LinkedIn Targeting for Microsoft Advertising Search Campaigns

We at Metric Theory have long advocated for testing (or retesting) running ads on the Bing network, especially for B2B advertisers that have seen varying quality of traffic in the past. Changes in the platform and search market are constant, so retesting for updated data makes sense. With the advent of LinkedIn targeting available through Microsoft Advertising, now more than ever is the time to get in front of that hyper-targeted audience you cannot reach on other search networks.

To paint a picture of the search potential, take a look at some updated numbers from Microsoft Advertising Insights:

That’s a lot of searches. So, how can you get in front of your most qualified audiences? Enter LinkedIn profile targeting. You can now target by company name, industry, and job function.

Fantastic! Now you may be wondering, how do I use these lists to my best advantage? You have some options here:

• We recommend starting by overlaying relevant company, industry and/or job function targeting over your search campaigns at a 0% bid modifier. This way, you’ll start gathering data without committing to changes in volume or spend just yet. Keep in mind that certain audience sizes might be small.
• If there are certain segments you know are your target audience, and you are willing to pay more for them, you can determine where to increase or shift your budget to get in front of those audiences that drive more business. For successful targeting, you’ll likely see lower CPAs and/or higher conversion rates. You also have the ability to increase bids for users that fall into this targeting segment.

Attention B2C advertisers! Though this LinkedIn targeting ability is especially exciting for B2B businesses, it can also be advantageous for B2C and ecommerce companies. You can get creative here to find industries that are relevant to your target demographic. For example, one comfort footwear client sees strong performance from the Hospital & Health Care industry since these people are on their feet most of the day.

Below are results from some of our own clients. When comparing the Industry Targeting audience performance to the entire account average, we saw promising efficiency gains in KPIs.

Metric Theory Client Results – Industry Targeting:

Lower CPAs, higher conversion rates, and higher ROAS (for those tracking direct revenue), make it easy to increase or redistribute investment to these highly qualified audiences.

If you’re not yet seeing these targeting options in your account (found in the Demographics tab), ask your friendly Bing rep to opt your account into this open beta. Happy targeting!