Account-based advertising
Also known as: ABM ads
In short
Account-based advertising is a paid marketing approach that targets ads at employees of specific named companies rather than a broad audience. The target list usually comes from your ideal customer profile or from sales.
It is the paid channel within account-based marketing. Unlike general lead generation ads, success is measured by engagement across target accounts, not by the total number of clicks or form fills.
How account-based advertising works
You upload a list of target accounts to an ad platform or an account-based ad tool. The platform matches company names or domains to ad audiences and serves your ads only to people it can link to those companies.
How to set it up
1. Build a tight account list
Start with a few hundred accounts that fit your ICP and that sales wants to open. Very small lists may not match enough users to serve ads.
2. Tailor the message to a segment
Speak to an industry, a use case, or a stage of the buying journey. Ads that name a real problem for that segment beat generic brand ads.
3. Coordinate with sales
Share which accounts saw or engaged with ads so reps can time outreach. Ads and outbound work best when they reach the same accounts in the same weeks.
4. Measure at account level
Track reach, engagement, site visits, and meetings by account, not just by click.
Account-based vs. traditional advertising
- Targeting: Named companies instead of broad interests or job titles alone.
- Volume: Fewer impressions, spent on better-fit accounts.
- Metrics: Account engagement and pipeline instead of cost per click.
Common mistakes
- List too large: A list of tens of thousands of accounts behaves like normal targeting.
- No sales follow-up: Awareness without outreach rarely becomes pipeline.
- Judging by clicks: Ad clicks are a weak signal. Look at account-level movement.
Related term note
ABM advertising is the same idea under another name. This page focuses on the paid media setup.
Account-based advertising FAQs
What is account-based advertising?
Account-based advertising is paid advertising aimed at employees of a defined list of target companies. Instead of reaching a broad audience, ads are served only to people matched to those accounts, which concentrates spend on likely buyers.
How is account-based advertising different from retargeting?
Retargeting shows ads to people who already visited your site. Account-based advertising starts from a list of target companies and reaches people there whether or not they have visited, so it can open new conversations.
How big should an account-based advertising list be?
Large enough for the ad platform to match audiences, yet small enough to stay focused on real targets. Many teams begin with a few hundred to a few thousand accounts, then adjust as they see match rates and engagement.
How do you measure account-based advertising?
Measure at the account level: how many target accounts were reached, engaged with ads, visited your site, and then booked meetings or opened opportunities. Click-through rate alone says little about whether the right companies responded.
