It’s been a long wait but after much beta testing, LinkedIn now offers self-service PPC ads. ‘LinkedIn Ads’ as it’s been named, allows advertisers to target LinkedIn users similar to the way Facebook currently permits advertisers to target users based on shared information. The three areas you will now be offered to target are exact job title, company name and LinkedIn group level.
Originally in 2008, LinkedIn DirectAds launched which allowed advertisers to target by geographic location, job function, industry, company size, seniority, age and gender. Now with LinkedIn Ads advertisers will have even more opportunities to directly place ads where they would potentially have the most impact. LinkedIn reports that in initial tests, click-through rates have been three to four times greater for clients who distributed targeted ads compared to the site’s average.
Although LinkedIn has been criticized for their expensive ads, this type of targeting is what makes advertising on Facebook so appealing. Hopefully it will have the same appeal for companies to advertise on LinkedIn.
