How do you win leads from CBAM as a software company?

You win leads from CBAM by answering importers’ questions before they pick a tool. Do my imports fall under CBAM? How do I become an authorised declarant? What data do I ask my supplier for? Which software fits? Build those pages now: the first annual declaration covering 2026 is due by 30 September 2027 at the latest.

You sell CBAM software, customs software or an ERP, and your buyers import steel or aluminium. The vendor who gives them the answer gets the demo. This piece is part of our guide to becoming less dependent on Google Ads and shows how we approach content marketing around a single regulation. How to keep this kind of content accurate and current is covered in regulation as a lead source.

What do software vendors need to know about CBAM?

CBAM, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, puts a carbon price on imported goods with high emissions. For your marketing you only need a handful of facts. This is the situation as of 28 September 2026.

What do importers search for and ask about CBAM?

They search for the regulation, not for your product category. These are monthly search volumes in Google, averaged over the last 12 months, from Google Ads data, September 2026:

Anyone who picks “cbam software” as a target keyword is aiming at ten searches. Answer the questions around “cbam” and you are visible for 1,900 searches a month in Belgium and 2,400 in the Netherlands. In Google you can see those questions word for word. What are the CBAM rules, which products are covered, who pays, what does it cost and how do you file a declaration?

Which pages do you build around CBAM?

This is how you write about CBAM for importers who need your software: follow their path from “does this apply to me?” to “which tool do I pick?”. One page per question works better than one long guide.

Connect those pages through a pillar page, so that Google and AI systems see you as a source on the whole topic. How to build that breadth is covered in building topical authority. If your customer is also working on sustainability reporting, link to the CSRD and VSME page: the same CFO reads both.

The declaration comes back every year by 30 September. So put the deadline page on a fixed URL without a year: that way it becomes an evergreen page you update every year.

What does an importer ask a CBAM software vendor?

An importer comparing tools asks very concrete questions. Answer them on your comparison and product pages, and sales won’t have to explain them again every time.

• Does the tool work with actual data and with default values? The Commission allows both for the embedded emissions in imported goods. The mark-up on default values rises from 10% in 2026 to 30% from 2028, according to the CBAM Q&A.
• How do I get verified data from my supplier? Anyone using actual data needs verified emissions for 2026 for the first declaration.
• Does the tool connect to our customs declarations and our ERP? That is where the import data already lives.
• Does the tool calculate my certificate cost in advance? That is the CFO’s question.

For each question, show which screen of your product provides the answer.

What is still moving in CBAM, and how do you write about it?

The biggest open question is the extension to products further down the value chain. In December 2025 the Commission proposed extending CBAM from 1 January 2028. It concerns 180 products with a lot of steel or aluminium, such as machinery and appliances. On 12 June 2026 the Council reached an agreement on that extension. The European Parliament adopted its position on 15 September 2026; Parliament and Council are now negotiating the final text and the product list.

For your content that means three things:

1. A proposal is not a rule. Write up the extension as a proposal until the text is in the Official Journal.
2. One block for the product list. Put the state of the negotiations in a single block you can update quickly.
3. Follow klimaat.be. The Belgian competent authority updates its site with new implementing rules.

A manufacturer importing components may not search for CBAM today. If the extension goes ahead, they will, and by then you want to be found already.

What does CBAM content cost compared to Google Ads?

A click on the regulation itself is still affordable: “cbam” costs about 5 dollars in Belgium, “cbam rapportage” about 7 dollars in the Netherlands. But someone clicking on “cbam” is looking for an explanation, not a vendor. The expensive clicks are in the software terms.

A click on “carbon accounting software” costs about 72 dollars in the UK. We know this from Hedgehog Company, which sells carbon accounting software. A month after the test, 77 of their 153 URLs ranked in the top 10 on average.

Content with us starts at 950 euros per month for 5 articles, with a three-month minimum and no setup fee. Work out your own trade-off with the click-or-article calculator.

When we are not the right choice

If you are looking for someone to file or legally review your own CBAM declaration, you need a customs specialist, not a marketing agency. If your software sells nothing to importers, CBAM content brings you traffic without buyers. And if you need pipeline within a few weeks, content is not the fastest channel.

Frequently asked questions