LinkedIn Ads Playbook
How to set up, track, and run LinkedIn ads for B2B and account-based marketing.
Account structure
- Use Campaign Manager inside a LinkedIn Business Manager so ownership stays with the company.
- Use campaign groups for each program or funnel stage. Give each campaign one objective.
- Use a consistent naming pattern, for example
Program-Segment-Offer-Quarter.
Tracking and measurement
- Install the LinkedIn Insight Tag on every page. Create conversions for key actions.
- Add the Conversions API to send server-side and CRM events, such as qualified leads and closed deals.
- Connect Lead Gen Forms to your CRM or marketing automation tool. Test the sync before launch.
- Add UTM parameters to every destination URL.
- Report on pipeline and revenue from the CRM, not only on platform leads.
Campaign types
| Objective | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Brand awareness | Impressions to a defined audience. |
| Website visits | Clicks to your site. |
| Engagement | Social actions and follows. |
| Video views | Video reach. |
| Lead generation | Lead Gen Forms filled out on LinkedIn. |
| Website conversions | Actions tracked on your site. |
Targeting
- Build matched audiences from company lists and contact lists.
- Layer job function, seniority, industry, and company size.
- Turn off audience expansion for account-based programs so you reach only the listed accounts.
- Retarget website visitors, video viewers, and people who opened a Lead Gen Form.
- An audience must have at least 300 members to run. Much larger audiences deliver more evenly.
Creative
- Formats: single image, video, carousel, document ads, conversation ads, message ads, text ads, and Thought Leader Ads.
- Use document ads to share reports or guides. You can show a preview and gate the rest with a Lead Gen Form.
- Keep Lead Gen Forms short. Each extra question lowers completion.
- Use Thought Leader Ads to promote posts from employees.
- Add captions to video.
Budget and bidding
- Bid options include maximum delivery, cost cap, and manual bidding.
- LinkedIn clicks usually cost more than on other social platforms. Plan budget around cost per qualified lead, not cost per click.
- Use campaign group budgets to cap total program spend.
Review cadence
- Weekly: spend, frequency, cost per lead, and lead quality from sales.
- Every two weeks: creative fatigue; rotate in new ads.
- Quarterly: update company lists and targeting based on pipeline results.
Pre-launch checklist
- Insight Tag verified on all pages.
- Conversions created and Conversions API connected (if used).
- Lead Gen Form sync to CRM tested.
- Matched audiences built and above 300 members.
- Audience expansion set on purpose for each campaign.
- Creative reviewed by brand and legal; video captioned.
- UTM parameters on all URLs.
- Budgets and end dates set.