LinkedIn conversion tracking allows you to track conversions from your LinkedIn ads and pages. It helps you understand how your LinkedIn marketing efforts are driving leads and customers. Many marketers wonder – is LinkedIn conversion tracking free or do you have to pay for it?
The short answer
Yes, LinkedIn conversion tracking is free. You don’t have to pay anything extra to track conversions from your LinkedIn ads and pages.
How does LinkedIn conversion tracking work?
LinkedIn conversion tracking works by placing a tracking pixel on your website. This pixel fires whenever someone lands on your site after interacting with your LinkedIn ad or page.
Here’s how it works step-by-step:
- You create a LinkedIn ad or optimize your LinkedIn page for conversions
- Someone clicks on your ad or page on LinkedIn
- They get sent to your website
- The LinkedIn tracking pixel on your site fires and tracks the conversion
- The conversion gets attributed to your LinkedIn ad or page in your LinkedIn Campaign Manager
So essentially, the LinkedIn pixel tracks whenever someone converts after clicking from LinkedIn to your website. It lets you see how many leads and customers your LinkedIn marketing generates.
What types of conversions can you track?
You can track several types of conversions with LinkedIn’s free conversion tracking:
- Page visits
- Button clicks
- Form fills
- Content downloads
- Purchases
- Sign-ups
- Custom events through the API
So whether your goal is getting visits, leads, or sales, LinkedIn’s conversion tracking has you covered.
How to set up LinkedIn conversion tracking
Setting up LinkedIn conversion tracking is simple and only takes a few steps:
- Copy the LinkedIn Insight Tag tracking code
- Paste the code on every page you want to track conversions on
- Test that the code is working correctly
- Track conversions in your LinkedIn Campaign Manager
LinkedIn makes it super easy to find the tracking code in your Campaign Manager. Just go to the LinkedIn Insight Tag section and copy the code snippet.
Then paste the code on your website pages before the closing tag. Make sure to test the code is working on a test page before rolling it out site-wide.
Finally, you’ll start seeing your website conversion data being tracked in Campaign Manager within a couple of days. No further setup needed.
What conversion data can you see?
With LinkedIn conversion tracking, you get access to detailed conversion data for your ads and pages. Here are some of the key conversion metrics you can see:
- Number of total conversions
- Conversion rate
- Conversion value
- Cost per conversion
- Conversion types (e.g. page visit, download, purchase etc.)
- Top converting ads and pages
You can segment this conversion data by time period, campaign, ad set, ad, and audience. This lets you see your top and bottom performing assets.
The best part? All this data is available for free within your LinkedIn Campaign Manager.
Benefits of LinkedIn conversion tracking
Here are some of the main benefits of using LinkedIn’s free conversion tracking:
Optimizes your LinkedIn marketing
By seeing which ads and pages drive the most conversions, you can double down on what’s working. Kill off any underperforming assets to improve results.
Provides full-funnel visibility
You get visibility into conversions at every stage – from initial clicks and visits to leads and sales. Optimize for the conversions that matter most to your business.
Helps calculate your LinkedIn ROI
By tracking both conversions and costs, you can calculate your LinkedIn return on ad spend (ROAS). See how much revenue is being generated per dollar spent.
No extra fees or charges
Since it’s free, there’s zero additional cost to use LinkedIn’s conversion tracking compared to other paid tools.
Easy setup and maintenance
It only takes a few minutes to install the LinkedIn pixel and start tracking conversions across your site. Ongoing maintenance is minimal.
Limitations of LinkedIn conversion tracking
Although LinkedIn conversion tracking is free and powerful, there are some limitations to be aware of:
Cookie duration
The LinkedIn conversion tracking cookie lasts for 30 days. This means conversions are tracked for up to 30 days after someone clicks on your ad or page on LinkedIn. Any conversions after 30 days are not tracked.
Cross-device tracking
LinkedIn’s tracking pixel only works on the same device. It does not track users across multiple devices. So conversions across devices are counted separately.
Advanced functionality requires Campaign Manager
More advanced reporting and segmentation options require upgrading to LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager tool (starts at $50/month).
JavaScript required
The LinkedIn Insight Tag uses JavaScript, so tracking won’t work if the user has JavaScript disabled in their browser.
Limited to website conversions
LinkedIn conversion tracking only works for conversions on your website. It doesn’t track offline conversions or conversions in mobile apps.
LinkedIn conversion tracking vs Google Analytics
Both LinkedIn conversion tracking and Google Analytics can track website conversions for free. But there are some key differences:
| Metric | LinkedIn Conversion Tracking | Google Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Conversions from LinkedIn specifically | Conversions across all channels |
| Pixel required? | Yes | Yes |
| Cookie duration | 30 days | 2 years |
| Cross-device tracking | No | Yes |
| Full LinkedIn integration | Yes | No |
| Advanced segmentation | With Campaign Manager | Yes |
So LinkedIn provides better visibility into your LinkedIn campaigns, while Google Analytics offers more advanced functionality overall. Many marketers use both to get a complete view.
Conclusion
In summary, LinkedIn conversion tracking is available at no extra cost to LinkedIn advertisers. It provides an easy way to track website conversions from your LinkedIn ads and pages.
The key takeaways are:
- LinkedIn conversion tracking is completely free to use.
- It works by installing a tracking pixel on your website.
- You can track conversions like visits, downloads, leads, and sales.
- It helps optimize your LinkedIn campaigns and calculate LinkedIn ROI.
- Setup only takes a few minutes, with minimal ongoing maintenance.
So if you’re advertising on LinkedIn, be sure to take advantage of their free conversion tracking. It’s an invaluable tool for maximizing your LinkedIn ad performance and demonstrating LinkedIn’s impact on your business.
With accurate conversion tracking in place, you can invest in LinkedIn ads with confidence knowing your spending is generating a strong ROI.
I hope this overview helps explain what LinkedIn conversion tracking is, how it works, and the benefits it provides. Let me know if you have any other questions!