If you’re running B2B go-to-market ops, you know the drill: lists are never clean, data is always missing, and manual research burns hours you don’t have. That’s where scraping and automation platforms—like Apify—come in. But not all tools are created equal, and it’s easy to drown in features you’ll never use.
This guide cuts through the noise. Here’s what Apify actually does well, where it fits in a real B2B workflow, and what to watch out for before you start wiring it into your stack.
What Apify Actually Does (And Doesn’t)
At its core, Apify is a platform for web scraping, automation, and data extraction. You can use it to collect hard-to-get info—think company profiles, emails, product prices, social signals—from just about any public website. It gets billed as a silver bullet for data automation, but the real world is messier. Here’s the straight scoop:
What it’s good at: - Grabbing structured data from the web, including sites that aren’t API-friendly. - Automating repeatable browser actions (think filling out forms, clicking buttons). - Integrating scraped data into other tools—CRMs, analytics, or custom dashboards.
What it’s not: - A full-blown sales automation or CRM platform. - A set-and-forget solution. Scraping breaks when websites change. - A magic source of “secret” contact info. If it’s not public, it’s not legal (or ethical) to grab it.
If you need clean, fresh, large-scale data for go-to-market—without hiring a team of interns—this is the kind of tool you want in your kit.
Core Features that Matter for B2B Ops
Let’s skip the marketing fluff and focus on features that actually move the needle for B2B teams.
1. Ready-Made Actors
Actors are prebuilt, reusable automations for scraping specific sites or handling common tasks. Think of them as plug-and-play bots: LinkedIn company scraper, Google Maps extractor, or even a generic web crawler.
Why it matters:
You don’t need to code from scratch. For most GTM (go-to-market) workflows—like list building or account research—there’s already an Actor for it.
What’s good:
- Saves serious dev time.
- Many Actors are open source or have public templates.
- Community support is decent for the popular ones.
What’s not:
- Quality varies—some Actors break or get outdated fast.
- Niche or complex use cases? You’ll likely need to tweak or build your own.
Pro tip: Always check when an Actor was last updated. Outdated scrapers are a headache waiting to happen.
2. Custom Actor Development
If you need to scrape a tricky site or automate a unique workflow, you (or your dev) can build a custom Actor using Node.js, Python, or whatever stack you like.
Why it matters:
Sales and ops teams often need tailored workflows—custom Actors let you automate almost any web process, not just what’s popular.
What’s good:
- Full flexibility—if it’s online and public, you can probably automate it.
- Built-in scheduling, error handling, and logging.
Drawbacks:
- Requires real programming chops. Not for “no-code” folks.
- Maintenance is on you. If the site changes, your Actor breaks.
3. Scheduling and Automation
You can schedule Actors to run hourly, daily, or however often you need. Set it and forget it (ish).
Why it matters:
No one wants to manually click a “scrape” button every morning. Scheduling means you always have fresh data coming in—great for things like monitoring competitor changes or refreshing contact lists.
Gotchas:
- Be careful with aggressive schedules—some sites will block or throttle you if you scrape too often.
- Monitor your runs; silent failures are common when sites update.
4. Storage, Retrieval, and Webhooks
Apify stores scraped data in its own cloud (think datasets, key-value stores, etc.). More importantly, you can set up webhooks so new data gets pushed wherever you need—CRMs, Slack, email, you name it.
Why it matters:
You don’t want data just sitting in Apify. Webhooks and APIs make it possible to sync info straight to your sales or marketing tools.
What works well:
- The API is well-documented and RESTful—easy to plug into Zapier, Make (formerly Integromat), or your own scripts.
- Native connectors for Google Sheets and other platforms.
What’s clunky:
- Data mapping isn’t always seamless; expect to do some scripting or use middleware.
- The UI for dataset management is functional, not fancy.
5. Proxy and Anti-Bot Management
Many sites try to block scraping. Apify offers built-in proxy rotation and anti-bot evasion tactics.
Why it matters:
If you’re scraping at scale, you’ll get blocked without proxies. Apify makes it less painful, but you still need to play by the rules.
