What is Data Broker?

A data broker is a business that collects, aggregates, enriches, and sells data to other organizations without having a direct relationship with the individuals in the dataset. Data brokers source information from public records (property deeds, court filings, voter registrations), web scraping, app SDKs, purchase history, survey responses, and commercial partnerships. The industry includes large players like Acxiom (2.5 billion consumer records), Oracle Data Cloud, and Experian, alongside thousands of niche brokers specializing in specific verticals. As of 2024, 20 US states have enacted data broker registration laws, with California, Vermont, Oregon, and Texas leading regulation. The FTC has increasingly scrutinized data broker practices, particularly around location data and sensitive categories.

Why It Matters

Many LeadsVault sellers are effectively data brokers — they compile data from various sources and sell it to buyers who need it for sales, marketing, or research. Understanding data broker regulations, registration requirements, and best practices is essential for running a compliant and profitable data selling operation. LeadsVault provides the distribution platform; sellers need to handle sourcing, compliance, and quality control.

Examples

  • •A company compiles property ownership records from 3,000 county databases nationwide and sells curated lists to real estate investors — generating $40K/month in recurring revenue on LeadsVault
  • •A firm aggregates licensed contractor information from state licensing boards, enriches with Google Reviews ratings and project photos, and sells to homeowners and insurance adjusters
  • •A niche data broker specializes in restaurant ownership data: owner name, cuisine type, location, review scores, estimated revenue — sourced from health department permits, Yelp API, and Google Places

Related Terms

b2b datadata enrichmentdata marketplacecontact database

Frequently Asked Questions

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What is B2B Data?

B2B (business-to-business) data encompasses structured information about companies and their employees used for sales prospecting, marketing campaigns,

What is Data Enrichment?

Data enrichment is the process of appending additional data points to existing records from external sources to create more complete prospect profiles.

What is Data Marketplace?

A data marketplace is a platform that connects data sellers with data buyers, enabling the listing, discovery, purchase, and delivery of datasets.

What is Contact Database?

A contact database is a structured, organized collection of individual or business contact information designed for sales outreach, marketing campaigns,