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Bidstream Intent Data: Why You Should Use Co-Op Data Instead

If you’re struggling to connect with audiences that are in market to buy, you might be considering bidstream intent data.

It sounds like a great solution, giving you real-time data insights into your ideal audience’s purchasing intentions and preferences.

As great as it sounds, it might not be the answer. 

Bidstream data has come under fire for its potential non-compliance with GDPR

But what to use instead?

Scroll on to learn more about bidstream intent and how it compares to other intent data sources 👇

What is bidstream intent data?

Bidstream intent data is a form of third-party data gathered from websites that sell advertising through auctions and is based solely on the ad impressions that are available for auction.

It captures insights into user behaviour, preferences, and intent based on digital interactions as they occur in real-time during ad auctions. 

This data includes signals such as browsing history, search queries, and interactions with various web content.

Sales and marketing teams can analyse these signals to identify which potential customers are most likely to make a purchase.  

How third-party intent data is collected

You say data, I say data.

When it comes to intent data, you might think it’s all the same, right?

Nope! The type of buyer intent data you choose makes a difference.

The most popular way for businesses to acquire intent data is through a B2B data provider. However, not all providers use the same sources for their intent signals.

For instance, bidstream intent data used by data vendors like ZoomInfo is collected across billions of websites and auctioned off with no context as to whether the buyer actually has the intention to buy or not.

Co-op data used by companies like Cognism are much more curated. They use a notified database that collects data points and consumption history.

Other than bidstream and co-op data, websites can sell their data to third parties with their users’ consent.

When searching for a bidstream data alternative, the best option to consider is co-op intent data. 

Here’s why 👇

Co-op vs bidstream intent data: Why co-op wins

Co-op intent data
Bidstream intent data
Collection
Co-op intent data
Select group of high-quality business publishers, analysts, vendors, and content syndication providers who provide data on website consumption.
Bidstream intent data
Data from ad exchanges collected from ad impressions and sold at auction.
Quality
Co-op intent data
Stronger dataset as intent is collected from a notified database within a select group of publishers.Companies like Bombora use Company Surge® patented data science methodology to identify content consumption that’s compared to historical baselines.Frequency of research, depth of engagement, and content relevance all play a role in gauging interest in specific topics.
Bidstream intent data
Scraped from content on webpages where businesses have interacted with keywords. The intent data is gathered without context on interactions or any historical data collected to establish a baseline.Scale is large because of the billions of daily advertising bid requests, but only a small portion includes a strong data set.
Exclusivity
Co-op intent data
Exclusive data where 80% of the publisher logos in the data co-op are under contract.Members must opt-in, and an exclusive tag collects 100% of the information from participating websites, including those without ads.
Bidstream intent data
No exclusivity. Data can come from any website that allows programmatic buyers to bid on advertising space, ad exchanges, or impressions available for auction.
Data characteristics
Co-op intent data
Data points include a timestamp, IP address, URL, and anonymised user info. This also covers content consumption details and engagement metrics like topics viewed and time spent scrolling.
Bidstream intent data
Timestamp, IP, URL, and location help programmatic buyers see if an ad fits their targeting.
Privacy
Co-op intent data
Co-op data follows strict privacy protocols to ensure all intent data provided is compliant with local laws. Co-op members must obtain informed user consent for the use of customer data. Companies like Bombora allow users to opt out of the sale of their personal data.
Bidstream intent data
The UK ICO and Belgian APD say that collecting and using bidstream data violates GDPR. Congress wants the FTC to investigate privacy issues with bidstream data.
Topic range
Co-op intent data
Bombora uses a natural language processing (NLP) engine that reads, analyses and comprehends content across over 12,000 topics. This range expands every quarter.
Bidstream intent data
Unlimited keywords, but may cause false positives as keywords are scraped with no context or historical engagement.
Compatibility
Co-op intent data
It’s simple to set up, no matter your tech stack or use cases. Connect data easily through direct integrations and partners.
Bidstream intent data
Many providers limit data use to one platform for a single purpose.

Bidstream intent data might equal more volume, but it’s like buying bulk strawberries that have been sitting at the back of the shop for some time.

You can’t guarantee how much of it will be quality and how much will be unusable for your needs.

Co-op intent data is like hitting the farmer’s market and picking up a box of strawberries specifically picked for freshness and quality.

As a business, you don’t want to have to sift through data before your team can use it.

Take Keboola, for example. They chose Cognism for accurate, compliant B2B data

There’s no need for them to wonder about the leads they’re reaching out to, thanks to the combination of Bombora intent data and Cognism’s Diamond Data®

They said:

“We use Bombora’s intent data in addition to Diamond Data®, and we’re winning clients as a result. We choose an intent topic and target 20 companies per week.” “Cognism is unique in providing the complete package of intent data and verified mobile numbers. It’s a game-changer.”

Paul Donnachie
Sales Manager EMEA
@Keboola

Speaking of Bombora, Cognism’s third-party intent data partner, let’s look at it as an example of why co-op intent data wins:

Compared to the other types of third-party intent data, Bombora’s is more:

  • Relevant – Bombora collects intent data from a network of sites like B2B publishers, user groups, and review websites. They’re the places B2B buyers go to find the solutions they need.
  • Broad – Bombora’s B2B network currently has more than 4,000 strong sites, all highly trafficked.
  • Transparent – Bombora’s co-op records visitors’ behaviour only with their consent.

Bombora also offers extra features to help B2B sales and marketing teams maximise their intent data.

For example, Bombora sets historical baselines that show how much a company would typically care about a specific topic. Then, it looks for spikes in research for this topic; this indicates greater intent.

Rather than tracking keywords, as bidstream does, Bombora tracks topics. It evaluates whether a web visit indicates intent by awarding it a relevancy score.

This takes into account criteria such as:

  • Time spent on a page.
  • How quickly the user scrolls through.
  • Whether they reach the end.

Want to give it a try?

Test out using intent data on our platform with this on-demand demo 👇

Intent data on the Cognism platform

Cognism is the trailblazing B2B intelligence platform trusted by thousands of revenue teams worldwide. Bombora is an industry leader in intent data.

It only makes sense that we work together to add a new dimension to sales intelligence.

Now, Cognism users can utilise ‘operational intent’. This means that when you see intent signals from targets or new prospects, you can:

  • Immediately get the account information.
  • Identify the buying team.
  • Get up-to-date contact details for the people you need to speak to, including verified emails and mobile numbers.

Armed with that information, you can reach out to your prospects much earlier, much faster and more accurately than your competitors. They won’t stand a chance!

When you combine Cognism’s account and contact data with Bombora’s highly targeted intent data, you can make improvements in several areas of your sales and marketing operation, including:

  • ABM – identifying new accounts and new contacts inside your existing ones.
  • Account prioritisation – intent data shows which accounts are in-market and ready to buy.
  • Messaging: Identifying which sites your prospects spend time on can help you discover their pain points and tailor your pitches.

Ready to say bye to bidstream intent data?

Be like Ultima and shorten your sales cycle with Cognism’s intent data 👇

George-McKenna-Ultima

“Cognism identifies the leads, allows us to target them based on the prospect’s intent and then follow-up with the sales action. Using intent data has massively reduced our Time to Engagement (TTE). Our sales cycle is typically 6-8 months long. At Cognism, we saw ROI in 8 weeks from intent data and direct dials. One deal pays for a year’s Cognism subscription.”

George McKenna
Head of Cloud Sales
@Ultima

Live demo not right for you? Check out our interactive workflows!

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