Ultimate Guide to Lowering LinkedIn Advertising Costs with Intent Data

In today's digitally-driven business landscape, LinkedIn has emerged as a powerful platform for B2B companies to connect with their target audience and generate valuable leads. However, advertising on LinkedIn can be expensive, especially if your targeting is not precise. That's where intent data comes into play as a game-changer. By harnessing the power of intent data, businesses can optimize their LinkedIn advertising campaigns, reach the right audience, and lower their advertising costs. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore how intent data can revolutionize your LinkedIn advertising strategy and help you achieve better results without breaking the bank.

Understanding Intent Data

Intent data provides invaluable insights into the behavior and interests of potential buyers as they navigate the web. It tracks digital signals such as search queries, website visits, content downloads, and social media interactions, indicating a user's intent to take specific actions.

When applied to LinkedIn advertising, intent data helps you identify the accounts and individuals who are actively researching topics related to your products or services. This enables you to tailor your ad campaigns to reach the most relevant prospects, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversions.

Benefits of Using Intent Data in LinkedIn Advertising

• Precise Targeting: Intent data allows you to target LinkedIn users based on their real-time interests and activities. By focusing on accounts displaying intent signals related to your offerings, you can ensure your ads are shown to the most receptive audience. This precision targeting minimizes wasted ad spend on irrelevant clicks and impressions.

• Customized Ad Messaging: Understanding the intent of your target audience empowers you to create highly relevant ad content. Tailoring your messaging to address their specific pain points and needs enhances the chances of capturing their attention and driving action. Personalized ads tend to perform better and can lead to higher click-through rates and conversions.

• Improved Conversion Rates: With intent data-driven targeting and customized ad messaging, you can expect to see improved conversion rates. When your ads resonate with your audience's current interests and needs, they are more likely to engage with your content, fill out lead forms, or take the desired action.

• Reduced Cost-Per-Click (CPC): By precisely targeting only those accounts that exhibit strong intent, you can optimize your LinkedIn ad bidding strategy. This, in turn, can lead to a lower cost-per-click, stretching your ad budget further and maximizing the return on investment (ROI) for your advertising efforts.

Tips for Using Intent Data for LinkedIn Advertising Success

• Choose the Right Intent Data Provider: Partner with a reputable intent data provider that can deliver accurate and up-to-date data. Quality data is essential for making informed targeting decisions and ensuring your ads reach the most relevant prospects.

Examples of Intent Data Providers:

Bombora: Bombora is a prominent intent data provider that offers a comprehensive B2B intent data platform. They collect data from a vast network of websites, providing valuable insights into the topics and content consumption patterns of target accounts. Their data can be integrated with various marketing platforms, including LinkedIn, to enable precise ad targeting based on real-time intent signals.

G2 Crowd: G2 Crowd is known for its intent data capabilities that focus on software and technology markets. They track user behavior and interactions on their platform to identify businesses actively researching software solutions. Marketers can leverage this data to tailor their LinkedIn ads specifically to the technology needs and interests of potential buyers.

• Align with Your ABM Strategy: If your company employs Account-Based Marketing (ABM), intent data can be a perfect fit. Use intent data to identify and prioritize target accounts, and then tailor your LinkedIn ads to align with your ABM goals. There are multiple platforms that can use their own intent data ( and/or combine it with the data from mentioned providers) to target accounts on multiple platforms. Demandbase, 6sense are examples and you can find more and compare them here

• Continuously Analyze and Refine: Regularly analyze the performance of your LinkedIn ad campaigns using intent data insights. Identify what's working and what's not, and make data-driven adjustments to optimize your advertising efforts further.

Implementing Intent Data in Your LinkedIn Advertising Strategy - A Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Define Your Advertising Goals and Audience

Before diving into using intent data, it's essential to clearly define your advertising goals and identify your target audience. Determine the specific objectives you want to achieve with your LinkedIn ad campaigns, such as increasing lead generation, driving website traffic, or promoting a new product/service.

Next, create detailed buyer personas that represent your ideal customers. Understand their pain points, needs, and interests to align your intent data strategy with your audience's preferences.

Step 2: Research and Choose the Right Intent Data Provider

Conduct thorough research to find a reputable intent data provider that aligns with your industry and target audience. Look for providers with a vast network of data sources and a track record of delivering accurate, real-time data.

Compare different providers based on factors such as data coverage, data accuracy, integration capabilities, and customer reviews. Depending on your specific needs, you can choose providers like Bombora or G2 Crowd, etc.

Step 3: Integrate Intent Data with Your LinkedIn Advertising Platform

Work with your intent data provider to integrate their data with your LinkedIn advertising platform. This integration will enable you to leverage real-time intent signals to target the most relevant prospects effectively.

During the integration process, ensure that your advertising platform is set up to receive and process the intent data seamlessly. Test the integration thoroughly to verify that data is being delivered accurately.

Step 4: Analyze Intent Data Insights

Once the integration is complete, start analyzing the intent data insights provided by your data provider. Dive deep into the data to identify patterns, trends, and high-intent accounts related to your offerings.

Understand the specific topics and content consumption patterns that indicate strong intent from your prospects. This information will guide you in crafting personalized and relevant ad messaging for your LinkedIn campaigns.

Step 5: Tailor Ad Content Based on Intent Insights

Armed with the intent data insights, create ad content that directly addresses the pain points and needs of your target audience. Craft compelling ad copies that resonate with the real-time interests of your prospects, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversions.

Segment your ad content based on different intent signals, creating variations that cater to specific prospect preferences. A personalized approach can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your LinkedIn ads.

Step 6: Optimize Ad Targeting and Bidding Strategy

Utilize the intent data to optimize your ad targeting and bidding strategy on LinkedIn. Focus your ad spend on high-intent accounts and individuals, as these prospects are more likely to engage with your ads and take action.

Refine your bidding strategy based on intent data insights to achieve a lower cost-per-click (CPC) and maximize your ROI. Continuously monitor and adjust your targeting parameters to ensure you are reaching the most relevant prospects.

Step 7: Monitor Performance and Iterate

Regularly monitor the performance of your LinkedIn ad campaigns using the intent data insights. Track key metrics such as CTR, conversion rates, and lead generation to evaluate the success of your intent data-driven strategy.

Identify what is working well and what needs improvement. Use the data-driven insights to iterate and refine your ad content, targeting, and bidding strategy to continuously optimize your advertising efforts.

Integrating intent data into your LinkedIn advertising strategy can be a game-changer for your B2B marketing efforts. By leveraging real-time insights into your target audience's interests and needs, you can deliver highly relevant and personalized ads, leading to increased engagement, improved conversion rates, and reduced advertising costs. Embrace the power of intent data and take your LinkedIn advertising to new heights, reaching the right prospects at the right time with the right message. Start harnessing intent data today and unlock the full potential of your LinkedIn advertising campaigns.