LinkedIn Ads

What sets LinkedIn Ads apart

LinkedIn Ads is the advertising system for a professional audience. The difference from other platforms lies in the audience data: details on role, industry, company size and function are part of the profile and not derived from behaviour. That allows describing an audience that is hard to reach on other channels.

For providers with a professional offer, such as training, consulting or software, that is the decisive advantage. Anyone wanting to address decision makers in mid sized retail businesses can name that group instead of hoping an algorithm finds it.

Which audiences are possible

• Professional details: role, function, job title and seniority. The finest way to hit a specific role.
• Companies: industry, size and named list. That allows addressing a selection deliberately.
• Education: degrees and institutions attended.
• Interests: groups a person follows and topics they engage with.
• Lookalike audiences: people resembling an existing group, such as your own customers.

Why the click price is high

The click price sits well above other platforms. Three reasons explain it. First the audience is small: a precise selection often covers only tens of thousands of people, and scarce supply drives the price. Second the competition is well funded, because software providers and consultancies advertise there. Third the number of ad placements is limited, because the audience is only active rarely and briefly.

The right yardstick follows. The click price alone says nothing. What matters is what the click becomes: with an offer of high value an expensive click can be cheap, with a small basket never.

When the channel pays off

Three preconditions should be met. First an offer with a clear professional benefit. Second a basket or contract value that carries the comparatively high cost. Third an audience that can be described professionally.

For a shop selling consumer goods the channel is usually unsuitable, because the audience is not defined professionally there and the order value does not carry the cost. For training, services and B2B trade, by contrast, it is often the only way to reach a specific role at all.

How the effect is measured

Attribution works similarly to other platforms and has the same limits. Three routes help. Dedicated codes or links per campaign allowing evaluation. The evaluation of source in your own system, for instance how many enquiries come from the channel. And the comparison with a period without advertising to establish a baseline.

A realistic expectation of timing matters. Professional decisions take longer than private purchases, often several weeks and several contacts. Anyone seeing no enquiries after a week has usually measured too early and not worked badly.

Frequent questions

• Does it work without budget? Without a few hundred euros a month too few impressions arise for a statement.
• What is the most common mistake? Ads sounding private aimed at a professional audience.
• Do I need a company page? Not strictly, but it raises credibility.