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Optimizing Your Search: The Best Practice of Filtering for Better Results
Optimizing Your Search: The Best Practice of Filtering for Better Results

This guide explains how to leverage UpLead’s advanced filtering capabilities to refine your prospecting strategy, ensuring high-quality leads.

Uplead Support avatar
Written by Uplead Support
Updated over a month ago

In this article, you’ll find:


Why Filter Step-by-Step?

Using a step-by-step filtering approach offers several advantages when searching for leads on UpLead:

  • Improved Targeting: Fine-tune your search to focus on the most relevant prospects.

  • Balanced Results: Achieve a good balance between the quality and quantity of leads.

  • Increased Control: Gain more control over your search and a deeper understanding of the data.

  • Avoid Skewed Results: Prevent over-filtering, which can eliminate potential leads or narrow your search too much.


How to Filter Step-by-Step on UpLead

UpLead’s Prospector tool provides over 50 search criteria to target decision-makers effectively. The key to success lies in gradual refinement—applying one filter at a time and analyzing outcomes before proceeding.

Step 1: Start with a Broad Category

Begin with a single high-level filter, such as industry or company size. For example:

  1. Navigate to the Prospector tool and select Contact Search.

  2. Set your initial filter (e.g., “Industry = Manufacturing” or “Company Revenue = $10M–$50M”).

  3. Click Search to generate baseline results.

This approach yields a broad pool (e.g., 1.8 million contacts), which you’ll refine systematically.

Step 2: Analyze Initial Results

Evaluate the relevance and quantity of your results:

  • If the list is too large (>100,000), proceed to Step 3A.

  • If it’s too small (<1,000), revisit Step 1 with a broader filter.

Step 3A: Add Precision with Secondary Filters

Layer additional criteria to narrow your search:

  1. Click Job Function or Management Level and select roles like “Sales” or “Operations” to focus on decision-makers.

  2. Use Company Size filters (e.g., 50–200 employees) to target SMBs or enterprises.

  3. Apply Geographic Targeting (country, state, or ZIP code) for localized campaigns.

Each added filter reduces result volume while increasing relevance. For instance, adding “Job Function = Sales” might reduce 1.8M contacts to 184K.

Step 3B: Remove or Adjust Overly Restrictive Filters

If results become too limited:

  1. Remove less critical filters (e.g., “Years Founded”).

  2. Replace specific criteria with broader alternatives (e.g., “Management Level = Director+” instead of “Job Title = CFO”).

Step 4: Exclude Irrelevant Prospects

Use exclusion filters to eliminate mismatches:

  1. Under Exclusions, you can use the "Exclude by Keyword" dropdown to filter out companies or industries that are unrelated to your offering.

  2. Additionally, within "Exclude by Keyword," you can refine your search further by filtering out specific roles, such as "Intern" or "Consultant," using Title Exclusions.

Step 5: Repeat and Refine

Continue repeating steps 2 through 4, adding, removing, or adjusting filters as needed. This iterative process ensures you continuously fine-tune your search to identify the most valuable leads for your business.


What Happens After Applying Filters

After filtering, you can:

  • Export Data: Download leads in CSV/Excel with 1-click exports.

  • Integrate with CRM: Push leads to Salesforce, HubSpot, or Pipedrive via native integrations.

  • Verify Emails: Ensure exported contacts are verified in real-time to prevent bounces.


Managing Your Filtered Results

Saving and Editing Searches:

  • Save Your Search: Click Save Search to retain your filter configuration and name it for quick reuse.

  • Edit Saved Searches: Adjust filters in your dashboard to reflect changing needs.

Enhancing with Technographics

  • Add Technographics Filters: Target companies using specific tools (e.g., “CRM = Salesforce”).

  • Use Intent Data: Target companies actively researching solutions in your niche.


Key Considerations

Best Practice Tips

  • 💡 Start Broad, Then Narrow: Begin with broad filters like industry or company size before narrowing down with more specific criteria like job title or location.

  • 💡 Combine Firmographics + Technographics: Target companies by both company traits and technology usage.

  • 💡 Refresh Saved Searches Monthly: Update filters to capture new hires and market changes.

Common Mistakes

  • ⚠️ Over-Filtering Early: Applying too many filters at once often yields unusably small lists.

  • ⚠️ Ignoring Exclusion Filters: Failing to exclude irrelevant industries/job functions wastes time on unqualified leads.


FAQs

Q: What types of filters should I use first?
A: Start with filters that broadly define your target audience, such as industry or company size. Then, narrow down your search with more specific criteria like job title or location.

Q: How many filters should I apply in total?
A: The number of filters you apply will depend on your specific needs and the size of your target audience. Experiment with different combinations to find the right balance between quality and quantity.

Q: How do I save a filtered search for later use?
A: Click Save Search after applying your filters. Name the search and access it anytime via your dashboard.

Next Steps

Need further assistance? Contact UpLead Support.

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