LinkedIn paid — well-targeted, unmeasured
The audience is well-aligned with the brand: Canadian, senior, in governance-relevant industries. Conversions are unmeasured because the LinkedIn Insight Tag is not capturing them — across $860.97 USD and 13 campaigns, the LinkedIn ads account recorded zero conversions.
In the 12 months from May 2025 to April 2026, the LinkedIn ads account spent $860.97 USD across 13 campaigns. The targeting reaches the right people. The measurement does not reach back.
Account totals
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Spend (USD) | $860.97 |
| Impressions | 509,768 |
| Clicks | 796 |
| Landing-page clicks | 754 |
| Video views | 104,900 |
| Video completions | 3,792 |
oneClickLeads | 0 |
externalWebsiteConversions | 0 |
| Likes | 1 |
| Shares | 0 |
| Comments | 0 |
| Follows | 0 |
The two zeros that matter
Across $860 spent, 509,768 impressions, and 796 clicks over 12 months, the LinkedIn account recorded zero conversions of any kind — neither lead-gen forms nor website conversions. This is the headline of the section; everything below explains what is working and where the leak is.
Top campaigns by spend
Three of the 13 campaigns are video-objective (490210734, 569811974, 575108424); low CTR is expected on those and the relevant signal is video completions (3,792 across the account). Of the ten click/conversion campaigns, four reach the 0.6% CTR benchmark: 578209594, 470052394, 583110034, 438067054.
| Campaign URN | Cost (USD) | Impressions | Clicks | CTR | Video views | Video compl. | Conv. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 564602864 | $120.00 | 10,868 | 43 | 0.40% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 475175444 (ABM — 2026 Corporate Secretaries) | $103.25 | 1,603 | 14 | 0.87% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 490210734 (video) | $100.00 | 91,626 | 43 | 0.05% | 82,712 | 2,466 | 0 |
| 578209594 | $99.98 | 49,464 | 301 | 0.61% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 470052394 | $79.30 | 7,622 | 100 | 1.31% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 401111034 | $50.00 | 2,164 | 20 | 0.92% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 447385114 | $50.00 | 33,031 | 1 | 0.003% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 583110034 | $50.00 | 6,057 | 61 | 1.01% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 425227874 | $49.98 | 36,388 | 64 | 0.18% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 569811974 (video) | $49.54 | 27,595 | 15 | 0.05% | 22,188 | 1,326 | 0 |
| Total (13 campaigns) | $860.97 | 509,768 | 796 | 0.16% | 104,900 | 3,792 | 0 |
Top creatives
The data exposes only creative URNs — not headlines, copy, or images. To identify which creatives actually ran, the URNs need to be cross-referenced in Campaign Manager.
| Creative URN | Impressions | Clicks | Video views | Cost (USD) | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1233418654 | 237,404 | 37 | 0 | $38.92 | Awareness creative — high impression, near-zero CTR |
| 1146295494 | 91,626 | 43 | 82,712 | $100.00 | Lead video — high view count, low click |
| 1237606644 | 49,464 | 301 | 0 | $99.98 | Performance creative, CTR 0.61% |
| 776791794 | 36,388 | 64 | 0 | $49.98 | Mid-funnel |
| 919204194 | 33,031 | 1 | 0 | $50.00 | Almost no engagement, likely a failed creative |
| 1230385134 | 27,595 | 15 | 22,188 | $49.54 | Video |
| 1152686334 | 10,868 | 43 | 0 | $120.00 | Top-spend single creative |
| 1086885104 | 7,622 | 100 | 0 | $79.30 | Best CTR among non-video, 1.31% |
| 1244611504 | 6,057 | 61 | 0 | $50.00 | CTR 1.01% |
| 881178514 | 3,144 | 60 | 0 | $40.00 | CTR 1.91% — highest in the account |
Targeting
The audience profile is consistent with the stated brand audience: board members across regulated and large-organization sectors, Canadian, senior. The numbers below all carry the same caveat as the totals — every extConv reading is zero, so the targeting tables describe who saw the ads, not who converted.
Industry (top 10 by impressions)
| LinkedIn ID | Mapping | Impressions | Clicks | Spend (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Information Technology and Services | 75,571 | 118 | $154.70 |
| 6 | Hospital and Health Care | 59,315 | 70 | $91.79 |
| 13 | Higher Education | 48,338 | 77 | $61.52 |
| 68 | Government Administration | 45,808 | 67 | $85.36 |
| 96 | Insurance | 40,090 | 54 | $64.04 |
| 47 | Financial Services | 38,099 | 54 | $58.81 |
| 100 | Marketing & Advertising | 33,140 | 48 | $64.84 |
| 44 | Capital Markets | 30,188 | 39 | $33.09 |
| 1673 | Civic & Social Organizations | 29,008 | 33 | $45.52 |
| 75 | Management Consulting | 28,023 | 44 | $47.61 |
Seniority
| Level | Impressions | Clicks | Spend (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | 308,153 | 531 | $538.27 |
| Owner | 93,654 | 136 | $110.60 |
| Director | 64,470 | 78 | $99.55 |
| Manager | 50,643 | 61 | $75.13 |
| CXO | 13,507 | 17 | $17.84 |
| VP | 6,784 | 8 | $14.73 |
| Partner | 2,126 | 0 | $0.00 |
| Entry | 731 | 0 | $0.00 |
Senior + Owner + Director + Manager + CXO + VP captures 99.7% of impressions and 100% of paid clicks. The seniority filter is doing its job.
