> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.rankability.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.rankability.com/promote/prospector-guide.md).

# Using Prospector

Use Prospector to find and organize relevant off-site opportunities such as podcast interviews, sponsorships, guest posts, directories, resource pages, memberships, speaking opportunities, local media, awards, testimonials, and case studies.

Prospector finds and organizes potential relationships. It does not send outreach, guarantee a placement, or verify that every discovered opportunity is still open.

## Choose an opportunity type

Open the client and choose **Promote → Prospector → Discover**. Select the outcome you want rather than running a broad, undefined search.

Available groups include:

* core opportunities such as podcasts, local sponsorships, guest posts, and directories;
* events, scholarships, conferences, schools, career programs, and internships;
* city, nonprofit, library, community, and B2B resource or partner pages;
* chambers, associations, licensing, vendor, and recognition programs;
* speaking, workshop, training, and webinar opportunities;
* local news and “best of” awards; and
* client, vendor, and partner testimonials or case studies.

Each type asks for the context needed for that search. Depending on the workflow, this can include niche, target audience, location, organization type, budget, show size, Domain Score range, or preferred content format.

## Run discovery

Review the inputs and displayed usage impact, then start the search. Discovery is included in full-platform pooled usage.

Discovery runs in the background. You can leave the page while it works, and completed, cancelled, or failed searches appear under **Runs**.

Use **Batch** when you need several focused searches. Each row is a separate discovery run. Batch dispatches a limited number at a time and continues in the background.

Recent completed results can be reused instead of immediately repeating an equivalent search. If the product says fresh results are available, review them before starting another billable run.

## Review results before saving

A completed run lists the discovered organization or publication, its URL, the opportunity link when found, and available evidence specific to the selected type. Results may also identify duplicates seen in earlier runs.

Before saving a prospect:

1. Open the website and the specific opportunity, submission, sponsorship, directory, or contact page.
2. Confirm that the organization exists and the opportunity is current.
3. Verify audience, geographic, topical, budget, and policy fit.
4. Check whether the target already appears in an earlier run or Prospector list.
5. Record why it is worth pursuing instead of relying only on an automated label.

Use **Hide seen** to focus on net-new results, but remember that a previously seen organization can still be relevant in a different campaign.

## Save prospects to My Lists

From a result, choose an existing list or create a new one. You can combine opportunity types in the same list when they belong to the same campaign.

**My Lists** uses a five-stage board:

```
Identified → Contacted → In Discussion → Won
                                  ↘ Passed
```

Move a card only when the real-world outreach state changes. Saving a target or moving it to Contacted does not send a message; the status is a manual operating record.

Prospector also accepts qualified URLs from other Rankability surfaces, including supported Traditional Search, AI Citation, Backlink Profile, and brand-mention workflows. URL membership checks help show when a canonical URL is already saved so you can avoid silent duplicates.

## Import an existing prospect list

Choose **My Lists → Import list** to upload a CSV or paste CSV or tab-separated rows. Import into an existing list or create a new one.

The import supports up to **500 rows** at once and requires a website URL column. You can map optional columns for name, contact email, contact page, notes, and pipeline status. Review the detected column mapping and preview before importing.

Rankability normalizes URLs and reports imported, duplicate, invalid, and skipped rows. An imported email or contact page is user-supplied data; importing it does not independently verify it.

## Discovery versus enrichment scope

The current Prospector interface returns the evidence generated by discovery. It does not present a general enrichment action for every list; use only the actions and scope shown in the product.

## Responsible outreach

* Personalize the pitch to the organization and evidence you verified.
* Follow submission rules, sponsorship requirements, privacy laws, and recipient preferences.
* Do not present estimated audience, contact, score, or AI-generated reasoning as a confirmed fact.
* Do not buy or pursue a placement solely for a backlink.
* Track the actual relationship, mention, referral, or link outcome separately from the discovery result.

## Troubleshooting

* **Weak results:** narrow the opportunity type, niche, location, audience, or other workflow inputs.
* **No results:** loosen one constraint at a time and confirm that the requested opportunity exists in the market.
* **Repeated prospects:** use Hide seen and check list membership before saving.
* **Failed or stalled run:** review the run status, then contact support with the client, opportunity type, input, start time, and visible error.
* **Import rejected:** confirm that the URL column is mapped, URLs are valid, and the file has no more than 500 data rows.

## Related articles

* [Promote overview](/promote/promote-overview.md)
* [Using Backlink Profile](/promote/backlink-profile-guide.md)
* [Usage limits reference](/account-and-settings/credit-costs-reference.md)
* [Troubleshooting common issues](/troubleshooting/troubleshooting-common-issues.md)