Key Takeaways
Promoting via LinkedIn can provide valuable leads for B2B companies if the advertiser continuously tests different strategies.
To be in control of the cost and effectiveness of the leads, the advertiser should use a methodical experimental approach with the different ad features provided by LinkedIn.
Audience and geographic targeting, creative and advertising bid strategies and formats, and the landing page.
To ensure the highest ROI, the advertiser should refrain from the use of soft metrics for measuring success by using data-driven A/B testing.
Companies that systematize testing of LinkedIn Ads reporting structures should anticipate pipeline growth and improved efficiency in marketing.
B2B LinkedIn Ads Tests to Run for Better ROI
When it comes to B2B marketing, advertising on LinkedIn has become one of the most effective channels. The target market is over 900 million users, and LinkedIn enables marketers to reach specific decision-making professionals by job title, company size, industry and even individual professional interests. However, the majority of LinkedIn advertising campaigns are launched with no testing structure, resulting in budget waste and advertising under performance.
Running Essential B2B LinkedIn Ads Tests to Run for Better ROI doubles as a method to maximize performance and boost marketing efficiency. Through testing, marketers can discover which audience segments show the best response, which professionals they can engage with, and which ad formats generate the most qualified leads.
It is hard to understand why some campaigns succeed while others fail without systematic testing. By varying ad elements and measuring outcomes, businesses can improve their LinkedIn advertising strategy.
This document details the LinkedIn Ads tests that B2B marketers can utilize to enhance the performance of their campaigns, reduce the cost of acquiring leads, and improve the quality of leads.
Why Testing is Essential for B2B LinkedIn Advertising
B2B marketing is characterized by longer sales cycles, as well as a greater number of decision-makers and more complex processes compared to marketing directed to customers. Buyers often review and compare several alternatives before finalizing their purchase decisions.
Marketers use testing to understand:
Which segments of professionals are most responsive
Which messages best engage decision-makers
Which ad formats drive the most engagement
Which bidding strategies are the most cost-effective
The reliance on testing is to avoid relying on assumptions as opposed to actual performance data.
The advantages of systematic LinkedIn Ads testing include:
- Greater click-through rates (CTR)
Elevated cost per lead (CPL)
Enhanced lead quality
Greater alignment between ads and audience intent
Greater marketing ROI
B2B marketers that continually test campaign components have been shown to significantly increase their conversion rates, according to incremental optimizations research published by HubSpot.
The LinkedIn B2B Advertising Funnel
Before launching tests and experiments, an important component of LinkedIn advertising that marketers should take into consideration is the B2B advertising funnel.
Top of Funnel (Awareness)
The goal of this phase is to familiarize prospective buyers with a company or offering.
Common ad goals include:
Brand awareness
Website visits
Engagement with content
Common content used is
Reports from the industry
Articles that educate
Content from industry leaders
Middle of Funnel (Consideration)
The most important phase is when prospective buyers are actively weighing their potential options There are a number of relevant goals for campaigns at this phase such as:
Generation of leads
Registrations for webinars
Downloads of whitepapers
The following materials are most useful:
Studies of cases
Guides for product comparison
Webinars for education
Bottom of Funnel (Conversion)
The last and most important phase is aimed at transforming potential buyers into actual customers.
The most effective campaigns at this phase are aimed at:
Demonstrations of products
Free trials
Listing of available time for phone consultations
The most tested ads at the above bottom funnel stages are aimed at ensuring campaigns are in line with convert potential leads into actual buyers and achieve the highest possible number of conversions.
Crucial B2B LinkedIn Ads Tests for Optimal ROI
From a methodological standpoint, the cornerstone of successful LinkedIn ad campaigns is structured experimentation. B2B marketers should prioritize the following tests.
- Tests for Audience Targeting
One of the strongest advantages of LinkedIn Ads is audience targeting. However, too broad or too narrow targeting can lead to a decrease in overall campaign effectiveness.
