How to Use Apollo for Lead Scraping: Complete Tutorial (2026)

How to Use Apollo for Lead Scraping: Complete Tutorial (2026)

Apollo is the best lead database for cold email. 250M+ profiles, 92-95% email accuracy, $99-499/month. This guide covers every feature from search to export to launch.

Why Apollo

We use Apollo for 60% of our campaigns. Why?

• Accuracy: 92-95% email accuracy (best in industry)
• Database Size: 250M+ business profiles
• Search Filters: 50+ advanced filters (job title, industry, company size, etc.)
• Pricing: $99/month starter (100 searches) to $499/month unlimited
• Integration: Exports to CSV, integrates with Instantly/SmartLead
• Verification: Apollo includes confidence scores (70-95%)

ROI: At $99/month, finding accurate leads costs $0.10-0.20 per email (cheaper than buying lists).

Getting Started

1. Go to apollo.io
2. Sign up (free trial available, 50 searches)
3. Verify email
4. Log into dashboard

Dashboard shows:

• Search bar
• Filter options
• Your previous searches
• Export history
• Credits/subscription info

Step 1: The Basic Search

Simplest way to find leads.

1. Click "Search" in top menu
2. Enter search parameters:

• Job Title: (e.g., "VP Sales", "CEO", "Sales Manager")
• Company: (optional, e.g., "HubSpot", "Salesforce")
• Location: (optional, e.g., "United States", "California")
• Industry: (optional, e.g., "Software", "Technology")

1. Click "Search"
2. Results show up (250M database, usually finds 1,000-50,000 matches)
3. Click on a prospect to see details:

• Name
• Email (with confidence score)
• Job title
• Company
• LinkedIn profile
• Phone (if available)

Example search: Job Title = "VP Sales", Industry = "SaaS", Location = "USA"

Result: 12,400 matches

Step 2: Advanced Filtering

Basic search finds too many prospects. Use advanced filters to narrow.

Key Filters

Filter 1: Job Title

Specific job titles only:

• "VP Sales" (not "Sales Manager", not "Sales Representative")
• "CEO" (not "President", not "Founder")
• "VP Product" (not "Product Manager")

Apollo autocompletes as you type. Use exact matches.

Filter 2: Company Size

Example: 50-500 employees (mid-market)

• Larger = bigger budget, harder to reach decision-maker
• Smaller = faster decision, might not have cold email budget

We target 50-500 for best reply rate (8-15% vs 2-5% for enterprise).

Filter 3: Industry

Example: "Software", "Technology", "Financial Services"

Apollo uses standard NAICS codes. Select from dropdown.

Filter 4: Company Revenue

Example: $1M-$10M (or $10M-$50M)

Higher revenue = bigger budgets = more likely to convert.

Filter 5: Technologies Used

Example: "Salesforce", "HubSpot", "Slack", "AWS"

This finds companies already using specific tech (warm prospect if your tool integrates).

How to use:

1. In filters, search "Technologies Used"
2. Add "Salesforce"
3. Results show companies using Salesforce (they're likely to consider Salesforce competitors)

Filter 6: Growth Rate

Example: "+20% YoY" (companies growing 20%+ annually)

Growing companies have more budget for new tools.

Filter 7: Funding Status

Example: "Series A", "Series B", "Funded"

Recently funded companies have fresh cash and are hiring (good for recruitment/HR tech).

Filter 8: Headcount Growth

Example: "+20 employees last 6 months"

Growing headcount = more hiring = relevant for recruitment tools.

Filter 9: Location (Granular)

Narrow to specific regions:

• By country
• By state
• By city

Example: "San Francisco, CA" (tech hub, higher concentration of tech companies).

Filter 10: Department

Available departments:

• Sales
• Marketing
• Engineering
• Product
• Operations
• Finance
• HR

Use this if you want to target a specific department across all companies.

Complete Advanced Search Example

Target: "VP Sales at software companies, $10M-50M revenue, 50-500 employees, USA, +15% growth"

Filters:

1. Job Title: "VP Sales"
2. Industry: "Software"
3. Company Revenue: "$10M-$50M"
4. Company Size: "50-500"
5. Country: "United States"
6. Growth Rate: "+15% YoY"

Results: 4,200 prospects matching all criteria

This is highly targeted (much better than 50,000 generic "sales" people).

Step 3: Reviewing Search Results

After search returns results:

1. Results page shows list of prospects
2. Click on a prospect name to expand and see:

• Full name
• Email address (with confidence score)
• Phone number
• LinkedIn profile
• Company
• Job title
• Recent job changes (if any)
• Additional contact info

1. Check confidence score (bottom right of email):

• 95% confidence: 95%+ accurate (safe to send)
• 85% confidence: 88%+ accurate (safe to send)
• 70% confidence: 75%+ accurate (risky, consider alternative)

Only use 85%+ confidence emails for cold email.

