What is intent data?
In short
Intent data is any signal suggesting a company is researching or preparing to buy something, used to decide who to contact and when.
The definition
Intent data is evidence of interest gathered before anyone contacts you. It answers the timing question rather than the fit question, and it is only useful once you already know who your buyer is.
Buying it before you have an ICP produces a faster way to contact the wrong companies.
The three types
First-party intent is behaviour on your own properties: pages visited, documents downloaded, emails opened. Small in volume and by far the most reliable.
Second-party comes from a publisher or review site where your category is researched. Third-party is aggregated browsing behaviour across the web, sold at scale, and the least precise of the three.
How accurate it actually is
Third-party intent tells you somebody at a company looked at something related. Not who, not why, and not whether they can buy. Treated as a ranking signal it is useful; treated as proof of interest it disappoints.
The most reliable signal in most B2B markets is not intent data at all. It is a public action the company has already taken, such as advertising a role, which means budget approved and requirement stated.
Where it fits
Use it to order a list you already trust rather than to build one you do not. Companies that match your profile and show a signal go first; the rest still get contacted, just later.
Frequently asked
What is intent data?
What are the types of intent data?
Is intent data accurate?
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