Intent Data

Intent Data explained

Someone reads a comparison, a company appears more frequently around a specialist topic, or a contact requests a demonstration: these clues differ in strength. Distinguish explicitly expressed requests from interpretations of observed behaviour. A label such as “high intent” initially reflects the classification rules of the particular system.

Owned data may come from interactions with your offers that you are permitted to record. External providers analyse activity in the sources available to them. Bombora, for example, describes topic activity within its network and matching that activity to companies. Such data does not cover all internet research or reliably identify everyone involved in a purchase.

Check origin, collection period, topic classification and resolution: does the data concern a person, a company domain or an estimated match? Specialist research may also concern education, competitor analysis or a completed project. Old signals, shared networks and automated requests can complicate interpretation. Missing activity in a dataset does not mean an absence of need.

Use signals as a starting point for a better question or more relevant information. In B2B, a cluster of topic activity can help examine an account hypothesis. It does not justify telling individuals that you know their confidential plans. Establish permitted use and contact routes independently of any score; a provider’s assurance cannot replace that assessment.