TL;DR
Company Keywords find companies by the words they use to describe themselves. It is usually the best place to start a search.
People Keywords search a person's own profile headline and summary. Use it for skills, tools and self-described roles.
Use short keywords of 1 or 2 words. Type each one and press Enter.
Use Include for what you want and Exclude to remove noise.
When you'd use this
Industry labels are broad. Keywords let you target companies by how they actually describe their business, which usually gives tighter lists. Use People Keywords when you need people who describe themselves with a specific skill or tool.
Company Keywords: step-by-step
Open the Leads page from the sidebar (or go to next.listkit.io/leads).
Click Filters and open Company Keywords under Company Filters.
Under Include, type a keyword and press Enter. Repeat for each keyword.
Under Exclude, add words that signal companies you don't want, such as "school" or "non-profit".
Under Company Keywords types, choose where to look: Social Headline, Social Slug, Company Description, Website Title, Company Top Keywords and Company Unique Angle.
Click Save, then add Industry, Employee Size, location and Job Title.
A company qualifies when one of your keywords appears in any of the fields you chose.
How to choose keywords
Keep them to 1 or 2 words: "solar", "real estate", "fintech", "dental clinic", "marketing agency".
Avoid sentences ("companies that help brands grow online") and generic words ("business", "solutions", "global").
Use the language companies use about themselves, not your internal jargon.
Don't use a tool name as a company keyword to find its users. "Shopify" finds Shopify agencies and developers, not Shopify stores. Use the Technology filter for that (see How do I filter by technology used?).
People Keywords
People Keywords is under People Filters. It searches the person's own profile headline and summary, not the company. Use it for:
Skills and tools people mention, such as "Google Ads", "HubSpot" or "Figma"
Self-described roles, such as "fractional CMO", "RevOps" or "growth marketing"
Positioning such as "consultant", "investor" or "coach"
Don't use it for industries or company types. Use Company Keywords for those. People Keywords works best on top of Job Title, and lists are smaller because not everyone fills in their profile.
Filter | What it searches | Best for |
Company Keywords | Company descriptions, headlines, website titles and keywords | Industries, niches, company types |
People Keywords | The person's profile headline and summary | Skills, tools, personal descriptors |
Expected outcome
You have a list defined by the language your ideal companies (or people) actually use, with the obvious mismatches excluded.
FAQ
How many keywords should I use?
Start with 2 or 3 that define the niche, check your results, then add or remove. Combine keywords with Industry rather than adding dozens of keywords.
Why did my keyword return the wrong kind of company?
Generic or tool-name keywords match agencies and unrelated companies. Use more specific words, add Exclude keywords, or add Industry.
Are longer phrases better?
No. 1 or 2 words usually work best.
Can I exclude words?
Yes. Company Keywords has an Exclude option. Add words that signal companies you don't want, such as "school", "non-profit" or "government".
Do keywords use credits?
No. Searching, filtering and checking counts are free. Credits are only used when you export.