Intent Data Is Useless If You’re Tracking the Wrong Topics

Intent data helps businesses identify buyers before they ever fill out a form—but how do you know which buyers are relevant?

That’s where intent topics come in.

Intent topics are the specific subjects, keywords, or themes that intent data providers track to signal buyer interest. If you’re not tracking the right topics, your intent data is just noise.

Let’s break down what intent topics are, how they work, and how to use them the right way.

What Are Intent Topics?

Intent topics are predefined categories of research behavior that indicate a company is exploring a specific problem or solution.

For example, if you sell B2B sales software, relevant intent topics might include:

✔ "Sales automation"
✔ "B2B lead generation"
✔ "CRM alternatives"
✔ "Best outbound sales tools"
✔ "Sales intelligence software"

If a company suddenly increases engagement around these topics—by reading articles, downloading reports, or searching related terms—that’s a buying signal.

How Intent Topics Are Tracked

Intent data providers track topics in a few ways:

📊 Content Consumption – Monitoring which topics companies engage with across blogs, reports, and whitepapers.

🔎 Search Behavior – Analyzing keyword searches related to specific industries or solutions.

📍 Ad & Social Engagement – Tracking interactions with topic-specific ads or LinkedIn discussions.

💾 Website Visits – Identifying companies researching content related to a specific topic.

The more frequently a company engages with a topic, the stronger the intent signal.

How to Use Intent Topics the Right Way

🔥 Select topics that match your solution.
Don’t just track generic industry terms—focus on topics that lead directly to your product or service.

🔥 Align topics with the buyer’s journey.

• Early-stage topics → “What is sales automation?” (education-focused content)
• Mid-stage topics → “Best sales automation tools” (comparison-focused content)
• Late-stage topics → “Sales automation pricing” (high-intent buying signals)

🔥 Personalize outreach based on topic engagement.
If a company is actively researching "CRM alternatives", your outreach should highlight why your product is a better choice than their current solution.

🔥 Prioritize accounts showing surging interest in multiple topics.
A single topic engagement is weak intent—but if a company is engaging with multiple related topics, they’re likely deep in the buying process.

Why Intent Topics Matter

🚀 Helps identify real buying intent.
Tracking the right topics ensures you’re reaching actual in-market buyers instead of just passive researchers.

🚀 Improves lead prioritization.
Companies engaging with multiple high-intent topics should go straight to the top of your sales team’s list.

🚀 Enhances ad and content targeting.
Knowing which topics a company cares about lets you serve hyper-relevant ads, content, and messaging.

Track the Right Intent Topics, Get More Sales

Intent data is only as good as the topics you track and act on. If you’re following the wrong signals, you’re wasting time.

Want to see how high-quality intent data and topic tracking can drive better leads?

View the Intent Data Slide Deck to see it in action. If you’re ready to start using intent data strategically, you can purchase it here.