How Much Does LinkedIn Advertising Cost in 2023?
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Keep reading to learn more about how much LinkedIn ads costs. On this page, we’ll discuss the cost of advertising on LinkedIn and how to run an ad for your business.
If you need help creating an effective LinkedIn advertising campaign, consider working with WebFX. We’ve managed 650 ad campaigns for our clients, and we’ve generated over $3 billion in revenue for our clients in the last five years through our various digital marketing services. Call us today at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist or request a proposal online today.
P.S. Learn how to strategically budget for LinkedIn advertising with our nifty (and free!) budget management guide!
How much does it cost to advertise on LinkedIn?
While LinkedIn advertising costs vary by the advertiser, LinkedIn does require companies to bid a minimum of $2 for cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-mille (CPM) campaigns. On average, however, businesses pay $5.26 per click and $6.59 per 1000 impressions, as well as $0.80 per send for Sponsored InMail campaigns.
[Summary] LinkedIn advertising costs
Get a complete summary of LinkedIn advertising costs with this handy table:
| Bid Type | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| CPC | $5.26 per click |
| CPM | $6.59 per 1,000 impressions |
| CPS | $0.80 per send |
What determines your LinkedIn advertising costs? Keep reading to learn more about how much it costs to advertise on LinkedIn, as well as how to make cost-effective LinkedIn ad campaigns!
According to LinkedIn, three factors influence your LinkedIn advertising costs:
- Target audience: When you advertise on LinkedIn, you compete with other advertisers to get your ad seen. If you target an audience in high demand, you can expect higher costs because of that audience’s value and increased competition for that audience’s attention.
- Bid: Your bid will also impact your LinkedIn ad costs. That’s because, while you won’t ever exceed your bid, you will pay a portion of it. That’s because LinkedIn’s ad auction has the auction winner pay one cent more than the next highest bid.
- Ad relevance score: When it comes to LinkedIn advertising costs, ad relevance scores play a tremendous role. A high ad relevance score can lower your expenses because LinkedIn wants to serve users relevant and engaging ads.
Understanding these ad cost factors can help you lower your LinkedIn ad costs.
What bidding options are available for LinkedIn ads?
There are three different bidding options available for LinkedIn ads:
- Cost-per-click (CPC): You pay when people click on your LinkedIn ad. This is a great option if you want to drive valuable traffic to your page and earn leads.
- Cost-per-impression (CPM): With this model, you pay for every 1000 impressions. When people see your ad, you pay for them to view it, but not interact with it. The goal with these types of ads is to drive brand awareness.
- Cost-per-send (CPS): CPS is another pricing model available to your business. This model is used when you send information through sponsored InMail. With this form of advertisement, your information goes directly to leads in their LinkedIn mailbox.
These are the different types of pricing models you can use for your LinkedIn campaign. These models will impact the price and the cost of your campaign. When you run a campaign, you must know which model you want to use.
Keep in mind that only some bidding options are available for specific ads. Use this table as a reference:
| Ad Type | Bidding Options |
|---|---|
| Sponsored Content | CPC, CPM |
| Text Ads | CPC, CPM |
| Sponsored InMail | CPS |
How can you control your ad spend on LinkedIn?
There are three ways you can control ad spend on LinkedIn:
- Lifetime budget: This is the best model if you want a campaign delivered fast for a specific budget. For a new, inactive campaign, the minimum lifetime budget is $100. Once the campaign begins, the minimum adjusts to $10 times the numbers of days for which the campaign is scheduled.
- Daily budget: If you want to set up a campaign that’s always on and running, daily budget is the way to go. You need to spend a minimum of $10 per day for this option.
- Setting bids: With this option, you set the amount you’re willing to pay for clicks, impressions, and other options. You never pay more than the bid amount. You can bid a minimum of $2 for each click.
You must decide which ad spend plan you want. The goals of your campaign should align with the pricing model you choose.
For instance, if you’re looking to gain new leads, setting a bid amount will drive the best campaign results for your business. You’ll only pay when people click on your ad, which indicates that they are interested in your business.
Regardless of which ad type you choose, the amount you pay is based on your budget. If you’ve ever run a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign, these LinkedIn ads work similarly. You have a set budget and you only spend the amount you budget.
This means that your money is going towards the goal that is most important to your business, whether it’s impressions or clicks.
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How do I set up a LinkedIn ad?
