LinkedIn Ad Targeting Options and Best Practices

LinkedIn Ad Targeting Options and Best Practices

LinkedIn ad campaigns are a great way to get your marketing content in front of the audiences that matter most to your business. But to do so effectively, you need to know how to optimize LinkedIn ad targeting options.

Today, we’re giving you the scoop on the basics of LinkedIn ad targeting. Stay tuned as we cover:

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Key Takeaways
LinkedIn ad targeting options
Best practices for LinkedIn ad targeting
LinkedIn ad targeting FAQs
Read on to learn more about LinkedIn’s ad targeting options and best practices for optimizing your campaign targeting.

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When running a LinkedIn ad campaign, there are five targeting options advertisers can choose from:

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LinkedIn Ad Targeting Options
Location targeting
Audience attribute targeting
Predictive audience targeting
Matched audience targeting
Audience size
Keep reading to learn more about each targeting option for LinkedIn ad campaigns.

1. Location targeting
   Location targeting is first on this list of targeting options for LinkedIn ads, which is required for all campaigns. Advertisers can reach audiences based on where they live or by searching for specific locations.

When targeting audiences by location, keep in mind:

Geographic locations are based on the permanent or long-term location specified by the LinkedIn member in their profile.
Short-term visits are specified by IP address.
Message ad campaigns are only targeted by permanent or long-term locations.
Location attribute targeting may be limited when targeting the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland.

2. Audience attribute targeting
   When using LinkedIn’s audience attribute targeting option, you’ve got plenty of options for how exactly you want to target your ads. Audience attribute targeting includes targeting by:

Company
Demographics
Education
Job experience
Interests & traits
Company
Audience attribute targeting can be especially helpful for business-to-business (B2B) social campaigns because company attribute targeting options are very robust, making precise audience segment targeting possible. LinkedIn’s company attribute targeting options include a company’s:

Category
Connections
Followers
Growth rate
Industry
Name
Estimated annual revenue
Size
Demographics
When targeting LinkedIn ads by demographics, advertisers have two options to choose from:

Member age
Member gender
This information is inferred based on LinkedIn members’ profile information.

Education
Advertisers can also target LinkedIn ads based on education information, like:

Degrees or recognized ranks granted by universities, colleges, or other learning institutions
Fields of study
Specific schools, colleges, universities, or other learning institutions a member attended
Job experience
LinkedIn’s job experience targeting options give advertisers plenty of ways to find their ideal audience. Advertisers can target LinkedIn ads based on:

Job function, seniority, and title
Member skills and relevant keywords found within a member’s profile
Years of experience
Interests & traits
Finally, targeting options for LinkedIn ads include narrowing audiences based on their interests and behavioral traits. How exactly does LinkedIn know a member’s interests? It’s simple: when determining audience traits and interests, LinkedIn’s targeting options consider:

LinkedIn groups a member is active in
Interest categories directly identified by and inferred from member engagement and interactions with content
Direct and inferred behavior traits based on profile information and interactions with content

3. Predictive audience targeting
   LinkedIn’s predictive audience targeting helps advertisers expand their campaign’s reach by creating an audience of people with similar characteristics to the existing data source. To do so, LinkedIn applies artificial intelligence (AI) to your data to automatically generate a new custom audience.

The following can be used as data sources when creating a predictive audience:

Contact lists
Lead generation forms
Conversions (using Conversions API or the Insight Tag)

4. Matched Audience targeting
   LinkedIn Matched Audiences are custom audience segments that advertisers can use as targeting selections in ad campaigns. With Matched Audiences, advertisers can either upload a list of contacts, integrate contacts from a third-party system, or retarget LinkedIn members based on specific actions.
5. Audience size
   Last but not least, LinkedIn ad targeting options include reaching audiences based on size. As you select your targeting options, LinkedIn shows you an estimate of the audience size you’ll reach. The minimum audience size for LinkedIn ad campaigns is 300 members.

You can optimize your campaign’s audience size by adjusting the targeting options you use when creating your ad campaign. For example, if you select multiple attributes from the same targeting facet (e.g. multiple different job titles), your audience size will increase. If you add attributes to the same facet, your audience will narrow (e.g. adding job seniorities and functions).

Advertisers can also narrow their audience size by excluding target facets.

Best Practices for LinkedIn Ad Targeting
Now that you’ve learned the basics of LinkedIn’s ad targeting options, check out a few LinkedIn ad tips and best practices to help you create a conversion-driving campaign that drives results.

