There are a few reasons why you may be seeing a particular ad on LinkedIn. LinkedIn displays ads based on your profile information, activity on LinkedIn, and other websites you visit. Advertisers can target their ads to show up for specific members who fit certain criteria like job title, industry, skills, location and more. So if an ad seems tailored just for you, it’s because the advertiser set up their campaign to reach people like yourself.
Some common reasons you might see an ad on LinkedIn include:
Your Profile Details
LinkedIn looks at the information in your profile like your job title, employer, industry, location, and more. Advertisers can choose to target their ads to show for people with certain job titles or in specific industries or locations. So if your profile says you’re a software engineer in San Francisco, you may see more tech job ads or ads aimed at the Bay Area audience.
Pages You Follow or Groups You Join
The pages and groups you follow can also influence the ads you see. Advertisers may choose to target their ads to show for members who follow pages or join groups related to certain topics. So if you follow tech company pages or join IT professional groups, you may see more tech focused ads.
Your Activity on LinkedIn
LinkedIn looks at all your activity on the platform including content you view, engage with, or share. Things like the posts and articles you read and interact with can inform the ads you see. Advertisers may choose to target their ads based on members’ interests inferred from their LinkedIn activity.
Your Website Visits & Online Activity
LinkedIn uses tracking technologies like cookies to collect data on websites you visit and your online activity. And though they don’t have access to all your browsing history, they do gain insights from site visits, searches, clicks and content viewed across the web. Advertisers can choose to target ads based on your inferred online behavior and interests beyond just LinkedIn.
Why You Might See a Particular Ad
There are a few specific reasons why you may be seeing a particular ad at the moment on LinkedIn:
You Recently Visited a Company’s Website
If you’ve recently visited a company’s website, you may soon start seeing their ads following you around online. Many companies use website retargeting to serve ads to people who have visited their sites. So a recent site visit can trigger that company’s ads to appear for you across platforms like LinkedIn.
You Viewed Related Content
Your browsing and viewing behavior on LinkedIn also impacts the ads you see. For example, if you’ve looked at content related to project management recently, you may start seeing ads for project management software or services. Advertisers can choose to target people who have viewed or engaged with related topics.
You’re in the Target Audience
It’s also possible you’re simply in the target demographic and Psychographic profile for that advertiser’s campaign. They may have specified criteria like job title, industry, age range and geographic location that matches your profile and put you in their targeted segment. The ad is designed to appeal to people just like you.
The Ad Campaign is Broadly Targeted
Some advertisers choose to run large campaigns targeting a broad audience and maximize their reach. In those cases, a wide range of LinkedIn members may see their ads without being specifically targeted. You may be seeing the ad simply because they’re running a big campaign without narrow targeting parameters.
How LinkedIn Ads Work
To understand why you see certain ads, it helps to know how LinkedIn’s ad system works:
Ad Auctions
LinkedIn holds automated auctions for ad space on their site where advertisers can bid for their ads to be displayed. Your profile data and activity help determine which ads and related bids you will see.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
Most advertisers bid on a cost per click (CPC) basis, meaning they pay when someone clicks their ad. The amount they’re willing to pay per click affects their ad rankings.
Ad Rank Formula
LinkedIn uses the following ad rank formula to determine which ads appear:
Maximum Bid x Quality Score = Ad Rank
The Quality Score is based on factors like expected clickthrough rate and relevance to the audience. Higher ad ranks surface higher in search results and newsfeeds.
Real-Time Auctions
Whenever a page loads, LinkedIn holds real-time auctions to determine which ads show. Your information helps match and rank relevant ads on the fly as pages load.
Targeting Options
Advertisers choose detailed targeting like job role, industry, interests, and more to put their ads in front of the right audiences. Your profile and activity make it possible to target you.
Ad Targeting Criteria
Here are some common ways advertisers target their LinkedIn ads:
Job Title
Advertisers can target by job title to reach people with relevant roles like software engineers or marketing managers.
Industry
Targeting by industry allows advertisers to appear for professionals in fields like healthcare, finance, retail, etc.
Company
Ads can be targeted to only show for people who work at certain companies that advertisers want to reach.
Location
Geographic targeting makes it possible to show ads to members in specific countries, regions, or areas.
Age
Targeting age ranges allows advertisers to focus their ads on specific demographics like millennials or Gen Z.
Gender
Some advertisers may choose to only reach either male or female members based on their target audience.
Interests
Ads can be targeted based on members’ self-reported interests and also their interests inferred by LinkedIn based on profile and activity data.
Content Engagement
Seeing certain types of content can cause related ads to appear based on topics members engage with.
Ad Preferences
You have some control over the ads you see through your LinkedIn ad preferences:
Demographics
You can choose whether advertisers can target you by demographics like age, gender, and location.
Interests
Select whether to share your LinkedIn profile and activity for targeting ads based on your interests.
Matched Audiences
Opt out of advertisers targeting you using their own customer lists matched to LinkedIn profiles.
Your Advertisers
Block specific advertisers from showing you their ads if you see irrelevant or repetitive ads.
Sensitive Topics
Choose subjects like parenting, health issues, or politics that you don’t want used for ad targeting.
Managing these preferences from your account settings helps control the types of ads you see across LinkedIn.
Examples of Targeted Ads
Here are some examples of how the ad targeting criteria can work:
| Ad Targeting | Potential Ads You Might See |
| Job title: Software Engineer | Tech company job ads |
| Industry: Healthcare | Healthcare products and services |
| Company: Microsoft | Microsoft 365, Azure, Surface offers |
| Location: New York City | NYC startup job ads |
| Interest: Running | Running watch, shoe, and gear deals |
Seeing an ad targeted to your job title, industry, company, location or interests is a sign the advertiser configured their campaign to reach a specific audience like yourself.
Optimizing Ad Targeting
Here are some tips for advertisers looking to optimize their LinkedIn ad targeting:
Target Specific Titles & Seniority
Focus on job titles and experience levels most relevant to your offering rather than targeting all jobs generically.
Leverage Detailed Targeting Options
Use LinkedIn’s robust professional targeting for dimensions like industry, job function, skills, company size and more.
Emphasize Quality Relevance
Aim for the tightest targeting that delivers your ads to the audiences that will find them most relevant.
Analyze Performance Data
Review analytics to see which target dimensions drive the highest clickthrough rates and conversion value from your ads.
Refine Based on Insights
Iterate to refine your targeting over time based on the data-driven insights from your LinkedIn ad performance.
Consider Layering
Try combining different targeting criteria for smaller niche audiences – like industry plus job function plus seniority.
Optimized targeting ensures your ads are delivered to the professional audiences that will derive the most value from your messaging and offering.
Conclusion
In summary, LinkedIn ads are targeted based on your profile details, activity both on and off LinkedIn, pages and groups you follow or join, your website visits, and more. Advertisers choose targeting criteria to put their ads in front of relevant audiences at the right moment when they’re most likely to engage. You may be seeing a particular ad because the advertiser configured their campaign to reach people like yourself. And you can control the types of ads you see to some extent through your LinkedIn ad preference settings. Optimized ad targeting ultimately helps deliver content and opportunities to LinkedIn members that align with their professional interests and goals.