How Intent Data Powers Retargeting Campaigns

Want to boost your ad performance and reduce wasted spend? Intent data is the key. It identifies prospects actively researching your products or services, letting you target them with precision. Here's what you need to know:

• What is intent data? Digital signals that show a user's likelihood to buy based on their online behavior (e.g., product comparisons, pricing research).

• Types of intent data:

  • First-party: Data from your website, apps, or emails.

  • Third-party: Data from external sources like partner networks or AI tools.

• Benefits:

  • 2–3× higher conversion rates.

  • 30–45% lower customer acquisition costs.

  • Better lead quality and timing.

• How it works: Platforms like 24/7 Intent analyze 100 billion buying signals daily, updating every 6 hours to deliver fresh and actionable insights.

Example Results:

• A marketing specialist cut cost-per-click from $6–$9 to $1.03 while tripling clicks.

• An agency owner generated $270,000 in sales over a weekend by using intent data for targeting.

Key takeaway: Intent data helps you reach high-intent buyers before competitors, improving ROI and ad efficiency. Ready to learn how to use it? Keep reading.

What Intent Data Means for Retargeting

What Is Intent Data?

Intent data refers to digital signals that reveal a user's likelihood to make a purchase. These signals come from actions users take during their research process, showing where they are in the buyer journey. For instance, if a business professional reads several articles on marketing automation software, downloads pricing guides, and visits comparison pages, it's a clear sign they're considering solutions in that category.

First-Party vs. Third-Party Intent Data

Intent data comes in two main types: first-party and third-party.

• First-party intent data is collected directly from your own platforms, like your website, apps, or email interactions. It provides accurate, real-time insights because it comes straight from your audience.

• Third-party intent data is gathered from external sources, such as partner networks or AI tools scanning the broader internet. This type of data helps identify potential buyers earlier and offers a larger pool of prospects.

For example, 24/7 Intent's platform processes over 100 billion buying signals daily and tracks over 270 million consumer profiles. Their data refreshes every six hours, ensuring it's always up-to-date.

Both types of intent data help refine campaigns by focusing budgets on users showing strong interest.

Boosting Ad Campaign Performance

Using intent data can dramatically improve retargeting campaigns by fine-tuning audience targeting. Some of the key benefits include:

• Higher conversion rates: Campaigns see a 2–3× improvement.

• Lower customer acquisition costs: Costs drop by 30–45%.

• Better lead quality: More qualified prospects engaging with your ads.

For instance, one financial advisor saw impressive results by incorporating intent data into Facebook campaigns: a 42% reduction in cost per lead, a 71% increase in lead volume, and a 133% jump in show-up rates.

The real advantage? Intent data helps businesses connect with buyers before competitors do. By analyzing billions of online interactions and keeping consumer profiles updated, companies can send timely, relevant retargeting messages to prospects actively searching for solutions.

Up next, we’ll dive into how to design campaigns that make the most of these insights.

Creating Intent-Based Retargeting Plans

User Groups Based on Intent

Intent data goes beyond basic demographics by identifying real purchasing signals. 24/7 Intent's platform offers over 24,000 pre-built audience segments, created from billions of weekly website visits and consumer interactions. The data is updated every 6 hours to ensure accuracy.

Here’s a breakdown of how to group users based on their level of interest:

Once users are segmented, craft ad messages that align with their specific intent.

Making Ads Match User Intent

Generic ads won't cut it here. Instead, create messages that reflect the intent signals users have shown. This approach ensures your ads resonate with prospects and align with their current stage in the buying process.

"Our real-time intent data plugs directly into your ad platforms - so your ads reach qualified buyers before your competitors even know they exist." - 24/7 Intent

Choosing the Right Ad Platforms

After tailoring ads to match user intent, focus on platforms where high-intent audiences are most active. 24/7 Intent integrates seamlessly with major platforms like Meta (Facebook & Instagram), Google Ads, YouTube, LinkedIn, and TikTok. This multi-platform strategy reduces wasted ad spend - over 70% is usually lost on testing new audiences - and delivers measurable results, such as 2–3× higher conversion rates and a 30–45% drop in customer acquisition costs.

Live Updates and Automated Retargeting

Live Intent Data Updates

Real-time intent data has changed the game for retargeting campaigns by allowing businesses to act on buyer behavior almost immediately. With updates every six hours, companies can respond much faster than the old weekly or monthly cycles. This steady flow of updated data helps identify new prospects through behavioral patterns, refresh audience segments, and deliver timely signals to reach qualified buyers quickly.

These insights set the stage for automated tools to make campaign adjustments even more efficient.

Automated Campaign Tools

With real-time updates in place, automation ensures your targeting adapts as buyer behavior shifts. These tools track buyer signals continuously and adjust targeting accordingly, improving conversion rates while cutting acquisition costs.

"The best results come from plugging our data into your paid ads, giving ad platforms the best market context - boosting conversions, improving lead quality, and lowering customer acquisition costs."