Filtering results by confidence:

1. After search, look for "Confidence" filter
2. Select "85% and Above"
3. Results now show only high-confidence emails
4. Reduces list size but increases accuracy

Step 4: Exporting to CSV

After filtering results:

1. On results page, select prospects to export

• Option A: Click checkbox next to each prospect (bulk select)
• Option B: "Select All" button (exports all matching results)

1. Click "Export" button
2. Choose export format: CSV
3. Choose fields to include:

• [x] Email (required)
• [x] First Name
• [x] Last Name
• [x] Job Title
• [x] Company Name
• [x] LinkedIn URL
• [x] Phone (optional)

1. Download CSV file (named like "apollo_export_2026_03_01.csv")
2. Save to your computer

Step 5: Clean and Verify Exported List

After export:

1. Open CSV in Excel/Google Sheets
2. Check for:

• Duplicates (remove)
• Missing emails (remove)
• Bad formatting (clean)

1. Verify emails:

• Use ZeroBounce or NeverBounce
• Upload CSV
• Verify (takes 5-30 minutes)
• Download clean list
• Remove invalid emails

1. Count final list size (should be 85-95% of original export)

Example:

• Apollo export: 1,000 prospects
• After cleaning: 950 prospects
• After verification: 900 prospects (95% kept, 5% removed as invalid)

Step 6: Create Campaign in Instantly/SmartLead

With cleaned, verified list:

1. Log into Instantly
2. Click "Campaigns" → "Create New"
3. Fill campaign details:

• Campaign name: "VP Sales - SaaS - March 2026"
• Email subject
• Email body

1. Click "Add Prospects"
2. Upload your Apollo export (CSV)
3. Map columns:

• Email column → Email
• First Name column → First Name
• Last Name column → Last Name
• Company column → Company

1. Review and confirm
2. Set sending schedule
3. Launch campaign

Advanced Apollo Features

Feature 1: Apollo CRM Integration

Apollo can push leads directly to CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive).

How to use:

1. In Apollo, find prospect
2. Click "Add to CRM" or similar
3. Select CRM from dropdown
4. Prospect appears in your CRM immediately
5. No CSV export needed

Feature 2: Apollo Saved Searches

Save searches for recurring use.

How to use:

1. Create advanced search with filters
2. Click "Save Search" button
3. Name the search (e.g., "VP Sales SaaS USA")
4. Apollo saves it
5. Later, click "Saved Searches" to run same search again

Good for: Campaigns you run monthly (same target every time).

Feature 3: Apollo Email Finder (In Dashboard)

Find person's email without searching database.

How to use:

1. You know someone's name and company
2. In Apollo, click "Email Finder"
3. Enter first name, last name, company
4. Apollo searches database
5. Shows email with confidence score

Useful for: Finding a specific person (not bulk prospecting).

Common Apollo Mistakes

Mistake 1: Using Low-Confidence Emails

Example: Apollo shows 70% confidence emails, export and send anyway.

Impact: 25-30% bounce rate. IP flagged.

Solution: Filter to 85%+ confidence only.

Mistake 2: Not Cleaning Duplicates

Example: Search results have 50 duplicate emails (same person multiple addresses).

Impact: Send to same person twice = complaint.

Solution: Remove duplicates in Excel before sending.

Mistake 3: Exporting All Results Without Filtering

Example: Search returns 50,000 results, export all, send all at once.

Impact: Massive list, low reply rate (generic targeting), IP flagged.

Solution: Filter to specific segment (company size, industry, job title).

Mistake 4: Not Verifying Emails

Example: Export from Apollo (92-95% accurate), send without verification.

Impact: Still 5-8% bounce rate. Reputation damaged.

Solution: Always verify with ZeroBounce before sending 100+ emails.

Mistake 5: Wrong Job Title Targeting

Example: Search "Sales" (too broad—includes Sales Representative, Sales Intern, etc.).

Impact: Low reply rate, many non-decision-makers.

Solution: Be specific: "VP Sales", "Sales Manager" (not just "Sales").

Pricing Strategy

Apollo plans:

• Starter: $99/month (100 searches)
• Professional: $199/month (500 searches)
• Enterprise: $499/month (unlimited searches)

Cost per lead: $0.10-0.20 (depending on search size)

ROI calculation:

• Export 1,000 leads ($10-20 cost)
• 3% reply rate = 30 replies
• 10% conversion = 3 customers
• Customer value: $5,000-50,000
• ROI: 250x-2,500x

FAQ

How accurate are Apollo emails?

92-95% accurate (best in industry). 85%+ confidence emails are 88-95% accurate.

Can I use Apollo emails for cold email?

Yes. Apollo is legal to use for B2B cold email. Their ToS allow B2B marketing outreach.

How many searches do I get per plan?

Starter: 100/month. Professional: 500/month. Enterprise: unlimited. Each search uses 1 credit.

What's a "search" in Apollo?

One complete search query (e.g., "VP Sales at SaaS companies, $10M-50M revenue").

Can I export unlimited leads?

Yes, but each search has results (usually 1,000-50,000 people). Export as many as results show.

How often should I re-search?

Database updates quarterly. Re-search quarterly for fresh leads or when targeting changes.

Should I buy Apollo or Hunter for finding emails?

Both are good. Apollo: larger database, more filters, better for bulk prospecting. Hunter: better for finding email patterns. Use Apollo for campaigns.