Module 4
Visitor identification, honestly
What we can tell you, what we cannot, and where the line sits.
After this module: You can explain company-level versus person-level identification, quote realistic ranges, and say clearly what we will not do — before a prospect has to ask.
Two different things with similar names
When a prospect says "visitor identification", they could mean either of two things that are technically and legally very different. Separate them before answering.
| Company-level | Person-level | |
|---|---|---|
| What you learn | Which organisation visited | Which individual visited |
| How | Network address resolved against our own graph | Third-party identity data |
| Typical coverage | Around 20–35% of B2B traffic | 5–20% in the US; far lower elsewhere |
| In the EU | Runs, under legitimate interest | We do not offer it |
| What you sell | This, almost always | Only in the US, and carefully |
Company-level is the product. It runs on our own address graph rather than a per-lookup data vendor, which is why it is not metered per reveal and why the economics work at our price points.
Check yourself
Why the answer changes by country
Identification is not uniform across markets, and the reason is partly law and partly data.
- United States — notice-and-opt-out. Both company and person-level are available, though person-level is still a minority of traffic.
- UK and EU — consent regimes. Company-level runs under legitimate interest; person-level is not something we offer.
- Germany, Austria, Switzerland — treat person-level as zero. Do not offer it, do not hint at it.
- Everywhere else — the system defaults to company-level unless it is confident it can do more. It fails safe.
Even where the law would allow more, the data often does not exist. Person-level identity graphs are US-first. So a UK prospect asking for named individuals is running into a data ceiling as much as a legal one — and saying that plainly is more useful than a vague answer about compliance.
On GPC: when a US visitor sends the signal, we stop sharing their data with ad platforms. First-party analytics continues. That distinction is the legally correct one — GPC governs sale and sharing, not a business measuring its own site — and a prospect who is told "we stop all tracking" has been given wrong information.
Check yourself · 1 of 2
Check yourself · 2 of 2
Worth remembering
- Company-level identification resolves the business behind an anonymous visit — typically around a fifth to a third of B2B traffic.
- Person-level naming is a US capability at much lower rates, and effectively unavailable in German-speaking Europe.
- The distinction is legal as well as technical, which is why they are gated separately and why the default fails safe.
- A GPC signal stops us sharing data with ad platforms; it does not stop first-party analytics.
- Overselling identification rates is the fastest way to lose a customer in month two. Quote ranges, never a single number.
Words that came up
- Company-level identification
- Working out which organisation a visit came from, using the network address. No individual is named.
- Person-level identification
- Naming an individual visitor. Depends on third-party data that is largely US-only, and is not something we offer in the EU.
- GPC (Global Privacy Control)
- A browser signal meaning "do not sell or share my data". We honour it on ad-platform sharing for US visitors. It is not a blanket opt-out of analytics.
- Legitimate interest
- A lawful basis under GDPR for processing without consent, where the interest is real and proportionate. It is what company-level identification runs on.
Do this before moving on
Reading about a demo is not the same as having given one.
- 1Use the explorer below with a German prospect’s numbers. Notice what the honest answer looks like.
- 2Practise the sentence "we identify the company, not every person" until it is automatic.
- 3Read the GDPR guide and find the one paragraph you would send to a nervous buyer.