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Lead Generation and Research

How to Research Prospects for SEO and Marketing Outreach

Research relevant websites and prospects in OutreachBox, evaluate fit, and use reliable context to prepare targeted outreach.

By OutreachBoxUpdated 3 min read

Quick answer: Open Prospects, enter keywords plus industry, location, and company size, then run a prospect campaign (web search, LinkedIn search, or custom). Review results, save the best prospects, add them to your contacts, and reach out — ideal for link-building and content-promotion outreach.

Researching prospects for outreach campaigns in OutreachBox

Prospects Research helps you discover the right people and sites for marketing and SEO outreach — the foundation of link-building, guest posting, and content promotion.

Before you start

Define what makes a prospect relevant: audience, subject matter, partnership fit, or business need. Set exclusions before collecting a large list.

Practical example

For a resource partnership, look for websites serving the same audience with complementary content. Record why your resource helps their readers rather than asking for a link without context.

Check your result

If research returns many irrelevant sites, narrow the topic and review sample results. AI summaries are a starting point; inspect the underlying website before contacting its owner.

How to search for prospects

  1. Navigate to Prospects.
  2. Enter your criteria — keywords, industry, location, company size.
  3. Apply filters and click Search.
  4. Browse the results.

How to run a prospect campaign

  1. Click Create Campaign.
  2. Define your search criteria.
  3. Choose a campaign type:
    • Web Search — web-based discovery.
    • LinkedIn Search — LinkedIn prospecting.
    • Custom Search — your own criteria.
  4. Set parameters, start the campaign, and monitor progress.

How to use prospects for SEO outreach

Prospect research powers the promotion half of SEO:

  1. Find sites and people relevant to your content topics.
  2. Save prospects and add them to contacts.
  3. Run a cold email campaign pitching guest posts, mentions, or backlinks.

This closes the loop on How to Do SEO With OutreachBox.

Best practices

  • Use specific criteria — relevance matters more than volume for outreach.
  • Save strong prospects and keep campaigns organized by topic.
  • Personalize every pitch; generic link requests get ignored.
  • Follow up promptly and politely.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between prospects, leads, and sales research?

Prospects Research targets marketing/SEO outreach (e.g., link building); Leads Search is a broad people/company database; Sales Research focuses on decision-makers for a sales pipeline. They complement each other.

Which campaign type should I use?

Use Web Search for broad discovery, LinkedIn Search for people-based prospecting, and Custom Search when you have specific criteria.

How do prospects help my SEO?

Outreach to relevant prospects earns the mentions and backlinks that build authority and rankings — the promotion step of the SEO workflow.

Find relevant prospects, personalize your pitch, and turn outreach into links and coverage.

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