LinkedIn is a professional social platform that enables advertisers to reach decision-makers using real career data, allowing targeting by job title, company, seniority, and industry.
Last updated Oct 5, 2026 by the ATDb Editorial Team · Connections updated Oct 16, 2026
AI-drafted from public sources22 sources cited
At a glance
- Employees
- 10000+
- Funding
- Acquired by Microsoft for $26.2B in 2016
- Revenue
- $15B+ annually (LinkedIn segment)
- Stock
- NYSE:LNKD
About
Dominant leader in B2B digital advertising with unmatched professional audience data and the largest professional network globally
LinkedIn is a professional social platform that enables advertisers to reach decision-makers using real career data, allowing targeting by job title, company, seniority, and industry. LinkedIn's audience now tops 1.3 billion members, giving advertisers significant scale for reaching professional audiences. The platform offers more than 12 ad formats spanning objectives from awareness to lead generation, including single image, carousel, video, document, event, and thought leader ads. Ad inventory is allocated through an auction system in which ads compete against others with similar formats and target audiences, with LinkedIn setting bids to spend budgets efficiently and maximize results for the chosen objective. Advertisers can also leverage matched audiences by uploading CRM contact or company lists, retargeting website visitors via the LinkedIn Insight Tag, building audiences from video viewers and post engagers, and creating lookalike audiences to find new buyers. According to eMarketer, LinkedIn is the top platform for reaching a B2B audience with video, and video is one of its fastest-growing ad formats. Source 1: hootsuite.com — LinkedIn ads guide: Campaign types, ad specs, and expert ...
Business model
SaaS + Advertising Platform
Target market
Enterprise, Mid-Market, SMB
What they offer
Sponsored Content
Native ads appearing in the LinkedIn feed, including single image, video, carousel, document, and event ad formats
Message Ads (InMail)
Personalized messages delivered directly to LinkedIn members' inboxes with high open and engagement rates
Dynamic Ads
Personalized ads that automatically populate with member profile data such as name, photo, and job title
Text Ads
Self-serve PPC/CPM ads displayed in the right rail and top banner of LinkedIn desktop pages
Conversation Ads
Interactive message-based ads that allow multiple CTA paths within a single message experience
Campaign Manager
LinkedIn's self-serve advertising platform for campaign creation, audience targeting, budget management, and performance analytics
LinkedIn Audience Network
Extends LinkedIn campaign reach to third-party apps and websites using LinkedIn's professional targeting data
Matched Audiences
Retargeting and account-based marketing tools including website retargeting, contact list uploads, and company list targeting
LinkedIn Insight Tag
JavaScript pixel for website conversion tracking, retargeting, and audience analytics
Sales Navigator
Advanced sales intelligence and prospecting tool with CRM integration and lead recommendations
LinkedIn Marketing API
Programmatic access to LinkedIn's advertising capabilities for agencies, DSPs, and marketing technology platforms
LinkedIn Learning
Online learning platform with 21,000+ courses used for employee development and brand sponsorship opportunities
LinkedIn Recruiter
Talent acquisition platform enabling targeted outreach to passive candidates with advanced search filters
Key features
Use cases
Customer segments
Tech & specs
Technology stack
Security & compliance
Deployment
API
Yes
- 2003 · Founded
- 2016Acquired by MicrosoftStill operating as part of Microsoft