What Is Intent Data?
Intent data tracks online behavior — content consumption, search activity, review site visits — to identify companies actively researching a topic or solution. When an account starts reading articles about "sales automation" or comparing vendors on G2, that's a buying signal.
The challenge is that most of this activity happens away from your website. Intent data platforms aggregate this external signal and surface it for your sales team.
Types of Intent Data
First-party intent — behavior on your own properties:
- Website visits (especially pricing and comparison pages)
- Email opens and clicks
- Product trial activity
- Chat interactions
Second-party intent — shared data from partner networks:
- G2 and Capterra profile views
- Review comparisons on industry sites
- Webinar attendance data from media partners
Third-party intent — aggregated from across the web:
- Content consumption from B2B publishers
- Search behavior signals
- Bombora's co-op network (covers 5,000+ B2B websites)
Top Intent Data Providers
- Bombora — largest third-party B2B intent network
- G2 Buyer Intent — captures companies actively comparing products like yours
- 6sense — AI-driven intent with predictive scoring
- Demandbase — ABM platform with strong intent layer
- Apollo.io — integrates Bombora intent into their prospecting workflow
How to Use Intent Data in Your Sales Process
Priority tiering: Create three buckets — high intent (in-market now), medium intent (researching broadly), low intent (awareness stage). Assign different outreach sequences to each.
Personalized messaging: Reference their research without being creepy. Instead of "I saw you were on our pricing page," try "A lot of companies in your space are evaluating [category] right now — wanted to share what we've seen work."
Account-based plays: When an account shows multiple contacts showing intent signals, escalate immediately. Multi-threaded intent is a strong indicator of an active buying committee.
Competitive defense: If an existing customer shows intent for a competitor, flag it for your customer success team immediately.
Common Mistakes
- Using intent as the only signal. Intent should combine with firmographic fit. A company showing intent but outside your ICP isn't worth chasing.
- Acting too slowly. Intent signals decay fast. If a company is in-market today and you wait two weeks to reach out, the window may have closed.
- Being too obvious. "I noticed you've been researching X" can feel surveillance-y. Use the intent to inform your message, not quote it back.
Getting Started
If you're new to intent data, start with G2 Buyer Intent — it's directionally accurate and easy to operationalize. Layer in Bombora once you have your process dialed in.
The teams that act on intent data fastest consistently win more deals.
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