Worth knowing:
- Proxy usage costs extra.
- Not foolproof—some sites (LinkedIn, Crunchbase) are especially aggressive.
Real-World Integrations for B2B Workflows
A good tool sits in the middle of your flow—not off in its own silo. Here’s how Apify actually connects to the tools B2B teams use every day.
CRM Integration (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, etc.)
You can pipe scraped data right into your CRM using webhooks, custom APIs, or through middleware like Zapier/Make. Typical use cases: - Auto-enriching leads with company info, social profiles, or news mentions. - Keeping competitor or partner lists up to date.
Reality check:
- Mapping fields between Apify and your CRM isn’t always “plug and play.”
- Watch out for duplicates and dirty data—garbage in, garbage out.
Google Sheets & Excel
Apify’s Google Sheets integration is dead simple. You can push new data rows as they come in, or run manual exports.
When to use:
- Prototyping or lightweight list management.
- Quick-and-dirty reporting or sharing.
Limitations:
- Not ideal for huge datasets or complex transformations.
- Sheets get unwieldy fast—if you’re moving serious volume, you’ll want a database.
Workflow Automation (Zapier, Make, n8n)
If you want to chain together scraping, enrichment, and notifications, these tools are your friend. Examples: - When a new company is scraped, push it to Slack for review. - Auto-enrich scraped emails with Clearbit, then add to outreach sequences.
What’s good:
- Non-developers can set up basic flows.
- Tons of templates and guides exist.
What’s frustrating:
- More moving parts = more things to break.
- Free plans are usually too limited for serious ops.
Data Warehouses (BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift)
For ops teams with a data stack, you can pull Apify data into your warehouse for analytics and reporting.
Best for:
- Teams already running analytics or enrichment workflows at scale.
- Connecting scraped data to BI tools or dashboards.
Watch out:
- You’ll need to handle ETL (extract, transform, load) yourself—Apify won’t magic your data model into shape.
Outreach & Enrichment Tools
Apify plays nice with outreach tools (Salesloft, Outreach.io, Apollo) when paired with enrichment platforms (Clearbit, ZoomInfo). Typical pattern: - Scrape company info → enrich with contact data → push to outreach.
Caveats:
- Many enrichment APIs are pay-per-use and have strict compliance rules.
- Don’t expect to scrape and email prospects blindly—privacy laws are real, and spam gets you nowhere fast.
What’s Worth Your Time (And What Isn’t)
Let’s keep it real—here’s what’s genuinely helpful for B2B go-to-market, and what you can skip.
Worth it: - Using ready-made Actors for lead list building, competitor tracking, and market research. - Automating routine data pulls—stop copying and pasting. - Pushing data straight to your CRM or Sheets for faster action.
Maybe skip: - Building ultra-complex, multi-step automations before you’ve validated the basics. - Scraping sites that aggressively block bots, unless you have real technical muscle (and a good lawyer). - Expecting Apify to solve bad data hygiene or CRM messiness—no tool does.
Quick Start: How to Put Apify to Work in Your GTM Stack
Here’s the fastest way to get value—without drowning in options.
- Pick a Clear Use Case
- Example: “I want to monitor 50 competitor websites for product updates weekly.”
- Find (or Build) the Right Actor
- Search the Apify Store for relevant Actors. If nothing fits, plan for a custom one.
- Test with a Small Batch
- Run your Actor on a handful of URLs. Check for accuracy, completeness, and any “gotchas.”
- Integrate with Your Existing Tools
- Use webhooks or Zapier to feed data where your team actually works.
- Schedule and Monitor
- Set up regular runs, but keep an eye out for errors or changes.
- Iterate and Expand
- Once it’s working, scale up. Don’t try to automate everything at once.
Final Thoughts: Ship It, Then Improve
Apify gives B2B teams a real shot at automating the grunt work of go-to-market ops. But don’t overthink it—start small, wire it into your existing stack, and improve as you go. The best workflows are the ones that actually get used, not the prettiest or most complex.
Keep it simple. Scrape. Ship. Repeat.