LinkedIn Ads Playbook (Part 4): B2B LinkedIn Targeting: Don't make this Expensive Mistake

Targeting is where most B2B LinkedIn ad accounts lose money.

LinkedIn gives you a huge list of filters. The secret isn’t to use them all – it’s to combine a few correctly.

4.1. Fix your location setting first

By default, LinkedIn often uses:

“Recent or permanent location”

For B2B campaigns (especially when you sell in specific regions), switch to:

“Permanent location”

That way, a construction CIO visiting a conference in your country doesn’t suddenly get treated as part of your core market.

4.2. AND vs OR: the most EXPENSIVE mistake in LinkedIn targeting

Let’s say you want:

• Industry: Industrial Machinery Manufacturing

• Company size: 51–200

• Job title: Operations Director

If you stack all three in one targeting box, LinkedIn treats them as:

Industry OR Company size OR Job title

So you end up targeting:

• All Ops Directors in any industry

• All companies with 51–200 employees in any sector

• All industrial manufacturers with any role

• 
  

Result: your B2B LinkedIn ads spread into places you never intended.

To build tight B2B LinkedIn audiences, you need AND logic:

1. Add the industry

2. Click “Narrow” and add company size

3. Click “Narrow further” and add job titles

Now you have:

Industry AND Company size AND Job title

The difference in relevance (and cost per qualified lead) is huge.

4.3. A clean B2B LinkedIn targeting example

Let’s imagine a company selling predictive maintenance software to mid-market manufacturers.

A clean first-touch audience might be:

1. Company → Industry

   • Industrial Machinery Manufacturing

   • Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing

2. Company → Company size

   • 51–200

   • 201–500

   • 501–1,000

3. Job Experience → Job titles

   • Plant Manager

   • Head of Maintenance

   • Operations Director

   • Engineering Manager

4. Exclude

   • Job titles like “Assistant”, “Intern”, “Student”

   • Agencies / consultancies if they’re not your buyers

   • Very large enterprises if you focus on mid-market

5. Turn OFF:

   • Audience Expansion

   • LinkedIn Audience Network (LAN) (unless you have a specific test)

6. Save as: ICP – Maintenance Leaders – Manufacturing – EU Mid-Market

That’s how you build B2B-ready LinkedIn audiences: focused, intentional, and scalable.

Now that you have your targeting setup. What do we actually want to show and what is the best fit for your objective? Read all about it in Part 5: "B2B LinkedIn ad formats that actually drive pipeline".