Audience targeting for LinkedIn campaigns in Ad Manager

Audience targeting defines who will see your LinkedIn ads. Ad Manager gives you powerful controls to build precise audiences while keeping the setup intuitive.

This article explains geographic targeting, intended audience attributes and how include/exclude rules with AND/OR logic work together.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Geographic Targeting (Mandatory)
• Intended Audiences (Optional)
  • Attribute Categories Available
• Include & Exclude
• Attribute Groups and Logic
• Example: Building an Audience
• Best Practices

Geographic Targeting (Mandatory)

Every LinkedIn campaign must have at least one geographic location selected.

• You can include or exclude countries, states, regions or cities.

• Search for locations in the field and add them as chips.

• Use the dropdown next to each chip to toggle Include or Exclude.

Tip: Start with broader geographies (e.g., country) if your audience pool is small. Narrow down only when you need more precision.

Intended Audiences (Optional)

Beyond location, you can refine your targeting by selecting professional attributes. These attributes let you reach people based on their LinkedIn profiles.

Attribute Categories Available

• Company : Industry, Company Size, Growth Lists (e.g., Fortune 500).

• Demographics : Age, Gender (if supported by LinkedIn).

• Job Experience : Job Titles, Seniority, Job Function.

• Education : Fields of Study, Degrees, Schools.

• Interests & Traits : Professional interests, behaviors.

Include & Exclude

Each attribute can be included (target these people) or excluded (filter them out).

• Include Example: Target “Marketing Managers” in the SaaS industry.

• Exclude Example: Remove “Interns” or “Students” to refine your reach.

Attribute Groups and Logic

We supports up to 3 attribute groups.

• Inside a group : Attributes follow OR logic.

  • Example: Job Title = Marketing Manager OR Director.

• Between groups : Groups follow AND logic.

  • Example: (Job Title = Marketing Manager OR Director) AND (Industry = Healthcare).

This allows you to layer multiple targeting rules without overcomplicating the setup.

Example: Building an Audience

Here’s how it looks in practice:

1. Group 1 (Include):

   • Job Title = “General Manager” OR “Project Manager”

   • Field of Study = “Engineering”

2. Group 2 (Include):

   • School = “Harvard Business School”

   • Member Group = “Amazon AWS Architects”

Result: Ads will only reach people who match at least one attribute in Group 1 AND one attribute in Group 2.

Best Practices

• Always set location first : campaigns cannot run without it.

• Start broad, refine later : if the audience is too small, delivery may suffer.

• Avoid overusing Exclude : it may shrink the audience pool too much.

• Use OR within groups for flexibility : combine similar roles, industries or skills.

• Use AND across groups for precision : layer role + industry + company size.

• Aim for at least 50,000+ audience size for optimal LinkedIn delivery.