For example, digital marketing specialist Bobby reduced VSL opt-in costs by 50% in just 24 hours. Meanwhile, Bill Luke, an automotive business owner, generated 1,608 qualified leads in only three days by integrating automated intent data. Key features of these automation tools include:

• Seamless integration with platforms like Meta, Google Ads, and LinkedIn

• Automatic audience scoring and segmentation

• Real-time bid adjustments based on intent signals

• Dynamic ad delivery optimization

Tips to Improve Retargeting Results

Custom Ad Messages

Using intent data allows you to create highly personalized ad messages that match where your customers are in their research journey. Tailor your ad copy to their current phase. For example, if intent signals show a prospect is comparing product features, highlight your standout features. If they're focused on pricing, emphasize your competitive pricing or value.

Also, make sure to control how often your ads appear to keep your audience engaged without overwhelming them.

Ad Frequency Control

Managing how often your ads appear is key to keeping prospects interested without causing ad fatigue. Intent signals can help you set the right exposure levels. Here’s how you can approach it:

• Increase frequency when intent signals show high interest.

• Lower exposure if engagement starts to drop.

• Adjust delivery timing based on time-sensitive behaviors.

• Stop retargeting once a user has converted.

This strategy helps you avoid wasted ad spend while keeping your brand top of mind. Regular testing and fine-tuning will help maintain the right balance.

Testing and Updates

Continuous testing is essential for improving campaign performance. For instance, a financial advisor revamped their Facebook campaigns using intent data. The results? A 42% drop in cost per lead, a 71% boost in lead volume, and a 133% jump in show-up rates compared to their previous targeting approach.

To achieve similar results:

• Run A/B tests and update targeting every 6 hours using real-time intent data.

• Adjust targeting parameters based on the latest buyer signals.

How to use intent data to maximize your marketing impact

Tracking Campaign Success

Once you've fine-tuned your campaigns, the next step is keeping an eye on their performance to ensure continuous progress.

Key Success Metrics

To gauge the effectiveness of your intent-based retargeting efforts, focus on engagement and ROI. Here are the metrics that matter most:

Keep an eye on these metrics in real time to spot trends and act quickly.

Data Analysis for Results

To stay ahead, analyze performance data every six hours. This frequent review allows you to adjust targeting and messaging as needed for the best outcomes.

Key areas to focus on include:

• Segment Responses: Identify how different audience groups are responding to your campaigns.

• Cost Efficiency: Look for improvements in cost metrics. As David Jaeger shared, "Our CPL on average is less than $80. Since we updated the campaigns with the intent data, it has dropped to the best we've ever seen".

• Lead Quality: Assess the qualifications of your leads. For example, iLawyer reported, "Even though this was lead form ads, which are usually low quality, at least 80% of our ads were actually qualified".

The platform processes over 100 billion buying signals daily, helping you pinpoint the prospects that are most likely to convert.

Conclusion

Intent data reshapes retargeting by fine-tuning ad spend and improving lead quality. By processing over 100 billion daily buying signals in real time, businesses can pinpoint and engage prospects at the perfect stage in their buying journey.

The results speak for themselves. Case studies show costs per click dropping by as much as 80%, while conversion rates double or even triple. For example, a financial advisor reduced cost per lead by 42%, increased lead volume by 71%, and saw show-up rates improve by 133%. Bill Luke Automotive leveraged precise targeting to generate 1,608 qualified leads in just three days.

Agencies have also seen impressive outcomes. Weekend sales campaigns have resulted in multiple five-figure deals, all while cutting acquisition costs by 40%. Even hard-to-convert lead sources achieved qualification rates of 80% or more when powered by intent data.

These examples highlight how intent-driven retargeting transforms broad marketing strategies into focused, cost-efficient campaigns with clear, measurable results. Learn how 24/7 Intent's advanced features can take these outcomes even further in the next section.

24/7 Intent Features for Retargeting

The 24/7 Intent platform connects real-time intent data with major ad platforms like Meta, LinkedIn, Google, and programmatic networks. It analyzes over 100 billion buying signals every day and refreshes 270 million consumer profiles every six hours to target prospects when they’re most likely to engage.

With access to 24,000+ ready-to-use segments and the ability to create custom audiences, the platform combines personal and business data to build detailed buyer profiles for precise targeting across multiple channels.

Custom data modeling tailored to each business ensures campaigns hit peak performance within just 72 hours.

"We eliminate wasted ad spend by targeting buyers actively searching for what you offer - boosting conversions 2-3x and cutting customer costs by 30-45%." – 24/7 Intent
"Our real-time intent data plugs directly into your ad platforms - so your ads reach qualified buyers before your competitors even know they exist." – 24/7 Intent

The platform’s integrations and automation tools ensure high data quality and allow users to explore its capabilities risk-free. It adheres to GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy regulations, scanning billions of websites weekly and using co-registration partners to keep data accurate and up-to-date.

You can try it out with a 14-day free trial to see firsthand improvements in conversions, cost savings, and lead quality through A/B testing.

Related posts

• Intent Data Integration Guide for Ad Platforms

• How Intent Data Improves Marketing ROI

• How to Use Intent Data for Precise Segmentation

• How Real-Time Retargeting Works for Mobile Ads