How to Retarget Based on Intent Signals: The Smart Marketer’s Guide

Introduction

Ever feel like your ads are showing up in front of the wrong people? You’re not alone. In today’s B2B landscape, where decision-makers are more cautious than ever, casting a wide net with generic retargeting is no longer enough.

Enter intent-based retargeting—the strategy that lets you engage prospects who have actually shown interest in your solution. Instead of guessing who’s ready to buy, you focus your energy (and ad spend) on people who are actively searching, comparing, and evaluating products like yours.

If you’re wondering how to get started or how to improve your current campaigns, you’re in the right place. This article breaks down how to retarget based on real-time intent signals to drive pipeline, build trust, and close faster—especially if you're marketing in a complex space like B2B SaaS or healthcare tech.

And if you want expert help getting this right? Intent Amplify is here to help.

Download Free Media Kit: https://tinyurl.com/mr2kwynj

Why Intent-Based Retargeting Beats Traditional Tactics

Let’s be honest: traditional retargeting works... but only up to a point.

Sure, if someone visits your website, you can show them ads. But that only tells part of the story. What about the potential buyer who read five articles about your category but never clicked on your site? Or the IT manager comparing solutions on third-party review platforms?

These are the high-intent buyers you want to reach. And that’s where intent data shines.

Intent Signals Give You Buyer Context

Intent signals tell you who is researching what, when, and how often. These signals can come from:

• Search activity on Google and Bing

• Engagement with competitor content

• Participation in relevant webinars

• Visits to category-specific landing pages

• Interaction with B2B review sites

When you combine this data with smart retargeting, you stop wasting impressions and start creating connections.

The B2B Buyer Has Changed—Have You?

Modern B2B buyers are anonymous, digital-first, and research-obsessed. On average, six to ten stakeholders are involved in a buying decision, and each is independently researching before engaging with sales.

By the time they hit your website, they're already halfway down the funnel.

So, if you’re only retargeting based on web visits, you’re missing 70 percent of the journey.

The winning strategy is to layer intent data onto your retargeting so that you’re only spending ad dollars on accounts showing real buying behavior.

Step-by-Step: How to Retarget Based on Intent Signals

Let’s walk through how to actually do this—from identifying signals to launching your campaign.

Step 1: Identify the Right Intent Sources

Not all intent data is created equal. You’ll want to use a mix of:

• First-party intent: Visitor behavior on your own site

• Third-party intent: Activity from external platforms (like review sites, analyst hubs, search engines)

At Intent Amplify, we tap into both. We integrate intent data from trusted providers and combine it with your own site analytics to build a full picture of buyer behavior.

Step 2: Define Your Target Accounts

Use firmographics and behavior signals to filter accounts that matter:

• Industry relevance (e.g., Healthcare SaaS, Fintech)

• Company size and revenue

• Level of engagement (e.g., multiple team members reading whitepapers)

• Funnel stage (are they researching or ready to talk to sales?)

The more precise your targeting, the better your ROI.

Step 3: Build Intent-Centric Audience Segments

Don’t just lump all your visitors together. Segment based on signal strength and intent stage.

• Early-stage: Show educational content, whitepapers, or customer stories.

• Mid-stage: Offer comparison guides or demo videos.

• Late-stage: Serve strong CTAs like “Book a Demo” or “Talk to Sales.”

This ensures your retargeting stays relevant and increases conversion rates.

Step 4: Personalize Creatives Based on Buyer Intent

Generic ads won’t cut it. Customize your messaging to match what the buyer is researching.

Example: If a hospital IT director is researching HIPAA-compliant platforms, your ad should mention compliance, not just features.

Personalization builds trust and makes your ad stand out.

Step 5: Monitor, Optimize, and Expand

Measure everything—CTR, engagement, conversion, pipeline. Then iterate.

And don’t stop at display ads. Extend your retargeting into:

• LinkedIn campaigns targeting specific job titles

• Email sequences personalized to buyer journey stage

• Website experiences tailored by account behavior

Real Results: What Intent Amplify Delivers

We’ve helped dozens of B2B companies—especially in regulated sectors like healthcare tech—boost ROI by integrating intent-based retargeting.

Here’s how:

• 3x higher engagement with ABM accounts

• 40 percent lower cost per qualified lead

• Shortened deal cycles by up to 28 percent

• Improved sales and marketing alignment with better MQL quality

Our secret? We don’t just serve ads. We create intelligent buyer journeys fueled by AI and real-time intent insights.

About Intent Amplify

At Intent Amplify, we help B2B companies supercharge their growth by combining AI-powered intent data, account-based marketing, and personalized outreach.

Whether you're a fast-growing SaaS platform, a healthcare tech innovator, or an enterprise solution provider, our strategies are tailored to your buyer journey.

We don’t believe in spray-and-pray. We believe in signal-driven marketing that connects you to real decision-makers when they’re ready to talk.

Our Services Include:

• Intent-Based Retargeting: Reach the right accounts, not just visitors.

• Account-Based Marketing: Precision outreach to high-value enterprise targets.

• Omnichannel Campaigns: Email, LinkedIn, display, and content in one seamless motion.

• Sales Enablement: Give your reps insights, scripts, and support to convert faster.

• Full-Funnel Analytics: Track pipeline influence, not just clicks.

Our clients trust us because we deliver measurable impact—and we do it with integrity.

Who Should Use Intent-Based Retargeting?

This strategy works especially well for:

• B2B SaaS companies with complex products

• Healthcare tech and life sciences platforms

• Cybersecurity and compliance vendors

• Fintech solutions targeting enterprise

If you sell to a niche audience with long buying cycles and multiple stakeholders, this is your edge.

Contact Us

Want to see what intent-based retargeting can do for your pipeline?

Book a Free Strategy Session: https://tinyurl.com/3vycp49r

Let’s build something powerful together.

Intent Amplify
Visit: https://intentamplify.com
Email: sales@intentamplify.com
US-Based, Serving B2B Companies Nationwide

Get your free strategy session and see how we can help you hit your pipeline goals.

FAQs

1. What’s the difference between retargeting and intent-based retargeting?
Traditional retargeting is based on web visits or ad clicks. Intent-based retargeting goes deeper. It uses real-time data on what buyers are researching across the web, so you can target those already in-market.

2. Is intent data accurate enough to use for ad campaigns?
Yes—especially when sourced from reliable third-party platforms and enriched with your first-party data. At Intent Amplify, we validate all data through behavior patterns and buying signals before building audiences.

3. Do I need a large budget to get started?
No. We customize campaigns to your budget and stage of growth. The goal is to optimize ROI, not just spend more. We start small, prove impact, and scale from there.

4. How soon can I see results?
Most clients see significant improvements in engagement and lead quality within the first 30 to 45 days. Sales cycle acceleration usually follows after one full buying cycle.

5. Can you integrate with my existing CRM and ad platforms?
Absolutely. We work with HubSpot, Salesforce, Marketo, LinkedIn Ads, Google Ads, and most major CRMs and DSPs. We make the tech work seamlessly with your current stack.

Final Takeaway: Intent Is the Future of Retargeting

If you’re still relying on pixel-based retargeting alone, you're missing out on your best leads.

Intent-based retargeting is how modern B2B marketers win—by engaging the right accounts with the right message at the right time. It’s smarter, faster, and more cost-effective.

And when done right, it doesn’t just improve your ad performance—it transforms your entire pipeline.

Let Intent Amplify show you how to unlock intent-driven growth today.