To start running your LinkedIn advertising campaign, you must go through the Campaign Manager. The Campaign Manager is a self-service advertising platform that you will use to run your advertisements. This platform helps you deliver highly relevant and targeted messages to your unique audience.
Here are the steps you can take to set up your LinkedIn Ad.
1. Choose your ad type
There are three ways you can advertise on LinkedIn:
- Sponsored content: This is the most common type of content on LinkedIn. These ads appear in your audience’s newsfeed. They blend seamlessly into the newsfeed.
- Sponsored InMail: When you use InMail advertising, you send a sponsored message to specific leads you think would be interested in your business. Many times, businesses will use this as an opportunity to reach candidates for job openings or event them to industry-related events.
- Text ads: These ads are similar to display ads you run through AdWords. They typically appear on the sidebar of LinkedIn.
To start your campaign, you must decide which advertising style you want to use. Each offers their own unique reach for your business.
Once you choose the type of ad you want to run, you can start setting it up. A LinkedIn account and a credit card are all it takes to run an advertising campaign on LinkedIn.
2. Set your targeting options
Once you know the type of ad you want to run, you must set up your target audience. Ensure that you target the right people so you can create a more effective campaign.
LinkedIn offers numerous targeting options for your business. You can target people by:
- Company name
- Company size
- Industry
- Job title
- Job function
- Job seniority
- Member skills
- Member schools
- Degree
- Field of study
You can have a maximum of 100 selections per targeting option. LinkedIn gives you a plethora of information for you to target valuable leads.
When you set your targeted audience, you can also use matched audiences to generate a list of people to target. This matched audience information allows you to run account-based marketing campaigns.
Matched audiences allow you to match and target a list of contacts. If there are people you know are interested in your business, you can use matched audiences to find people who have similar interests.
This is a great way to match and target your lists of contacts. You can deliver more tailored content that gets them to engage with your business.
3. Set your budget
Once your ad is ready, you’ll want to set your budget. Whenever you run an advertising campaign, you must determine how much you’re willing to spend on that campaign.
With LinkedIn, you only have to meet the minimum amount to run your campaign. Other than that, you choose how much you want to spend to run your ad.
If you have a bigger budget for your ad campaign, you will get more out of it. You’ll obtain more traffic and leads for your business.
4. Track your campaign
Once you set your budget and choose your ad type, you will launch your campaign. As soon as you launch it, you’ll want to monitor your ad’s performance. It’s important that you’re getting the most out of your budget.
You can see how your overall ad performance looks. It’s an opportunity to monitor social actions to see how your audience interacts with your ad. You’ll see how many people see them, click on them, or convert from your link.
If you’re running multiple campaigns, you can view their performance all in the same place. It can help you compare each ad campaign’s performance and see how you can improve your low-performance campaigns.
All this information will help give insight into how you can edit your ads, adjust your target audience, and refine your budget.
5. Test your ads
If you want to create the best ad campaign for your business, you must test your ads. It is rare that the first version you put out of your ad is the best version. By testing your ad, you’ll ensure that you put out the best version of your ad to drive the most valuable results.
When you test your ads, you can test different parts of your ad. Whether it’s a big or small change, always test different elements to see if they drive better results for your campaign.
As you’re testing your ad, ensure that you only test one element at a time. You don’t want your results to get muddled by testing too many elements. Testing one element at a time will help you see if the changes you are making positively or negatively impact your campaign.
By testing your ad, you’ll put out the best version of your ad and drive valuable results for your business.
Optimize your LinkedIn ad costs with WebFX
If you’re looking for a way to help your business reach new people and expose them to your brand, LinkedIn is the answer. This social business platform will help you connect with people that are looking for a business like yours. At WebFX, we have years of experience creating social media advertising campaigns.
We’re a full-service social media marketing company that specializes in LinkedIn advertising. Our team of over 500 experts will bring their knowledge and expertise to your campaign. We’ll help you create a campaign that works for your business.
If you’re looking for a social media expert that knows how to drive results, look no further than WebFX. In the past five years, we’ve driven over $3 billion in sales and over 7.8 million leads for our clients. We focus on creating campaigns that grow your business.
Don’t believe us? Just ask our clients! Check out our 1000+ client testimonials that attest to the awesome work we do!
Get started with LinkedIn advertising today
If you’re ready to start earning valuable leads through LinkedIn advertising, request a free proposal online or call us today at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist.
