TL;DR
The Exclude Companies filter removes specific company domains from your search results.
Excluded companies will never appear, even if they match all other filters.
Only paste domains (e.g.
company.com) — no headers, URLs, or labels.This filter is essential for avoiding clients, competitors, duplicates, and bad-fit accounts.
When you’d use this / Why it matters
Use the Exclude Companies filter when there are businesses you should never contact again.
It protects your brand, prevents awkward outreach, and keeps your prospecting lists clean and intentional.
Step-by-step: How to use the Exclude Companies filter
Open Companies or People search (the first two icons in the left sidebar) and open the filter panel.
Find Exclude Companies in the Company section of the filters.
Paste company domains only, either:
One per line, or
Comma-separated
Apply the rest of your search filters as normal.
Run your search.
Once excluded, those companies will never appear in results, even if they match every other filter.
Correct vs incorrect input (important)
✅ Correct
nike.com apple.com tesla.com
❌ Incorrect
URL Website nike.com apple.com
🚨 Important:
Do not paste headers like “URL” or “Website.” ListKit will attempt to match them as domains, which can distort your results.
What the Exclude Companies filter removes
Common use cases include excluding:
Current clients
Past clients
Companies already contacted
“Not interested” responses
CRM accounts
Partners or vendors
Competitors
Internal or test accounts
Old or recycled lead lists
An excluded domain is blocked from the search you apply it to. To reuse your exclude list, save it with Saved filters or paste it into each new search.
Example use cases
Example 1: Prevent contacting existing clients
You paste all active client domains into Exclude Companies.
Result:
✅ Clients never appear in new lists
✅ No awkward outreach
✅ Brand protection
Example 2: Run multi-round searches without duplicates
Search #1 → collect 300 companies
Search #2 → exclude those 300 domains
Result:
✅ Zero overlap
✅ Fresh prospects only
Tip: at checkout, keep Exclude previously ordered contacts turned on (it's on by default) to skip people you already exported.
Example 3: Remove known bad-fit companies
You exclude domains that consistently convert poorly or are out of scope.
Result:
✅ Cleaner targeting
✅ Fewer wasted credits
Expected outcome
You should now see search results that never include excluded companies, no matter what other filters you apply.
Troubleshooting / FAQs
Q: Does Exclude Companies override other filters?
Yes. If a domain is excluded, it will never appear, even if it matches industry, job title, funding, or keywords.
Q: Can I exclude companies after running a search?
You must add them to the filter and rerun the search.
Q: Should I reuse the same exclude list?
Yes. Many teams keep a master exclude list and paste it into every new search.
Q: Can I use Include Companies and Exclude Companies together?
Yes. Include defines who you want; Exclude defines who you never want. Exclude always wins.
Final takeaway
The Exclude Companies filter is a critical safeguard in every high-performing outbound workflow.
Paste the domains you don’t want.
ListKit removes them from that search.
Just remember: domains only. No labels. No headers.