marketing intent

Marketing intent (commonly referred to as intent-based marketing) is a strategy where companies target potential customers based on digital behavioral signals that indicate they are actively looking to buy. Instead of guessing who might want a product based purely on demographics or static traits, marketers look at real-time actions—like web searches, content downloads, and product comparisons—to find “in-market” buyers. 💡 Core Components of Intent Data

To execute an intent strategy, companies rely on intent data, which falls into two main categories:

First-Party Intent: Behavioral data gathered from your own digital platforms. Examples: Visiting a pricing page. Examples: Submitting a demo request form.

Examples: Opening and clicking links within marketing emails.

Third-Party Intent: Behavioral data aggregated from external sources across the web. Examples: Reading B2B product reviews on platforms like G2.

Examples: Researching specific industry topics across publisher networks tracked by intent engines like Bombora.

Examples: Searching for problem-related keywords on search engines. 🔄 The Types of User Search Intent

When analyzing consumer intent through search engines, marketers typically categorize user behavior into four buckets to match them with the right content: The complete guide to intent-based marketing for B2B teams