How to Set Up a LinkedIn Ads Campaign
Campaign Manager has many settings, and several defaults spend money you didn’t intend to. Here is the order to set up a first B2B campaign and the choices that matter most.
How do you set up a LinkedIn Ads campaign?
Set up a LinkedIn Ads campaign in six steps: install the Insight Tag and conversion tracking, create a campaign group for the test, choose the objective, define the audience, choose the format and creative, then set budget, schedule and bidding. Review the defaults for audience expansion and the Audience Network before launch.
- Install the Insight Tag and set up conversions (or the Conversions API).
- Create a campaign group for the test with its own budget.
- Choose the objective: lead generation or website conversions for most B2B tests.
- Build one audience per campaign and add exclusions.
- Choose format and creative; connect the Lead Gen Form or landing page.
- Set budget, schedule and bidding strategy; review defaults; launch.
Which objective should B2B SaaS choose?
Choose lead generation when using Lead Gen Forms, and website conversions when sending people to a landing page with tracked conversions. Use brand awareness, engagement or video views for audiences you plan to retarget later, not to judge lead cost. The objective controls how LinkedIn optimizes and what it charges for.
| Objective | Charges usually by | Use for |
|---|---|---|
| Brand awareness | Impressions (CPM) | Reach in target accounts before a lead offer |
| Engagement / Video views | Clicks or views | Building retargeting audiences |
| Website visits | Clicks (CPC) | Content with no tracked conversion |
| Lead generation | Clicks or impressions | Lead Gen Forms and Document Ads |
| Website conversions | Clicks or impressions | Landing pages with tracked conversions |
Which bidding strategy should you use?
Use maximum delivery to learn what costs look like, then move to cost cap once you know the cost per result you can accept, or manual bidding when you need tight control of cost per click. LinkedIn describes all three in its bidding guidance. Automated bidding spends the full budget; manual bidding may not.
See LinkedIn’s campaign bidding strategies and budget rules in making the most of your budget. The minimum is $10 a day, or $100 lifetime for a new campaign.
Which defaults should you check before launch?
Check four defaults before launch: Audience Expansion, which widens your audience; LinkedIn Audience Network, which shows ads on partner sites; the conversion goal, which should be your real lead or demo event; and the schedule, which should have an end date for a test. Each can quietly change who sees your ads.
Then check the forecast, and the ads themselves on mobile. The formats and specs are on LinkedIn ad formats, and targeting choices on LinkedIn Ads targeting.
Read the demographics before judging results.
If the wrong people see your ads, every other number is noise. Confirm who you reached before you tune anything else.
What should you do in the first two weeks?
In the first two weeks, check delivery daily, read the demographics report to see which titles and companies are actually seeing your ads, pause ads with clearly weak click-through rates, and follow up every lead the same day. Don’t change bids and audiences in the same week.
Measure against pipeline from the start using measuring LinkedIn Ads pipeline.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum budget for LinkedIn Ads?
$10 a day per campaign, or $100 lifetime for a new campaign.
Which LinkedIn objective is best for B2B lead generation?
Lead generation with Lead Gen Forms, or website conversions for landing pages.
What is the difference between maximum delivery and cost cap?
Maximum delivery spends the budget for the most results; cost cap tries to keep the average cost per result under a cap you set.
Should I turn off Audience Expansion?
Usually yes for account-based and tightly targeted campaigns, so ads stay within your chosen audience.
What is LinkedIn Audience Network?
Placements on partner apps and sites outside LinkedIn. Decide deliberately whether to include it.
How many ads should a LinkedIn campaign have?
Two to four, so you can compare messages without splitting a small budget too thinly.
Sources & further reading
Specs, minimums and tracking details come from LinkedIn. Benchmarks come from the third-party datasets named under each table.