Are LinkedIn ads more expensive?

LinkedIn advertising has become an increasingly popular channel for businesses looking to reach professionals and recruit candidates. However, some marketers may be hesitant to invest in LinkedIn ads due to perceptions that they are more expensive than other digital ad platforms.

Why Would LinkedIn Ads Be More Expensive?

There are a few potential reasons why LinkedIn ads may have a reputation for higher costs:

• Highly targeted audience: LinkedIn allows advertisers to target users by job title, company, industry, skills, and other professional criteria. This advanced targeting comes at a premium.
• High income audience: The LinkedIn audience tends to be higher income professionals with more disposable income. Advertisers pay more to reach this attractive demographic.
• Auction-based pricing: Like Google and Facebook ads, LinkedIn uses an auction-based pricing model where advertisers bid against each other for ad placement. Strong competition drives up prices.
• Inventory limitations: LinkedIn has a smaller pool of advertising inventory compared to other networks, which can lead to constrained supply and higher prices for in-demand placement.

What Do LinkedIn Advertising Cost Metrics Look Like?

Here is an overview of LinkedIn advertising cost metrics:

• CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions): Avg. $8-$12 for desktop feed ads, avg. $4-$8 for mobile feed ads, avg. $3-$7 for right-hand rail ads
• CPC (cost per click): Avg. $8-$15 for desktop feed ads, avg. $6-$12 for mobile feed ads, avg. $3-$8 for right-hand rail ads
• CPA (cost per conversion): Avg. $100-$200+ for lead gen forms, software trials, content downloads, signups

The most expensive ad placements tend to be the desktop feed ads since they get high visibility in the middle of the LinkedIn feed. Right-hand rail ads are cheaper on a CPM and CPC basis. Overall, LinkedIn CPMs and CPCs are on the higher end compared to platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

How Does LinkedIn Ad Cost Compare To Other Networks?

Here is a comparison of average CPM and CPC rates across major digital advertising platforms:

As the data shows, LinkedIn’s CPM and CPC rates are consistently higher than other top digital platforms. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean LinkedIn ads are unaffordable or not worthwhile. The ability to precisely target the professional audience often makes the higher costs justifiable.

When Are Higher LinkedIn Ad Costs Justified?

Here are some scenarios where paying LinkedIn’s higher CPM and CPC rates can be advantageous:

• Targeting highly specialized roles: If trying to reach an extremely niche professional title or skillset, LinkedIn’s targeting makes it worth the premium price.
• Generating high-value leads: For B2B companies, the quality prospects on LinkedIn may warrant higher costs per lead.
• Recruiting top talent: Employers pay more to target passive candidates not actively job searching on other channels.
• Promoting business events: Conferences, seminars, and events benefit from targeting relevant professionals.
• Driving visits from quality companies: Brands paying more for visits from reputable corporations and buyer organizations.

In short, the higher LinkedIn advertising costs often deliver proportionate value by zeroing in on the most relevant audiences.

Tips for Lowering LinkedIn Ad Costs

If paying LinkedIn’s relatively high ad prices is not viable, here are some tips to potentially lower costs:

• Narrow targeting: Minimize target audience size to lower competition and auction prices.
• Adjust bid strategy: Consider manual bidding or cost cap campaigns vs. auto-bidding.
• Test less expensive ad formats: Text ads and dynamic ads can be more affordable.
• Analyze performance: Identify highest converting audiences and placements to allocate budget efficiently.
• Promote content natively: Posting free content can generate interest from followers vs. running ads.
• Advertise on other platforms: Supplement with lower-cost Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Quora ads.

Optimizing ad targeting, analyzing data, testing different options, and diversifying beyond LinkedIn ads can help manage overall campaign costs.

Conclusion

In most cases, LinkedIn advertising does carry higher CPM and CPC rates compared to other top digital platforms. However, this pricing differential comes from LinkedIn’s unique value in reaching a highly engaged professional audience. With the right messaging and audience targeting, LinkedIn’s premium ad products can still drive an impressive ROI despite higher costs. Brands that solely focus on CPMs or CPCs without evaluating conversion value and ROI may miss out on LinkedIn’s advantages. Approaching LinkedIn ads strategically and diversifying beyond LinkedIn when necessary can help balance costs and results.