Audience targeting also provides the ability to dial in on certain professional segments that will be most responsive.
Aspects to be Tested
Job Title vs Job Function
Size of Company
Industry
Seniority
Geography
Example Test Group Structure
Test Group A:
Job Titles: Marketing Director, VP Marketing
Test Group B:
Job Function: Marketing
Seniority: Director and Above
Audience Testing Benefits
Identify high-intent professionals
Reduce impressions
Lead quality improvements
Many marketers find that targeting job functions paired with a seniority level performs much better than targeting a position by job title.
- Testing of Ad Formats
Depending on the goal of the campaign, different ad formats will work better than others. LinkedIn offers a wide variety of ad formats to choose from.
Common Ad Formats on LinkedIn
Sponsored Content
Video Ads
Carousel Ads
Message Ads
Conversation Ads
Lead Gen Forms
Testing Strategy
Launch a series of identical campaigns, each with a different ad format.
Example:
Campaign A: Sponsored Image Ad
Campaign B: Video Ad
Campaign C: Carousel Ad
Insights From Format Testing
Testing determines:
Which format has the highest CTR
Which format has the highest number of leads
Which format brings the most qualified prospects
In many B2B campaigns, video ads typically create more engagement, but Lead Gen Forms frequently yield more conversions.
- Ad Creative Testing
Ads targeted at professionals must rely on good ad creative to achieve the desired click-through rates.
What to Test
Image type
Color combinations
Graphics organization
Use of People vs. Graphics
Product vs. Abstract Screenshots
Example Creative Tests
Test A: Image of professional team
Test B: Screenshot of product dashboard
Test C: Headline with minimal graphic
Main Takeaways
B2B environments benefit from images of professionals and product interfaces because they offer context.
You can significantly enhance engagement by Creative Testing.
- Ad Copy & Messaging Tests
In environments like LinkedIn Messaging is especially important for grabbing attention.
Elements to Examine
Headlines focused on the problem
Messaging focused on the benefits
Hooks based on questions
Claims supported by data
Messaging Example Tests
Headline A:
‘Having trouble getting quality leads in B2B?’
Headline B:
‘Get B2B leads with 40% higher quality’
How do marketing teams grow LinkedIn lead generation?’
Headlines should be short and to the point
Concentrate on business outcomes
Use data and proof when from clichés, overly promotional language
Targeted messaging that is clear and focused will typically outperform vague, generalized, marketing focused messaging.
Landing Page Tests
Poor landing page experiences, not poorly designed ads, are the real reason that many LinkedIn campaigns fail.
Landing page experiences allow you to test whether visitors convert after interacting with your advertisement.
Aspects to be examined
The design of the page
Excluding the call to action
The social proof
The amount of time it takes for the page to load
Illustration of different landing page designs
Landing Page A:
Product overview with short form
Landing Page B:
Long form with a comprehensive explanation of the product
Landing Page C:
Video demo and short form
The advantages that come with optimizing landing pages
Improved user experience
Decreased cost of acquiring leads
Increased rates of conversion
The companies that do the best in aligning the landing page content with the ad messaging do the best in conversion.
Testing of the generation of leads
To capture leads, LinkedIn’s built-in Lead Gen Forms automatically fill in user information, streamlining the lead capture process.
Form optimization, however, is still essential, even with LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms Streamlining the lead capture process.
Testable Areas
Number of fields
Required vs. optional
Custom questions
Privacy disclaimers
Examples of Forms
Form A:
Name + Email + Company
Form B:
Name + Email + Company + Job Title + Phone
Analysis
Typically, shorter forms yield more submission, but longer forms can also yield higher quality submissions. Finding the sweet spot will depend on testing.
- Bid Strategy Testing
Considering different bidding strategies will result in different costs and performance of your campaign.
Typical Bidding Options
Maximum delivery
Cost per Click
Bid automatically
Strategy
Test manual vs. automated bidding.