Use LinkedIn’s custom targeting features: LinkedIn has custom targeting options for a reason — use them as much as you can! Target the right audience by using LinkedIn’s matched audiences, audience templates, and expansion tools.
Tailor your ad content: To get the best results from your ad campaigns, remember to tailor your ad’s content to the audiences you’re trying to reach. This, in combination with LinkedIn’s ad targeting options, can accelerate your campaign’s performance.
Test your campaigns: Not sure if your audience will respond well to a certain aspect of your campaign? Use LinkedIn’s campaign testing to run two campaigns with audience targeting variations to see which one performs better.
Know who you’re advertising to: This may seem like a given, but it’s worth mentioning — know who you’re trying to reach with your campaigns so you can ensure you’re optimizing your LinkedIn ad targeting to its fullest potential.
Use campaign insights to fine-tune your ads. Your audience is constantly changing. Use campaign insights to analyze your ads’ performance by looking at audience activity, demographics, and more, and apply that data to future campaigns.
LinkedIn ad targeting FAQs
Eager to learn more about LinkedIn ad targeting? Check out these FAQs:

How do I set up a campaign targeting LinkedIn?
Setting up a campaign targeting for a LinkedIn ad campaign is simple — when you create a new campaign in Campaign Manager, you’ll be prompted to select your audience. You’ll have two options: select an existing audience or create a new one.

When creating a new audience, you’ll be prompted to add targeting options like location, audience attributes, exclusions, etc.

What happened to LinkedIn’s lookalike audiences?
If you felt like something was missing from our list of LinkedIn ad targeting options, you’re not wrong. Starting this year, LinkedIn is sunsetting lookalike audiences, a former ad targeting option. This means:

Advertisers will no longer be able to create new lookalike audiences or edit existing ones.
Existing lookalike audience data won’t refresh.
Lookalike audiences will become static.
LinkedIn’s API for creating lookalike audiences through third-party platforms will be discontinued.
What does this mean for existing campaigns using lookalike audiences?
Since LinkedIn is sunsetting lookalike audiences, advertisers with active campaigns using lookalike audiences will see some changes. Here’s what to expect:

Any active campaigns using lookalike audiences will continue to deliver results using the static audience.
Lookalike audiences that aren’t used in a draft or active campaign will be archived.
Any archived lookalike audience that’s expired will be deleted and inaccessible.
If you add an existing archived lookalike audience to a campaign, it’ll show a “building” status and use static data.

14 Powerful LinkedIn Ad Targeting Options & Best Practices to Skyrocket Your Campaigns (2024)

Unleashing the power of LinkedIn advertising requires laser-focused targeting to reach the exact audience that matters most to your business. But with a multitude of targeting options available, navigating the process can feel overwhelming.

Fear not! This comprehensive guide equips you with everything you need to master LinkedIn ad targeting, transform your campaigns into conversion machines, and achieve skyrocketing results.

Deep Dive into LinkedIn Ad Targeting Options:

1. Location Targeting (Mandatory):

• Reach audiences based on their physical location or search queries.
• Remember, location targeting is mandatory for all LinkedIn ad campaigns.

2. Audience Attribute Targeting:

• Craft highly specific audience segments using a rich toolbox of options:
  • Company: Target by industry, size, growth rate, and more. (Perfect for B2B campaigns!)
  • Demographics: Refine your audience by age and gender.
  • Education: Target based on degrees, fields of study, and specific institutions.
  • Job Experience: Reach professionals with specific job titles, skills, and experience levels.
  • Interests & Traits: Leverage member group activity and inferred behaviors to target based on interests and personality traits.

3. Predictive audience targeting:

• Leverage the power of AI! Expand your reach by creating custom audiences with similar characteristics to your existing data sources (e.g., contact lists, and website visitors).

4. Matched Audience Targeting:

• Retarget website visitors, upload customer lists, or target based on specific member actions using custom audience segments.

5. Audience Size:

• As you select targeting options, LinkedIn provides an estimated audience reach in real time.
• The minimum audience size is 300.
• Optimize your reach by strategically combining and excluding targeting options.

Pro Tips for LinkedIn Ad Targeting Success:

• Embrace Custom Targeting: Don’t be shy! Utilize LinkedIn’s robust targeting features, like matched audiences, audience templates, and expansion tools, to reach your ideal audience with laser precision.
• Content tailoring is key. For maximum impact, tailor your ad content to resonate with the specific audience segments you’re targeting. This powerful combination will accelerate your campaign’s performance.
• The Power of Testing: Unsure how your audience will respond to certain ad elements? Leverage LinkedIn’s campaign testing feature to run A/B tests with variations in audience targeting to identify the most effective approach.
• Know Your Audience: It sounds simple, but understanding who you’re trying to reach is crucial. Effectively utilize audience insights from previous campaigns to refine your targeting for future campaigns.
• Campaign Insights for Continuous Improvement: The audience landscape is constantly evolving. Utilize campaign insights to analyze ad performance based on audience demographics, activity, and other valuable data points. Apply these learnings to fine-tune your targeting and messaging for ongoing success.

Ready to Take Action?

Armed with this comprehensive guide and powerful targeting strategies, you’re well-equipped to launch high-performing LinkedIn ad campaigns that reach the right audience, drive conversions, and propel your business to new heights.

Bonus: Explore LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager for a hands-on experience building your first targeted ad campaign