If you're doing account based marketing (ABM), you already know the broad "spray and pray" approach is a waste of money. You want to reach the right people at the right companies—period. This guide is for marketers, demand gen folks, or anyone tired of vague “intent data” pitches, who wants to actually use Bombora to build custom audience segments that work.
Let’s cut through the noise and walk through exactly how to do this, step by step. No buzzwords, just what you need to get up and running.
Why Custom Audience Segments Matter for ABM
ABM isn’t about blasting ads to everyone who looks like they might care. It’s about picking the accounts that matter—and then getting real signals that the timing is right.
That’s where intent data comes in. Bombora is one of the bigger names here. The idea: they watch web activity across a giant network, spot which companies are researching topics that matter to you, and let you build lists from that.
But here’s the thing: Bombora is only as useful as the audience segments you build. If you just use their off-the-shelf lists, you’re not really doing ABM—you’re doing “sort of targeted advertising.” The power is in building custom segments that match your strategy.
What You’ll Need Before You Start
Bombora isn’t something you just sign up for and poke around (unfortunately). You’ll need:
- A Bombora account (with access to Audience Solutions or Company Surge®)
- A clear idea of your target accounts (a list, or at least a good description)
- The key topics or buying triggers you care about
- Access to your downstream tools (CRM, ad platforms, or wherever you’ll activate the audience)
If you don’t have all of these, stop here and get them lined up first. You can waste a lot of time building segments you can’t use.
Step 1: Get Crystal Clear on Your Target Accounts
Before you even log in, nail down who you care about. This means:
- A named account list: The exact companies you want to target. Ideally, with domains, HQ locations, and industry tags.
- Firmographic filters: If you don’t have a named list, get clear on company size, industry, region, tech stack—anything that helps you cut the noise.
Pro tip: Don’t just dump your whole CRM in here. Narrow it down to the accounts that matter for this campaign or program.
Step 2: Identify the Topics That Signal Intent
Bombora works by tracking web activity around specific topics—things like “cloud security,” “employee engagement software,” or “warehouse automation.” The trick is picking topics that mean something for your product (and aren’t just noise).
- Start with your value prop: Which problems do you solve? What would someone research if they needed you?
- Check Bombora’s topic taxonomy: They have a giant list—sometimes too giant. Ask your Bombora rep for their latest topic list or download it from your portal.
- Pick 5–20 topics: Enough to catch real interest, but not so many you get garbage. More is not always better.
What to avoid: Don’t just pick every topic with your product name in it. The most obvious topics often have low volume (or are too broad). Mix in related pain points and upstream/downstream topics.
Step 3: Log Into Bombora and Start Building
Assuming you have access to Bombora’s Audience Builder (sometimes called Audience Solutions):
- Navigate to Audience Builder: Look for “Custom Audiences” or “Segments” in the menu.
- Create a new segment: Usually there’s a big “+ New Audience” or similar button.
- Set your account filters:
- Upload your company list (CSV, with domains is best), or
- Use Bombora’s filters for company size, industry, location, etc.
- Add topic filters:
- Select your chosen topics from the Bombora list.
- Set the intent threshold (Bombora calls this “Surge Score” or “Intensity”). Higher scores = companies showing stronger signals. Start with 60 or 65+ for serious intent; lower if you need more volume.
- Set the time window: Typical is 1–4 weeks of recent activity. Shorter windows = more timely, but fewer matches.
- (Optional) Layer on exclusions: You can often exclude current customers, competitors, or irrelevant industries.
Watch out for: Over-filtering. It’s easy to end up with a segment so narrow it’s useless. Start broad, then tighten as you learn what works.
Step 4: Preview and Validate Your Audience
Don’t just trust the numbers. Preview the audience and sanity-check:
- Are the right companies showing up? If not, your filters might be off.
- Is the volume realistic? If you only get 5 accounts, you’re probably too tight. If you get 5,000, you’re probably too broad.
- Spot-check the intent: Some platforms let you see which topics a company surged on. Look for false positives (e.g., a bank surging on “cloud security” because they’re hiring, not buying).
Pro tip: Export a sample and cross-check it with your sales team or CRM data. If it doesn’t pass the sniff test, tweak and try again.
Step 5: Activate Your Audience Where It Matters
Creating a segment is just the start. You need to actually use it. Here’s how:
- Export your segment: Most platforms let you download as CSV, or sometimes push directly to LinkedIn, Facebook, or your DSP.
- Sync with your ad platforms: Upload the list as a matched audience for targeted ads.
- Send to your CRM or sales tools: Flag these accounts for outbound, or alert reps that these companies are researching relevant topics.
- Integrate with marketing automation: Trigger tailored email sequences or retargeting.
What not to do: Don’t just dump everyone into a generic nurture or cold outreach. The whole point is these accounts are showing intent—tailor your message accordingly.
Step 6: Rinse, Repeat, and Actually Measure
This isn’t a “set it and forget it” deal. You need to:
- Refresh segments regularly: Intent data goes stale fast. Update weekly or bi-weekly.
- Test new topics: See which ones actually predict pipeline, not just clicks.
- Track downstream results: Are these accounts engaging? Any lift in meetings booked, pipeline, or revenue? If not, don’t be afraid to kill a segment and try again.
Honest take: Most teams overcomplicate this. Fancy dashboards and scoring models are nice, but if your sales team isn’t seeing better accounts, it’s not working. Focus on real outcomes.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
- Works: Tight segments, regular refreshes, and close feedback loops with sales.
- Doesn’t work: Overly broad topics, “set and forget” audiences, or expecting intent signals to close deals by themselves.
- Ignore: Vendor hype about “AI-powered predictive magic.” The basics—good accounts, smart topics, real follow-up—matter more.
Keep It Simple—And Iterate
Building custom audience segments in Bombora isn’t rocket science, but it is easy to overthink. Start with a clear account list and a handful of relevant topics. Preview, test, and tweak. Don’t expect perfection out the gate—just keep it practical, measure real outcomes, and adjust as you go.
The simpler you make it, the faster you’ll see what actually works. Then you can get fancy—once you’ve proven it’s worth the effort.