LinkedIn audiences cheat sheet

Building better audiences. 5 LinkedIn audience considerations for B2B marketers.

LinkedIn is a B2B marketing machine - arguably one of Microsoft’s greatest acquisitions of the 2010s. