as email address or activity.


Essential Criteria for a Useful Company Search

Professional databases generally offer company search using simple criteria such as:

  • Company name
  • Telephone number
  • Postal address
  • VAT number

The more the directory is advanced, the more precise the selection will be, with wider search criteria, such as:

  • Business sector
  • NACE code
  • SIC code
  • Number of employees
  • Turnover
  • Legal form
  • Date of incorporation
  • Company website
  • Social media URLs of the company
  • etc.

Geolocalized Data: a Real Benefit for your Prospection and Marketing

Data geolocalization is a powerful search criterion that is often forgotten. Ideally, B2B or B2C databases include geographic details (latitude and longitude) of the addresses they contain. This allows you to perform searches based on GPS coordinates and filter companies or individuals located in a specific zone around that location.


For example, you can select prospects within a 20 km radius of your company. With this list, you can focus your energy on potential clients locally.


B2B and B2C: What Data for What Target?

If your products or services are targeting individuals, you wouldn’t filter your database with the same criteria than if you were targeting corporations.


In B2C, you focus on people data: first name, last name, address, telephone number. You can refine your search with socio-demographic criteria: age, gender, buying behavior, etc.


In B2B, your search will focus on contact information of managers, as well as the company’s firmographic information (turnover, year of incorporation, corporate name, company size, etc.).


Whether you are targeting companies or individuals, it is important to identify search criteria that match your marketing strategy. Infobel owns a global database containing contact information for 250 million companies and 49 million persons in dozens of countries. Use search criteria to only select data relevant to your business development. Otherwise, you may find yourself overwhelmed by the amount of information, and waste valuable time in your prospecting efforts.

Marc Wahba
Author Marc Wahba

Meet Marc, the co-founder and CTO of Infobel. He is in charge of software development. In 1991, he obtained a degree in civil electromechanical engineering from the Polytechnic Faculty and later earned a master's degree in management from the Solvay School of Brussels. Along with his brother, he founded Infobel in 1995, which was the first online directory to offer an online white pages directory. Marc's innovative mindset has led to the launch of new data products and services that have become a global success, serving clients all over the world.

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