Intent data tells you which companies are actively researching your product category right now. Here's how it works and when it's worth the price.
Rees Bayba
Founder, Astra GTM
TL;DR
Intent data tells you which companies are actively researching topics related to your product right now, based on their online behavior -- content consumption, search patterns, and website visits. It's the difference between cold outreach (reaching a company who may or may not be thinking about your problem) and timed outreach (reaching a company that just spent two weeks reading articles about your exact category). The same email, the same offer, dramatically different response rates.
First-party and third-party intent data describe the same thing -- buying signals -- but they come from different sources and have different reliability.
First-party intent is data from your own properties. You own it directly, it's the most accurate, and it indicates the highest level of buying intent because the company came to you.
Third-party intent is behavioral data collected across external publisher networks, review sites, and media properties. You're seeing a company's research behavior across the broader web, not just on your own site.
Not all intent signals carry the same weight. The further down the buying journey a signal indicates, the more valuable it is for outreach timing.
| Signal | What It Means | Outreach Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Content downloads (whitepapers, guides) | Early research phase -- aware of the problem, gathering information | Sequence start -- educational angle, not product pitch |
| Competitor comparison views on G2 | Active evaluation -- comparing options, likely has budget | Immediate outreach -- they're in buying mode now |
| Pricing page visits (your site) | High purchase intent -- evaluating cost, close to decision | Same-day outreach from AE, not SDR |
| Demo requests | Explicit high intent -- they identified themselves | Follow up within 5 minutes |
| Job postings for relevant roles | Organizational buying signal -- building internal capability in your category | Outreach within 1-2 weeks of posting |
| Category keyword surge (Bombora) | Researching the problem broadly -- may be early or late stage | Nurture sequence or initial outreach |
Intent data without a workflow to act on it is expensive noise. The teams that get results from intent data do three specific things.
Compared to 1-3% for timing-agnostic cold outreach. Signal-based timing doesn't change the message -- it changes who receives it and when. The same email sent to an account actively researching your category performs 3-5x better than the same email sent to a cold account with no signal.
Intent data tools range from free (your own website analytics) to $30,000+/year for enterprise Bombora subscriptions. The right choice depends on your sales motion and ICP.
| Tool | Signal Type | First/Third Party | Price Range | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RB2B / Warmly | Website visitor identification | First-party | $0-249/mo | High-intent website visitors, fastest ROI |
| Bombora | Content consumption across 5,000+ B2B publishers | Third-party | $15,000-30,000+/yr | Large ICP, category-level intent at scale |
| G2 Buyer Intent | Product/category research on G2 | Third-party | $3,000-12,000/yr | Software companies with G2 presence |
| TechTarget | IT media consumption | Third-party | $5,000-20,000/yr | Enterprise IT products, tech-heavy buyers |
| Pocus / Common Room | Product usage signals | First-party | $500-2,000/mo | Product-led growth (PLG) companies |
Start with first-party intent. If you're not acting on your own website visitors and email engagement data before buying Bombora, you're leaving cheap signals on the table. RB2B costs $79/mo and identifies companies visiting your website by IP. Start there.
Third-party intent data is significantly less effective for SMB targeting. Small businesses don't spend weeks consuming industry whitepapers or reviewing vendors on G2. Their buying process is faster, less formalized, and doesn't generate the breadcrumbs that intent data platforms track. First-party intent (website visitors, email engagement) is still valuable at all company sizes. But if your ICP is companies under 50 employees, Bombora won't give you much signal.
What's the difference between intent data and firmographic data?
Firmographic data describes what a company is: industry, size, revenue, location, tech stack. Intent data describes what a company is doing right now: what they're researching, what content they're consuming, what problems they're actively investigating. Firmographics tells you if a company fits your ICP. Intent data tells you if they're in-market at this moment. The combination -- ICP fit plus active intent signal -- produces the highest-performing outreach.
How accurate is third-party intent data?
Directionally accurate, not precise. Bombora can tell you that a company's employees are consuming content about your product category more than usual. It cannot tell you who is doing the research, whether they have budget, or whether they're evaluating your specific product. Treat third-party intent as a prioritization signal, not a sales trigger. Use it to decide which accounts to contact first, not as proof that they're ready to buy.
Does intent data work for SMB?
Poorly for third-party intent. Small businesses rarely show up in intent networks because they don't spend weeks reading industry whitepapers or reviewing vendors on G2. First-party intent (website visitors, email clicks) still works at all sizes. If your ICP is companies under 50 employees, prioritize first-party signals over buying Bombora.
Is intent data GDPR-compliant?
This depends on the provider and how they collect data. Bombora collects behavioral data from publisher networks where users have consented to data collection. G2 tracks behavior on their own platform where users have agreed to terms. These collection methods are generally considered GDPR-compliant as business-level data, not personal data. However, if you combine intent data with personal contact information for direct email outreach, that combination requires legitimate interest or consent under GDPR. Check your intent data provider's DPA and privacy policy before use in EU-targeted campaigns.
Which intent data tool is best for a Series A startup?
Start with RB2B ($79/mo) to capture your own website visitors. Add G2 Buyer Intent if you have an active G2 profile and are in a software category with strong G2 presence. Only consider Bombora when you have a large enough ICP and sales team to act on the volume of signals it generates -- at $15,000+/year, you need to be able to act on hundreds of accounts per month to justify the cost.
How do I use intent data in cold email copy?
Reference the specific topic, not that you have 'data' on them. Instead of: 'Our intent data shows your company has been researching data integration,' write: 'Noticed you've been building out your data infrastructure -- teams at that stage usually run into pipeline maintenance consuming engineering capacity.' The first is creepy and signals surveillance. The second uses the intent signal as context to write a relevant opener, without disclosing the data source.
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