Google Sheets + CompanyEnrich: instant lookalike lists
You have a list of “good” accounts, and then… nothing. Finding similar companies turns into a messy mix of Googling competitors, guessing, and pasting domains into a spreadsheet that never stays clean.
This is where lookalike list automation pays off fast. Sales teams feel it when pipeline needs topping up. A growth marketer feels it when paid targeting needs fresh audiences. GTM ops folks end up stuck in the middle, cleaning lists instead of building systems.
This n8n workflow takes a simple Google Sheets domain list, sends each domain to CompanyEnrich, and returns scored lookalike companies into a Results tab you can actually review and use.
How This Automation Works
The full n8n workflow, from trigger to final output:
n8n Workflow Template: Google Sheets + CompanyEnrich: instant lookalike lists
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The Problem: Building lookalike lists is tedious (and inconsistent)
Most “lookalike research” is really just manual detective work. Someone grabs a handful of target domains, opens a dozen tabs, searches for “competitors” and “similar companies,” then copies whatever looks right into a spreadsheet. It feels productive, but it’s slow and, frankly, hard to repeat. Next week, a different person does it again and the output looks totally different. Even worse, you can’t tell which lookalikes are strong matches, so your outreach and ads end up hitting a lot of “maybe” accounts.
The friction compounds. Here’s where it breaks down.
- Each domain turns into 10–20 minutes of searching, copying, and sanity-checking details.
- People paste inconsistent fields, which means your list needs cleanup before it’s usable.
- No similarity score makes prioritization a guessing game, so good accounts get mixed with weak ones.
- Because the process isn’t repeatable, scaling from 50 domains to 500 becomes a “not this week” project.
The Solution: Turn a domain list into scored lookalikes in Sheets
This workflow starts with what you already have: a Google Sheet with a Domain column. When you run it, n8n pulls each domain from that sheet and sends it to the CompanyEnrich API to discover similar companies. The API responds with lookalike suggestions, including names, domains, and a similarity score. Then the workflow merges those results back with your original source item, expands the response into clean rows, and appends everything into a dedicated Results tab. You end up with a review-ready table instead of a pile of tabs and half-finished research.
The workflow begins when you trigger it manually in n8n. Google Sheets supplies the source domains, CompanyEnrich returns similar firms, and n8n formats the response so each suggested company becomes its own row. Finally, a second Google Sheets step writes those rows into your Results sheet.
What You Get: Automation vs. Results
| What This Workflow Automates | Results You’ll Get |
|---|---|
|
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Example: What This Looks Like
Say you have 60 target accounts in a sheet. Manually researching “similar companies” at roughly 10 minutes per domain is about 10 hours, and that’s before cleanup. With this workflow, you paste the domains once, hit run, and wait for the API calls and formatting to finish (often around 10–15 minutes depending on volume). You’re not saving a tiny sliver of time. You’re getting a full workday back.
What You’ll Need
- n8n instance (try n8n Cloud free)
- Self-hosting option if you prefer (Hostinger works well)
- Google Sheets for the source Domain list and Results tab
- CompanyEnrich API to generate similar companies + scores
- CompanyEnrich API key (get it from your CompanyEnrich dashboard)
Skill level: Beginner. You’ll mostly connect accounts, select the right spreadsheet tabs, and paste an API key once.
Don’t want to set this up yourself? Talk to an automation expert (free 15-minute consultation).
How It Works
You trigger the run from n8n. It’s a manual start, which is perfect when you want to review inputs first or run it on-demand before a campaign.
Google Sheets provides the domain list. The workflow reads the tab that contains a column named “Domain,” so your only job is keeping that column filled with the websites you want to model.
CompanyEnrich finds lookalikes. For each domain, n8n calls the CompanyEnrich endpoint, receives a structured response, and merges it with your original row so you keep the source context.
Results get expanded and written back to Sheets. The workflow splits the response into individual items and appends each suggested company (name, domain, similarity score) to a separate Results tab.
You can easily modify the score threshold to filter out weaker matches based on your needs. See the full implementation guide below for customization options.
Step-by-Step Implementation Guide
Step 1: Configure the Manual Trigger
Set up the workflow entry point so you can run it on demand while validating data and API responses.
- Add the Manual Start Trigger node as the workflow trigger.
- Leave all settings at their defaults for manual testing.
- Keep the Flowpast Branding sticky note as a reference block (optional, no configuration needed).
Step 2: Connect Google Sheets
Pull the source company list from a Google Sheet and ensure your results sheet is ready to receive appended rows.
