TechTarget gave away white papers and research, then told technology vendors who had downloaded them. Its many sites covered storage, security, networking and other topics in depth for people who buy technology at work. Readers registered to download. Vendors paid TechTarget to reach those readers and to receive leads on who was researching a purchase. In 2007 trade magazines were losing ground, and TechTarget's online model was taking their place.

Catching Buyers Mid-Search

Greg Strakosch and Don Hawk founded TechTarget in 1999. Their bet was that specialized content could attract IT professionals at the moment they were researching purchases. Vendors would pay well to know who those readers were. The company built dozens of focused sites, each aimed at a narrow group of buyers. Readers got free content, and vendors paid to reach them.

Informa Takes Control

TechTarget priced its IPO at $13 a share in May 2007 on the Nasdaq. Over time it shifted further toward selling data on buying intent. In 2024 it combined with Informa Tech's digital businesses. The new company, majority owned by Informa, kept the TechTarget name and listing. Its sites still serve IT buyers, and its data on who is researching what remains its main product.

Cover: Kalmouk Archers Hunting Deer, Carle Vernet. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for archers on the hunt (targeting).