There’s no denying that social media platforms have changed the ad game forever, and while LinkedIn Ads might be a relatively new fish in the school when compared to giants like Google, it’s already made strides.
This is the go-to platform for B2B businesses wanting to generate leads, because that’s specifically what its ad structure was designed for. I run a paid ads agency, so I have seen firsthand the results that LinkedIn Ads can have.
That being said, LinkedIn Ads are a type of paid advertising, which has many people hesitating. Spending money on an advertising campaign can feel like a daunting idea, especially when there are so many free advertising options available. That being said, LinkedIn’s advertising process really isn’t that complicated. In this post, I’m going to break down exactly how the LinkedIn Ads payment system works.
P.S. I also have a blog post covering the topic of when LinkedIn will charge you for your ads, so you can click here to read that if you’re interested in learning more about the billing frequency.
LinkedIn Ads pricing models
The first thing you need to know is how exactly the LinkedIn Ads pricing model works. You will be able to select your chosen option in your LinkedIn advertising campaign manager when setting up your ads. There are a few options, but they’re all quite similar.
- Cost-per-click (CPC): similar to the Google Ads CPC pricing system, if you select this model, you will only be charged for the clicks that your ads receive. If you want to drive website traffic or encourage certain actions, this is a good option for your campaigns.
- Cost-per-impression: with this pricing system, you will be charged for impressions, not clicks. However, since most ads get way more impressions than they do clicks, you will only pay for every one thousand views. This is great if your campaign objective is to increase brand awareness.
- Cost-per-send: this is a less popular option, as it is used for LinkedIn message campaigns. Every time a message ad is sent to a targeted LinkedIn member, you will pay. If you want personalised outreach targeting specific individuals, this could be worth considering.
Everyone's pricing is different
Maybe you were talking to a fellow business owner only to learn that they are paying less for their LinkedIn Ads than you are. That’s because a variety of factors will affect your LinkedIn ad campaign costs, so your pricing will depend on these factors.
Some of these factors include:
- Target audience specificity
- Ad relevance score
- Ad quality (try to opt for engaging ads that accurately reflect your product or service)
- Ad format
- Ad placement
- Bidding strategy (for example, are you using manual bidding as your bidding strategy?)
- Your competition (are there many other advertisers in the same industry as you, or do you have a niche offer?)
Based on these factors, LinkedIn will then work out your cost-per-click (or other system, depending on your chosen payment model) for your ad campaign. You can get more details about this in your LinkedIn Ads campaign manager within your ad account. While you may not have a ton of control over these things, try to focus on the areas where you do have the most control, so that you get the maximum delivery out of a specific ad.
The actual payment
Now that you understand how LinkedIn works out its pricing, you likely want to know how the payment works.
It’s pretty simple: when you set up your LinkedIn Ads billing, you will need to choose your preferred payment method. The two options are:
- Invoicing
- Credit card
When you pay via credit card, you will only be charged once your ad costs hit a specific threshold. In other words, you won’t be charged a tiny bid amount each time someone clicks on your ad, even if you opt for a daily budget over a lifetime budget.
It’s also interesting to note that not everyone qualifies for the invoicing option. LinkedIn requires a credit check for this, which is why the credit card payment option is the most popular. Setting up the billing admin in your ads account is a once-off thing, so make sure that your billing information is correct (although you can always adjust it in the future).
In conclusion
If you had any qualms about how payment for LinkedIn Ads works, I hope that this cleared it up! Luckily with paid ads, you can often set your own ad spend for your ad campaign, so you don’t need to fear any unexpected costs.
If you still feel unsure about the LinkedIn Ads process and would prefer to have a professional LinkedIn Ads agency manage your LinkedIn Ads for you, fill in the form below to get in touch.