LinkedIn Audience Network extends your ads beyond LinkedIn to trusted third-party websites and mobile apps.
LinkedIn Audience Network is a placement setting that extends your Sponsored Content campaigns beyond LinkedIn to third-party partner apps and websites. Your ads reach the same people you're targeting on LinkedIn, using the same budget and bid, but in places other than the LinkedIn feed.
It's worth testing for awareness and retargeting campaigns where reach matters more than click quality. It's risky for lead generation and conversion campaigns, because people browsing a third-party app aren't in a work mindset, and some partner inventory sends low-quality clicks. If you're judging your campaign on leads or pipeline, turn it off or run it in a separate campaign so you can measure it on its own.
Audience Network is one of your LinkedIn ad placements, and it's turned on by default at the campaign level in Campaign Manager for eligible formats. Eligible formats are Sponsored Content single image, video, and carousel ads. Text Ads, Dynamic Ads, and Sponsored Messaging can't run on it. Off LinkedIn, your ads appear as LinkedIn native ads and display placements inside partner apps and sites. They share the campaign's budget and bid with your feed placements, so any spend going to Audience Network is spend that isn't going to the feed.
Campaign Manager lets you upload publisher lists in its brand safety settings. A block list excludes specific apps and sites you don't want your ads on. An allow list restricts your ads to only the publishers you approve. Allow lists give you much better traffic quality, but they also raise your cost per quality visitor, since you're buying from a smaller, more expensive pool. Block lists keep costs lower, but any new low-quality partner LinkedIn adds can start receiving your ads automatically until you block it.
Open the campaign in Campaign Manager, go to the placement settings, and uncheck the LinkedIn Audience Network option. The change applies to that campaign only, so check each campaign where you want it off.
These features sound similar but do different jobs. Audience Expansion widens who you target; Audience Network widens where you show up.
[table]
Feature | What it controls
LinkedIn Matched Audiences | Who you target, using your own lists, website visitors, or engagement data
LinkedIn audience expansion | Who else you reach, by adding people similar to your chosen targeting
LinkedIn Audience Network | Where your ads show, extending them to partner apps and sites off LinkedIn
[/table]
Run Audience Network in its own campaign instead of mixing it with feed placements. When both run inside one campaign, LinkedIn's reporting blends the results, and you can't tell whether off-platform traffic is helping or dragging down your cost per lead. A separate campaign gives you your own data to answer the "is it worth it" question, instead of relying on someone else's account.
What is LinkedIn Audience Network?
A placement setting that extends LinkedIn Sponsored Content campaigns to third-party partner apps and websites, using the same targeting and budget.
Is LinkedIn Audience Network worth it?
For awareness and retargeting, it's worth testing. For lead generation and conversion campaigns, it often lowers lead quality, so test it in a separate campaign before leaving it on.
Should you enable LinkedIn Audience Network for lead generation campaigns?
Only as a separate test campaign. Off-platform traffic has lower intent than the LinkedIn feed, so mixing it into a lead gen campaign can raise cost per qualified lead without you noticing.
How do you turn off LinkedIn Audience Network?
In Campaign Manager, open the campaign, go to placement settings, and uncheck the LinkedIn Audience Network option.
What sites are in the LinkedIn Audience Network?
Third-party partner apps and websites vetted by LinkedIn. You can control which ones show your ads by uploading a block list or an allow list in Campaign Manager's brand safety settings.
How is Audience Network different from LinkedIn Matched Audiences?
Matched Audiences controls who you target. Audience Network controls where your ads appear, extending them beyond LinkedIn to partner apps and sites.
LinkedIn Campaign Manager is where Audience Network is turned on or off. LinkedIn Sponsored Content is the only ad family that can run on it. Search Partners is the Google Ads equivalent, extending search ads beyond Google's own results.
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