When running LinkedIn Ads, it’s tempting to obsess over CPM (cost per thousand impressions). But in most cases, we’ve found that CPC (cost per click) is the most important metric to watch.

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After managing over $200M in LinkedIn ad spend, here’s what we’ve learned about CPMs, CPCs, and how to get the best deal on your campaigns.

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CPM on LinkedIn: What to expect

CPMs on LinkedIn vary widely depending on your ad type, objective, audience, and bidding strategy.

We’ve seen:

• Low CPMs: $5–$20 (very cost-efficient)
  
• Average CPMs: $40–$80 (healthy range)
  
• High CPMs: $120–$180 (often a sign of bidding inefficiency)
  

If you’re consistently over $80 CPM, it’s worth revisiting your targeting, objective, or bidding strategy.

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Why CPC usually matters more

In about 90% of cases, it’s cheaper to pay by the click rather than by the impression.

Typical CPC ranges in North America:

• General traffic: $8–$16
  
• Well-optimized campaigns: $5–$8
  
• Engagement campaigns: $1–$3 (but includes micro-interactions, not just link clicks)
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For B2B advertisers who know how to manage bids and targeting, we regularly achieve $5–$8 CPC for quality traffic to landing pages.

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Beware of the LinkedIn Audience Network

By default, LinkedIn enables the LinkedIn Audience Network, which shows ads on partner sites and apps. CPC here can be $1 or less, but from all our testing, the traffic quality is usually low.

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Our recommendation:

Turn it off and invest in clicks that actually come from LinkedIn, even if they cost $7–$15. Quality beats cheap clicks every time.

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Key Takeaways for smarter Bidding

✔ Track CPC alongside CPM—don’t let impressions alone guide your strategy

✔ Keep CPM under $80, but optimize for clicks, not just views

✔ Understand what counts as a “click” in each objective

✔ Disable the LinkedIn Audience Network for higher-quality traffic

✔ Aim for $5–$8 CPC for landing page traffic in competitive markets

Want to do deeper?

We’ve built resources to help you master LinkedIn Ads from setup to scaling:

⬆️ Subscribe to our channel for weekly strategies: https://youtube.com/@b2linked

🎧 Check out the Podcast: b2linked.com/podcast

💪 Join the Courses & Community: b2linked.com/community-courses

Better bidding starts with better data—and knowing when not to chase a low CPM.

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