If you’re scraping leads and your list is turning into a mess, you’re not alone. Spreadsheets get out of hand fast, and most lead tools don’t care about your sanity. If you’re using Apolloleadscraper, though, custom lead tags are the secret weapon for keeping things organized—if you use them right.
This guide is for anyone who’s tired of searching for the right lead, wants smarter filters, or just needs a system that won’t fall apart after a week.
Why bother with custom lead tags?
Let’s be honest: most CRMs and scraping tools give you some basic fields—name, company, maybe a source. That’s fine until you need to slice your data a different way. Maybe you want to tag leads by campaign, source, quality, or even a gut feeling like “follow up ASAP.” Tags let you do that—quickly and without a second spreadsheet.
Here’s when they’re worth the effort:
- You’re running multiple campaigns or verticals at once.
- You want to avoid annoying the same lead twice.
- You care about tracking results by tag: who actually replies, converts, or ghosts you.
If you don’t care about any of that? You probably don’t need tags. But most people do, eventually.
Step 1: Deciding on your tag strategy (before you start clicking)
Before you start adding tags to everything in sight, take a minute to think it through. This isn’t busywork—it’s about not making a mess you’ll regret later.
Ask yourself:
- What do you actually want to filter or group by? (e.g. “Industry: SaaS,” “Source: LinkedIn Search 2024,” “Follow-Up Needed”)
- Will other people use these tags? If so, pick names that make sense to everyone.
- Do you want to track process (like “Contacted”) or characteristics (like “High Value”) or both?
Pro tip: Use a small, controlled set of tags at first. You can always add more later, but cleaning up 200 random tags is a pain.
Step 2: Creating custom lead tags in Apolloleadscraper
Let’s get practical. Apolloleadscraper doesn’t come with a million bells and whistles, but it does let you create and assign custom tags to your leads.
Here’s how:
- Go to your Leads dashboard.
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This is usually the main screen after login. If you’re elsewhere, find “Leads” in the sidebar.
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Select one or more leads.
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Click the checkbox next to any lead you want to tag. (Bulk tagging is your friend here.)
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Look for the ‘Tags’ or ‘Manage Tags’ button.
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This might be a little label icon or just a text link—depends on your version.
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Click ‘Add Tag’ or ‘Create New Tag’.
- Type the name of your tag. Keep it short and clear (e.g. “Webinar2024” not “Attended Our Webinar in April 2024”).
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Hit Enter. The new tag is now ready to use.
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Apply the tag to your selected leads.
- You can usually apply a tag to one lead, or all selected leads at once.
A few honest notes:
- If you can’t find the tag option, you might need to update your Apolloleadscraper or check your user permissions. Some plans hide this feature behind a paywall.
- There’s typically no approval needed for new tags—anyone can create them. That’s both good (fast) and bad (chaos, if you’re not careful).
Step 3: Managing your tags (editing, merging, and deleting)
Tags are easy to create. Managing them? That’s where most people drop the ball.
Editing tags
- Find the tag management area: This is usually under Settings > Tags, or something similar.
- Edit the tag name: Click the edit/pencil icon next to the tag. Change it, save it, and the new name updates everywhere.
Merging duplicate tags
Let’s say you accidentally made both “FollowUp” and “Follow-Up.” Here’s what to do:
- Go to tag management.
- Select both tags.
- Look for a “Merge” option, or manually rename one to match the other (depends on the tool version).
- Confirm the merge—this lumps all leads under one tag.
Pro tip: Merge early and often. Duplicates sneak up fast.
Deleting tags
- Find the tag in the management area.
- Hit delete (usually a trash can icon).
- You’ll be warned this removes the tag from all leads, but it won’t delete the leads themselves.
Real talk: Don’t delete tags just because you’re bored. Only remove ones that are truly obsolete (e.g. a campaign that’s long over).
Step 4: Using tags to actually work smarter
It’s easy to go overboard tagging everything, then never actually use the tags. Here’s how to make them worth your time:
- Filter your leads by tag. Need everyone from a specific webinar or campaign? Filter by that tag and you’ll see just those leads.
- Create smart segments. Combine tags with other filters (like lead status or source) to get hyper-specific lists.
- Bulk actions. Send emails, export, or assign tasks to all leads with a given tag in one go.
- Track results. Did “High Value” leads convert more? Do “Cold Outreach” tags get more unsubscribes? Use your tags to learn, not just to organize.
What doesn’t work: Tagging every lead with five tags just because you can. That’s how you end up ignoring tags altogether.
Step 5: Keeping your tag system clean (and your sanity intact)
A few habits keep things from getting messy:
- Limit who can create tags. If you work with a team, agree on naming conventions and stick to them.
- Review tags monthly. Delete old ones, merge duplicates, and tidy up names.
- Document your tags. If you use more than a handful, keep a quick cheat sheet somewhere everyone can see.
Pro tip: Don’t stress about getting it perfect. You’ll tweak your tags as you go, and that’s fine. Just avoid the “let’s clean this up someday” trap.
What to ignore (and what not to worry about)
- Ignore long, complicated tag names. If you can’t remember it, you won’t use it.
- Don’t obsess over perfect tagging. Good enough beats perfect. You can always clean up later.
- Don’t use tags for info that belongs in a proper field. If Apolloleadscraper has a field for “Company Size,” use that, not a tag.
Wrapping up: Keep it simple, keep it useful
Custom lead tags in Apolloleadscraper are great—if you build a system that actually helps you find, group, and act on your leads. Don’t overthink it. Start small, clean up when you need to, and focus on making your day-to-day work easier. If your tags help you move faster and smarter, you’re doing it right.