Example
Campaign A: Automated bid
Campaign B: Manual bid at CPC
Cost per lead
Clicks
Conversions
Campaign costs can be improved a lot by adjusting your bidding strategy. - Testing Call to Actions
Typical CTA options
Download
Learn more
Register
Get the guide
Book a demo
Method
You can create duplicates of an ad and then swap out the CTA buttons to see how it changes results.
Example:
Ad A: Get More Info
Ad B: Get Your Guide Here
Ad C: Grab The Report
Point of Interest
In B2B, Educational CTAs have shown to perform better than other types of CTAs. This is most likely because people want to learn more before committing to a purchase. - Testing Budget Distribution
Campaigns do not all yield the same results. Testing the distribution of budgets across different campaigns helps pinpoint which campaigns are deserving of a larger share of the budget.
Testing the Budget Distribution
Distribute the budget equally across all campaigns to start with.
Once the campaigns have run for long enough, analyze the data for each campaign, then redistribute the budget towards the campaigns with better results.
Advantages
More ROI
More Efficient Campaigns
Less Money Wasted
Better Budget Distribution
- Testing Retargeting Campaigns
Once a professional has interacted with content or the site, marketers can use retargeting to market to them again, which can lead to higher conversion rates than other campaigns.
Retargeting segments to test:
Website visitors
Video viewers
Lead form openers
Event attendees
Retargeting Ads
Ad A: Case study
Ad B: Product demo
Ad C: Customer testimonials
Due to the audience’s prior familiarity with the brand, retargeting campaigns often yield the highest ROI. A B2B SaaS company running LinkedIn campaigns for enterprise clients was able to optimize their ads through structured testing.First campaign metrics include the following:
Cost per lead (CPL): $120
Conversion rate: 3%
After multiple testing efforts focused on audience segmentation, ad format, and landing page impacted, the company achieved:
CPL: $65
Conversion rate: 7%
Improvements achieved in the course of increases in advertising budget.
Important LinkedIn Advertising Metric
In order for marketers to accurately evaluate success, it is essential to measure the right indicators.
Important metrics in measuring effectiveness of LinkedIn advertising include
More Effective LinkedIn Advertising: Best Practices
There is an A/B Testing Framework for advertising
Identify one variable and control for it in order to measure its effect on your LinkedIn advertising campaign.
Allow your campaigns to operate for sufficient time to gather data
Consolidate your analytical tools and measure the performance of all of your LinkedIn advertising campaigns.
Create an experiments portfolio whereby you will record the results of your advertising campaign experiments
FAQs
What is the key LinkedIn Ads experiment for B2B marketers?
Tests for audience targeting are often the most impactful. Reaching the right professionals dramatically boosts the quality of leads and the rate of conversions.
What LinkedIn ad format is best for B2B campaigns?
Lead generation ads and sponsored content are generally best for B2B lead generation, however, they tend to produce different results depending on the industry and the campaign objectives.
How frequently should LinkedIn campaigns be optimized?
Campaigns should be optimized and adjusted based on performance data at least weekly.
Do LinkedIn Ads produce quality leads?
LinkedIn allows marketers to access decision-makers and executives through professional targeting, making it a top platform for B2B lead generation.
Final thoughts
Tremendous opportunities exist for B2B marketers on LinkedIn, but simply launching campaigns will not lead to success. Identifying the best ROI strategies requires ongoing testing.
Using the Essential B2B LinkedIn Ads Tests to Run for Better ROI, businesses can adjust audience targeting, enhance ad creative, improve messaging, and optimize conversion rates. Systematic testing makes sure marketing budgets are spent on campaigns that provide concrete business outcomes.
Businesses that implement a testing-focused approach to LinkedIn advertising outstrip their rivals due to the fact they ground their strategy in data rather than guess work.
In the B2B marketing space, the ability to assess, experiment and improve on LinkedIn marketing efforts is an absolute necessity for driving long-term growth.
