NAICS code

Also called: North American Industry Classification System.

NAICS was developed jointly by the US, Canada and Mexico and replaced the older SIC system in the US starting in 1997. Codes run from 2 digits (sector) to 6 digits (national industry). For example, 238220 is Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors, and 621210 is Offices of Dentists. The Census Bureau publishes the current version and revises it every five years.

Government statistics use NAICS, which makes it useful for sizing markets. The Census Bureau's County Business Patterns gives establishment counts by NAICS code and county, so you can estimate how many businesses of a type exist before you build a list.

For list building, NAICS is coarse. 238220 lumps plumbers and HVAC contractors together, and a business's code is assigned for statistical or tax purposes, not chosen to describe what customers search for. Google Maps categories are usually more specific and more current for local businesses.

Use NAICS to size and to match against other datasets; use categories and keywords to find and filter actual businesses.

Example

A distributor checks County Business Patterns for NAICS 722513 (Limited-Service Restaurants) in its region to size the market, then builds the actual contact list from Google Maps using categories like "Fast food restaurant" and "Sandwich shop."