- Open Retrieve Source Sheet and select the Document set to
Find Company Lookalikesand the Sheet set toSource List. - Credential Required: Connect your
googleSheetsOAuth2Apicredentials for Retrieve Source Sheet. - Open Append Results Sheet and confirm the Document is
Find Company Lookalikeswith the Sheet set toLookalike Results. - Credential Required: Connect your
googleSheetsOAuth2Apicredentials for Append Results Sheet.
Tip: Ensure the source sheet includes a Domain column, as this field is used in the API request body.
Step 3: Set Up the API Request and Merge Logic
Send each source domain to the enrichment API, then combine the API results with the original source row before expanding items.
- In Request Similar Firms, set Method to
POSTand URL tohttps://api.companyenrich.com/companies/similar. - Enable Send Body and add a body parameter domain with value
{{ $json.Domain }}. - Enable Send Headers and set the Authorization header to
Bearer [CONFIGURE_YOUR_TOKEN](replace with your token). - In Combine Source and API, set Mode to
combineand Combine By tocombineByPosition. - In Expand Result Items, set Field To Split Out to
itemsand Include toallOtherFields.
⚠️ Common Pitfall: Retrieve Source Sheet outputs to both Request Similar Firms and Combine Source and API in parallel. This is required so the merge can align the source row with its API response.
Step 4: Configure Append Results Sheet
Map the enriched results into the destination sheet with the correct columns and expressions.
- In Append Results Sheet, set Operation to
append. - Map the columns using these expressions: Added Date =
{{ $now }}, Source Domain ={{ $json.Domain }}, Similar Domain ={{ $json.items.domain }}, Similarity Score ={{ $json.metadata.scores[$json.items.id] }}, Similar Company Name ={{ $json.items.name }}.
Step 5: Test and Activate Your Workflow
Validate the data flow from the source sheet through the API to the results sheet, then switch the workflow on.
- Click Execute Workflow to trigger Manual Start Trigger and run a test.
- Confirm that Request Similar Firms returns items and that Expand Result Items creates one output item per similar company.
- Verify new rows appear in the
Lookalike Resultssheet with the mapped values. - When satisfied, toggle the workflow to Active for production use.
Common Gotchas
- Google Sheets credentials can expire or need specific permissions. If things break, check n8n’s Credentials section and confirm the connected Google account still has access to that spreadsheet.
- If you’re using Wait nodes or external rendering, processing times vary. Bump up the wait duration if downstream nodes fail on empty responses.
- CompanyEnrich requests can fail if your API token is missing the Bearer prefix or has been rotated. Check the HTTP Request node headers first, then confirm the key is still active in CompanyEnrich.
Frequently Asked Questions
About 20 minutes if your sheet and API key are ready.
No. You’ll connect Google Sheets and paste your CompanyEnrich API key into the HTTP Request node.
Yes. n8n has a free self-hosted option and a free trial on n8n Cloud. Cloud plans start at $20/month for higher volume. You’ll also need to factor in CompanyEnrich API costs based on your usage.
Two options: n8n Cloud (managed, easiest setup) or self-hosting on a VPS. For self-hosting, Hostinger VPS is affordable and handles n8n well. Self-hosting gives you unlimited executions but requires basic server management.
Yes, and it’s one of the best tweaks to make. Add an If node right after the “Request Similar Firms” response is merged, and filter out items below your chosen threshold. Some teams start strict (only high scores) for outbound, then loosen it for ads testing. You can also write high-score results to one tab and everything else to another so review is faster.
Usually it’s the API key format. Make sure the HTTP Request node still includes the Bearer prefix and that the token hasn’t been rotated in CompanyEnrich. If it works for a few domains and then stops, you may be hitting rate limits or temporary API errors, so rerun with smaller batches and check the execution logs for the exact response message.
Hundreds at a time is normal, as long as your CompanyEnrich plan and n8n execution limits support it.
Often, yes, because this kind of workflow benefits from merging data, handling arrays of “similar companies,” and splitting results into clean rows. n8n makes that logic straightforward, and self-hosting can be a big deal if you run list expansion frequently. Zapier or Make can still work if you’re doing very small lists and want the simplest UI, but you may fight the data-shaping step once the API returns multiple lookalikes per domain. If you’re unsure, run it once in n8n and compare the output quality. Talk to an automation expert and you’ll get a recommendation based on your volume and tools.
Once you have a repeatable way to generate scored lookalikes, prospecting stops feeling like a scramble. Run it, review the Results tab, and move on to outreach.
Need Help Setting This Up?
Our automation experts can build and customize this workflow for your specific needs. Free 15-minute consultation—no commitment required.
