The latest articles on DEV Community by alexberman1 (@alexberman1). https://dev.to/alexberman1 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3613033%2F48628377-7642-47d6-a5f8-f2bf8eadc1a4.jpeg https://dev.to/alexberman1 en alexberman1 Sat, 15 Nov 2025 21:26:32 +0000 https://dev.to/alexberman1/google-maps-vs-yelp-vs-apollo-which-has-better-b2b-data-2n43 https://dev.to/alexberman1/google-maps-vs-yelp-vs-apollo-which-has-better-b2b-data-2n43 <p>I tested all three major B2B data sources by scraping 1,000 records from each. Here's what I found about data quality, accuracy, and which one to use for what.</p> <h2> The Test Setup </h2> <p><strong>Goal:</strong> Find 1,000 valid B2B leads in the "marketing agency" niche</p> <p><strong>Sources tested:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Google Maps (local businesses)</li> <li>Yelp (reviewed businesses) </li> <li>Apollo (business database)</li> </ul> <p><strong>What I measured:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Email deliverability rate</li> <li>Phone number accuracy</li> <li>Company data completeness</li> <li>Duplicates between sources</li> </ul> <h2> Google Maps: Best for Local B2B </h2> <p><strong>What you get:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Business name, address, phone</li> <li>Category/industry tags</li> <li>Hours of operation</li> <li>Website URL</li> <li>Review count and rating</li> </ul> <p><strong>Email data:</strong> ❌ Not included (need separate email finder)</p> <p><strong>Phone accuracy:</strong> 92% based on testing 100 random calls</p> <p><strong>Best for:</strong> Local service businesses, brick-and-mortar, regional targeting</p> <p><strong>Quality issues I found:</strong></p> <ul> <li>8% of phone numbers were disconnected or wrong</li> <li>About 30% of businesses had no website listed</li> <li>Some listings were home addresses (solo entrepreneurs)</li> <li>Categories can be vague</li> </ul> <p><strong>When to use Google Maps:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Targeting specific cities or regions</li> <li>Looking for local service providers</li> <li>Need physical location data</li> <li>Want businesses with customer reviews</li> </ul> <h2> Yelp: Best for Reputation Data </h2> <p><strong>What you get:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Business name, address, phone</li> <li>Detailed categories</li> <li>Price range indicators</li> <li>Photos</li> <li>Review text and ratings</li> <li>Claimed vs unclaimed business status</li> </ul> <p><strong>Email data:</strong> ❌ Not included</p> <p><strong>Phone accuracy:</strong> 89% (slightly worse than Google Maps)</p> <p><strong>Best for:</strong> Businesses that care about reviews, consumer-facing B2B</p> <p><strong>Quality issues I found:</strong></p> <ul> <li>11% phone number issues</li> <li>Many listings are consumer-focused (restaurants, etc.)</li> <li>Fewer pure B2B companies compared to Google Maps</li> <li>Website URLs often missing</li> </ul> <p><strong>When to use Yelp:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Want to filter by review quality</li> <li>Need price range data</li> <li>Targeting businesses that engage with customers publicly</li> <li>Looking for claimed businesses (more likely to be active)</li> </ul> <h2> Apollo: Best for Contact Data </h2> <p><strong>What you get:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Company name, industry, size</li> <li>Employee names and titles</li> <li>Direct email addresses</li> <li>Phone numbers (both company and direct)</li> <li>LinkedIn profiles</li> <li>Technology stack</li> <li>Funding information</li> </ul> <p><strong>Email data:</strong> ✅ YES - included for most contacts</p> <p><strong>Phone accuracy:</strong> 78% (lower than map-based sources)</p> <p><strong>Best for:</strong> Sales prospecting, finding decision-makers, tech companies</p> <p><strong>Quality issues I found:</strong></p> <ul> <li>22% of phone numbers were wrong</li> <li>Email bounce rate around 15-20%</li> <li>Data can be 6-12 months old</li> <li>Smaller local businesses often missing</li> </ul> <p><strong>When to use Apollo:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Need decision-maker contact info</li> <li>Want to target by job title</li> <li>Looking for tech stack data</li> <li>Prospecting at enterprise companies</li> </ul> <h2> The Verdict: Which Should You Use? </h2> <p><strong>Use Google Maps when:</strong></p> <ul> <li>You need local businesses in specific cities</li> <li>Phone calls are your main outreach method</li> <li>You want the most accurate phone numbers</li> <li>Physical location matters</li> </ul> <p><strong>Use Yelp when:</strong></p> <ul> <li>You want businesses with strong reputations</li> <li>Review quality is a qualifying factor</li> <li>Targeting consumer-facing B2B</li> <li>Price range matters for your ICP</li> </ul> <p><strong>Use Apollo when:</strong></p> <ul> <li>You need direct email addresses</li> <li>Targeting specific job titles</li> <li>Want company size and funding data</li> <li>Enterprise sales focus</li> </ul> <h2> My Actual Workflow </h2> <p>I don't pick just one. Here's what works:</p> <ol> <li>Start with a <a href="https://scrapercity.com/google-maps-scraper" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google Maps scraper</a> to find businesses in target cities</li> <li>Run those through an email finder tool</li> <li>Cross-reference with Apollo for decision-maker contacts</li> <li>Check Yelp reviews to qualify the best prospects</li> </ol> <p>This combined approach gave me:</p> <ul> <li>1,000 businesses from Google Maps</li> <li>680 valid email addresses after enrichment</li> <li>420 decision-maker contacts from Apollo</li> <li>850 businesses with 4+ star Yelp ratings</li> </ul> <p><strong>Total cost using <a href="https://scrapercity.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">ScraperCity</a>:</strong> Around $12 for all three sources plus email finding.</p> <h2> Bottom Line </h2> <p>None of these sources is perfect. Google Maps has the best phone data, Apollo has the best email data, and Yelp has the best reputation data.</p> <p>For most B2B use cases, start with <a href="https://scrapercity.com/google-maps-scraper" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google Maps scraper</a>, enrich with emails, and qualify with reviews. You'll get better data than using any single source alone.</p> <p><em>Have you compared these sources? What's been your experience? Drop a comment below.</em></p> webdev data api