1. Targeting by age on LinkedIn is a bad idea
Most people assume LinkedIn knows their age. It doesn’t. Unlike platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn never asks for your birth date. Instead, it guesses—mostly from graduation years. But that’s unreliable. People take career breaks, switch industries, or study on different timelines.
If you’re targeting by age, you’re flying blind. You might be excluding high-value prospects simply because their education path was nontraditional. Instead, target by years of experience. Experience level is a far better indicator of decision-making power. A five-year veteran in enterprise software isn’t the same as a fresh graduate in the same field. Experience tells you who influences budgets, makes calls, and moves deals forward.
Want precision? Layer job function and seniority on top of experience. This narrows your audience to the right decision-makers—without relying on LinkedIn’s age guesswork.
2. LinkedIn’s audience expansion is wasting your budget
LinkedIn’s Audience Expansion feature sounds good—automatically broadening your ad reach. But here’s the problem: it can dilute targeting and send ads to people who barely fit your ideal customer profile (ICP). If you’re not careful, you’re spending ad dollars on people who will never convert.
The smarter play? Predictive audiences. Instead of expanding based on loose connections, predictive audiences use real engagement data to find high-value prospects. This includes:
- Lead forms (people who have already expressed interest)
- Uploaded contact and company lists (your most valuable targets)
- Conversion-based signals (people taking action on your site)
- Retargeting (past visitors who didn’t convert—yet)
This method keeps precision high while lowering cost-per-click (CPC). I’ve seen match rates hit 90%+—that’s targeted reach at scale. The takeaway? Don’t let LinkedIn decide who sees your ads. Use predictive audiences, and stay in control.
3. LinkedIn Audience Network (LAN) could be hurting your brand
Running ads beyond LinkedIn seems like a no-brainer—broader reach, same great targeting. But there’s a catch: bad placements and inaccurate targeting.
Here’s what happens. LinkedIn extends your ads to external sites and apps. But without a block list, your ad could end up next to questionable content—or on a site that has nothing to do with your industry. Worse, when people browse these third-party sites, LinkedIn often guesses who they are because they’re not logged in. That means your carefully curated ABM (Account-Based Marketing) list? Could be getting diluted fast.
To stay on track:
- Use a block list—Filter out low-quality sites.
- Leverage existing programmatic tools—If your team runs Google Display Network, use their negative placements.
- Regularly check placement reports—Cut out sites that aren’t performing.
LAN can work, but only if you put the right safeguards in place. Otherwise, you’re better off keeping your ads inside LinkedIn’s ecosystem.
4. The LinkedIn insight tag fix
LinkedIn gives you data. You just have to use it. The LinkedIn Insight Tag is your best friend for tracking conversions—but too many teams skip it. They either assume it’s hard to set up (it’s not) or that LinkedIn doesn’t offer much post-click data (it does).
With a single snippet of code, you unlock:
- Automatic website action tracking—Page visits, button clicks, and form fills.
- Conversion tracking—Measure who takes meaningful actions.
- Remarketing capabilities—Follow up with users who engaged but didn’t convert.
- Exclusion audiences—Stop showing ads to people who already bought your product.
Unlike Facebook or Google, you don’t need extra event setup. Install the Insight Tag once, and LinkedIn handles the rest. If you’re serious about LinkedIn Ads, this is non-negotiable.
5. One ad format won’t cut it
Most brands stick to one LinkedIn ad format—usually static image ads. You need the right tools for the job. Two formats that more advertisers should be using:
- Document ads: Think of these like carousel ads—but for actual content. They work well for whitepapers, case studies, or reports. Mistakes to avoid? Don’t upload a random PDF. Most PDFs are built for desktops, but 80% of LinkedIn users browse on mobile. Format accordingly. Also, don’t gate content too early. If you ask for an email before providing value, people bounce. Offer enough up front to hook them.
- Thought leader ads: These let real people—employees, clients, partners—speak for your brand. Executives and decision-makers engage more with personal content than corporate ads. When an actual person shares insights, it feels authentic, not promotional.
Final note—Every ad format has its place. Static image ads are fine, but if you’re ignoring document and thought leader ads, you’re leaving engagement (and revenue) on the table.
Key executive takeaways
- Targeting by age leads to inaccurate reach: LinkedIn does not collect age data, relying instead on flawed graduation year estimates. Targeting by years of experience makes sure ads reach decision-makers with real influence.
- Audience expansion can waste ad spend: LinkedIn’s default expansion settings push ads to loosely related users, diluting targeting. Use predictive audiences to maintain precision while scaling effectively.
- Unfiltered LinkedIn audience network hurts brand safety: Ads can appear on low-quality sites or misaligned content. Use block lists and vetted placements to keep ads in brand-safe environments.
- Failing to track website actions reduces ROI: Without the LinkedIn Insight Tag, conversion tracking and remarketing suffer. Install it early to measure engagement and optimize campaigns.
- Relying on one ad format limits engagement: Static image ads alone won’t drive strong results. Diversify with document ads and thought leader content to improve credibility and reach.