Job function (top 10)
| Function | Impressions | Clicks | Spend (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Development | 135,960 | 182 | $185.87 |
| Healthcare Services | 63,213 | 106 | $90.09 |
| Education | 59,792 | 91 | $109.04 |
| Community & Social Services | 51,237 | 97 | $77.73 |
| Engineering | 48,949 | 78 | $75.24 |
| Finance | 44,791 | 56 | $61.12 |
| Operations | 42,614 | 55 | $65.17 |
| Accounting | 37,972 | 60 | $63.73 |
| Human Resources | 30,875 | 45 | $57.38 |
| Program & Project Management | 30,149 | 50 | $49.94 |
Business Development sits at the top — appropriate for outreach to people who would buy training programs.
Company size
| Bucket | Impressions | Clicks | Spend (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10,001+ | 86,142 | 113 | $135.45 |
| 1,001–5,000 | 67,173 | 103 | $117.63 |
| 11–50 | 61,348 | 112 | $96.06 |
| 51–200 | 55,302 | 85 | $126.47 |
| 2–10 | 49,054 | 63 | $68.99 |
| 201–500 | 36,864 | 52 | $79.37 |
| 5,001–10,000 | 32,721 | 47 | $55.63 |
| 501–1,000 | 28,890 | 41 | $43.29 |
| 1 | 9,728 | 12 | $12.31 |
Distribution is broad with no single-segment bias. Mid-large enterprises (1,001+) and small (11–50) both over-index on clicks per dollar, which suggests two distinct audience profiles are responding.
Geo
The campaigns are essentially Canada vs the rest. The US tail is overspill from broader-reach campaigns and produced no clicks and no spend.
| Region | Impressions | % imp. | Clicks | % clicks | Spend (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 487,247 | 95.6% | 793 | 99.6% | $811.66 |
| United States | 21,277 | 4.2% | 0 | 0.0% | $0.00 |
| All others | 1,244 | 0.2% | 3 | 0.4% | $0.00 |
Monthly trend
Eight of the 12 months are active — no spend in May, June, August, or December. Spend ramps in 2026-Q1: January through March together account for $521 of the $861 total. The 2026-03 push is dominated by the awareness video creative 575108424 (237,404 impressions for $39).
| Month | Cost (USD) | Impressions | Clicks | Video views | Video compl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-07 | $50.00 | 2,164 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025-09 | $49.98 | 36,388 | 64 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025-10 | $32.53 | 2,329 | 48 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025-11 | $57.47 | 33,846 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026-01 | $130.45 | 8,415 | 107 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026-02 | $152.10 | 92,436 | 50 | 82,712 | 2,466 |
| 2026-03 | $238.11 | 285,307 | 144 | 22,188 | 1,326 |
| 2026-04 | $150.33 | 48,883 | 350 | 0 | 0 |
The ABM campaign 475175444
Both ABM audiences are dormant
The campaign [Traffic] 2026/01 — Governance Professionals Certificate Program / List - 2026 Corporate Secretaries ran 2026-01-19 → 2026-02-03 (16 days). The matched list yielded fewer than ~300 successful matches against LinkedIn members — the platform's minimum-audience threshold for delivery — so delivery capped at $103.25 of the $180 budget (43% unused). The audience has since expired. A second matched audience (Address Book-2024-11-18) is also expired. Both ABM audiences in the account are currently dormant; no active matched audience is driving any LinkedIn campaign right now.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Audience match rate | 60% |
| Audience size after match | < 300 members |
| Total budget | $180.00 |
| Actual spend | $103.25 |
| Impressions | 1,603 |
| Clicks | 14 |
| CTR | 0.87% |
| CPM | $64.41 |
| CPC | $7.38 |
| Conversions | 0 |
The leak quantified — LinkedIn vs GA4
This is where the tracking gap becomes a number. LinkedIn says 754 landing-page clicks left the platform; GA4 sees 12 of them as linkedin / cpa. LinkedIn says zero conversions; GA4 records 313 form submits from sessions that GA4 does see as LinkedIn-sourced (via linkedin.com / referral).
| Side-by-side | LinkedIn (count) | GA4 (count) |
|---|---|---|
| Clicks | 796 | — |
Landing-page clicks vs sessions from linkedin / cpa (GSI) | 754 | 12 |
Sessions from linkedin / paid (GSI) | — | 0 |
Sessions from any linkedin/cpa source/medium (ProDir) | — | 0 |
externalWebsiteConversions vs form_submit from linkedin.com / referral (GSI) | 0 | 307 |
oneClickLeads vs form_submit from linkedin.com / referral (ProDir) | 0 | 6 |
GA4 sees roughly 1.6% of LinkedIn's landing-page clicks as paid (12 of 754). The other ~742 clicks are landing somewhere GA4 cannot identify as LinkedIn paid: some arrive on linkedin.com / referral (organic-style referrer) — GSI shows 737 sessions there, a mix of real organic and paid clicks that lost their UTM and got reclassified — and some are direct-tagged or lost entirely.
On the conversion side, GA4 records 307 + 6 = 313 form submits tied to LinkedIn-sourced sessions while LinkedIn reports zero. The cause is almost certainly the LinkedIn Insight Tag — either it is not installed on the conversion pages, not configured to fire conversion events in the LinkedIn account, or installed on the wrong domain.
Routes to the roadmap
Closing the leak is the §10-P0.4 work: validate the Insight Tag on each domain, define the conversion events in Campaign Manager, and add a UTM standard so the 754 landing-page clicks attribute correctly in GA4.