Intent data is evidence that a company may be researching a purchase, such as repeated visits to your pricing page or a spike in reading about your category. First-party intent comes from your own website, content and emails. Third-party intent is bought from providers who track activity elsewhere. Intent suggests timing; your ideal customer profile decides fit.
Key takeaways
- Intent data signals that an account may be researching a purchase, which helps with timing.
- First-party intent, from your own channels, is usually more reliable and more affordable for a growing business.
- Ehrenberg-Bass research suggests only about 5% of B2B buyers are in market at any time, which is the gap intent data tries to close.
- Intent without fit is noise: always check the account matches your ideal customer profile.
- Personal information rules apply, so use intent data in ways that respect privacy.
What is intent data?
Intent data is behavioural information that suggests a company is interested in a topic, product or category. It ranges from activity on your own site, such as visits to pricing or comparison pages, to broader research patterns measured across the web by data providers. Sales and marketing teams use it to prioritise accounts.
The idea is to find buyers earlier. According to John Dawes of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, working with LinkedIn's B2B Institute, only about 5% of potential B2B buyers are in market at any given time. Intent data aims to spot which accounts might be in that 5% now.
What is the difference between first-party and third-party intent data?
First-party intent comes from your own channels: website visits, content downloads, email engagement, webinar attendance and product usage. Third-party intent comes from providers who observe research activity across other websites and sell aggregated signals about which companies are researching which topics.
| First-party intent | Third-party intent | |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Your website, emails, content, product | Activity across other sites, via a provider |
| Reliability | Usually high: it is about you | Varies: modelled and aggregated |
| Cost | Mostly what you already have | A paid subscription |
| Best use | Prioritising engaged accounts | Spotting research before it reaches you |
For most growing businesses, first-party intent is the place to start. It is already in your analytics and CRM, it is directly about your offer, and it costs little to use well.
How reliable is intent data?
First-party signals are fairly reliable because they show interest in you specifically, though one visit means little. Third-party signals are more variable, because they are modelled from activity across many sites and can reflect research for reasons unrelated to buying. Treat all intent as a reason to look, not proof of demand.
Patterns beat single events. Three visits to pricing and a case study in a week say more than one blog view. Combine signals with fit: a high-intent visit from an account outside your ideal customer is still the wrong account.
Search behaviour is also shifting, which affects first-party signals. According to Pew Research Center, Google users clicked a traditional result in 8% of visits when an AI Overview appeared, against 15% without. More research now happens inside AI answers, before a buyer ever reaches your site.
How should a small team use intent data?
Start with first-party signals you already have: pricing and comparison page visits, return visits from target accounts, demo page views and replies to emails. Check each engaged account against the ideal customer profile, then follow up with something useful and relevant. Add third-party intent only if first-party signals are well used.
A practical setup:
- Pick three high-intent actions, such as viewing pricing, a comparison page and a case study.
- Match them to accounts where your tools allow, and to known contacts.
- Check fit against the ideal customer profile.
- Act within days with a relevant, short message or a helpful resource.
- Measure which signals lead to meetings, and drop the ones that do not.
The guide to signal-based outbound covers acting on these signals.
What about privacy and intent data?
Intent data can involve personal information, especially when activity is linked to identifiable people. According to Australia's privacy regulator, the Privacy Act applies to all uses of AI involving personal information, and businesses should understand how their tools collect data, be transparent with visitors and avoid outreach that feels like surveillance.
This is general information, not legal advice. Practically, keep outreach professional and relevant, reference public business events rather than personal browsing details, and check what your analytics and data providers collect.
Skein connects first-party signals from analytics and the CRM into a weekly view, read only; the GTM tech stack page shows which tools can connect. That suits a B2B team with steady website traffic from target accounts. A business with very little traffic may get more from outbound built on public signals.
Frequently asked questions
What is B2B intent data?
B2B intent data is behavioural evidence that a company may be researching a purchase, such as repeated visits to your pricing page or increased reading about your category elsewhere. Teams use it to prioritise accounts whose timing looks right, alongside checking that they fit the ideal customer profile.
What is the difference between first-party and third-party intent data?
First-party intent comes from your own channels, such as website visits, content downloads and email engagement. Third-party intent comes from providers who observe research activity across other websites and sell aggregated signals. First-party data is usually more reliable and cheaper for a growing business.
Is intent data accurate?
It varies. First-party signals are fairly reliable because they show interest in you specifically, though single events mean little. Third-party signals are modelled and can reflect research unrelated to buying. Treat intent as a reason to look closer, and always combine it with fit.
Do small businesses need intent data tools?
Not usually at first. Most small businesses already have useful first-party intent in their analytics and CRM, such as pricing page visits and email replies. Use those well before paying for third-party data, and only add it if first-party signals are fully used.
Is using intent data legal in Australia?
It can be, but the Privacy Act applies where personal information is involved. Understand what your tools collect, be transparent with visitors, and avoid outreach that references personal browsing behaviour. Check your obligations with a privacy adviser before linking activity to identifiable people.
Related reading
- Weinberg, Peter, and Jon Lombardo. "The 95:5 rule is the new 60:40 rule." Marketing Week, LinkedIn B2B Institute. https://www.marketingweek.com/peter-weinberg-jon-lombardo-95-5-rule
- Pew Research Center. "Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results." Pew Research Center, 22 July 2025. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/22/google-users-are-less-likely-to-click-on-links-when-an-ai-summary-appears-in-the-results/
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. "Guidance on privacy and the use of commercially available AI products." OAIC, 21 October 2024, updated 17 January 2025. https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-guidance-for-organisations-and-government-agencies/guidance-on-privacy-and-the-use-of-commercially-available-ai-products