Leads

# How to Use Keyword Filters

By SMB Sales Boost Team. 

> ✓ Quick Answer
> 
> Keyword filters let you include or exclude leads based on specific terms in their business description. Add positive keywords to find relevant businesses and negative keywords to exclude unwanted results. Wildcards (\*) are supported for flexible matching.

## How to Use Keyword Filters in SMB Sales Boost

Keyword filters are the most powerful way to refine your lead search results. Use positive keywords to find specific business types and negative keywords to filter out irrelevant leads.

### Step-by-Step Instructions

1. **Go to your Dashboard** and open the **Filter Panel**
2. **Select a keyword list** from your saved keyword lists, or create a new one
3. **Add positive keywords** \- terms that MUST appear in matching leads (e.g., "plumbing," "residential," "licensed")
4. **Add negative keywords** \- terms that should EXCLUDE leads from results (e.g., "wholesale," "franchise," "closed")
5. **Use wildcards** \- add an asterisk (_) for partial matching (e.g., "construct_" matches "construction," "constructing," "constructor")
6. **Apply filters** \- the leads table updates to show only businesses matching your keyword criteria

### Positive vs. Negative Keywords

**Positive keywords** narrow results to businesses you want:

* "dental" finds dental offices, dental labs, dental supply companies
* "landscap\*" finds landscaping, landscape design, landscape maintenance

**Negative keywords** exclude businesses you don't want:

* "franchise" removes franchise locations if you only want independent businesses
* "wholesale" excludes wholesale-only companies
* "closed" removes businesses marked as closed

### Creating Keyword Lists

1. Navigate to **Account Settings > Keywords**
2. Click **Create New List**
3. Choose **Positive** or **Negative** type
4. Add your keywords one per line or comma-separated
5. Save your list with a descriptive name
6. Your keyword list is now available in the Dashboard filter panel

### AI-Powered Keywords

During onboarding, SMB Sales Boost can automatically generate keyword lists based on your company description, target categories, and ideal customer profile. These AI-generated lists include both positive and negative keywords optimized for your specific use case.

### Tips for Effective Keyword Filtering

* Start broad and narrow down - begin with general industry terms, then add specifics
* Use negative keywords aggressively to reduce noise in your results
* Combine keywords with location filters for hyper-targeted prospecting
* Review and refine your keyword lists regularly as you learn what works

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## Related Articles

* [How to Filter Leads by Location](/support/how-to-filter-leads-by-location)
* [How to Search for New Businesses](/support/how-to-search-for-new-businesses)
* [How to Export Leads to CSV](/support/how-to-export-leads-to-csv)