Home Ad Exchange News LinkedIn Launches Lead-Gen Ads To Combat Missed Mobile Conversions

LinkedIn Launches Lead-Gen Ads To Combat Missed Mobile Conversions

SHARE:

While about 80% of engagement with sponsored content on LinkedIn now happens on mobile, marketers had a hard time influencing the final conversion on that channel.

So LinkedIn expanded its native ad arsenal on Tuesday by launching lead-gen ads, which aim to reduce friction with lead-gen forms and improve marketers’ mobile conversions.

Although it sounds basic, enabling a direct response like “find out more” on mobile wasn’t always so simple.

“Every landing page was different, you’re using a small keyboard and we found members just didn’t want to fill out forms on mobile,” said Russ Glass, VP of product for LinkedIn’s Marketing Solutions group. “Conversion rates were just lower than they are on desktop, but that’s where a majority of our engagement happens.”

Also, while LinkedIn generated high-quality leads because of its registered user data, competitors offered more affordable options.

“When we’re compared with [other platforms] on a CPC basis, we don’t compete that well, frankly, because we’re expensive,” Glass said. “But when we compete on a cost-per-lead basis, we do really well, particularly in B2B environments.” 

That disconnect led to suboptimal ROI for marketers, so LinkedIn revamped its strategy.

Once an ad is served, lead-gen ads pre-populate forms with a user’s LinkedIn profile information directly within the mobile feed, rather than asking a user to fill out a “contact us” form on a company’s page.

Once they hit submit, the information is fed to a marketer’s CRM or marketing automation system. That tweak improved LinkedIn mobile conversion rates by an average of 30%.

LinkedIn has also eyed upper-funnel opportunities by launching features like Trending Storylines. But the social network’s true aim is to connect the dots between branding and lower-funnel tactics.

“As we start to get liquidity and scale these products, we’ll know what are people interested in, what products and services are they searching for,” Glass said. “Then, we’ll start to expose that as new targeting methods that go deeper than sponsored content.”

Must Read

Scott Spencer’s New Startup Wants To Help Users Monetize Their Online Advertising Data

What happens when an ad tech developer partners with a cybersecurity expert to start a new company? You end up with a consumer product that is both a privacy software service and a programmatic advertising ID.

Former FTC commissioner Alvaro Bedoya speaks to AdExchanger Managing Editor Allison Schiff at Programmatic IO NY 2025.

Advertisers Probably Shouldn’t Target Teens At All, Cautions Former FTC Commissioner

Alvaro Bedoya shared his qualms with digital advertising’s more controversial targeting tactics and how kids use gen AI and social media.

Wall Street Turned Against Ad Tech – But May Learn To Love It Again

What can pureplay ad tech companies do to clean up their rep on the Street?

Privacy! Commerce! Connected TV! Read all about it. Subscribe to AdExchanger Newsletters

AppsFlyer and Roku’s New SRN Integration Will Shed Light On CTV Campaign Impact

Roku and AppsFlyer announced the launch of a new self-reporting network (SRN) integration between both companies, which will allow mobile app advertisers to more effectively measure their streaming video campaigns

Comic: Gamechanger (Google lost the DOJ's search antitrust case)

DOJ v. Google: How Judge Brinkema Seems To Be Thinking After Week One

Where the DOJ v. Google ad tech antitrust trial stands after one week’s worth of remedies arguments.

Swish, A Company That's Bringing Programmatic to Product Sampling, Announces Seed Funding

Swish, a startup that partners with retailers to provide product full-size CPG samples to people doing their grocery shopping online, announces $2.3 million in seed funding.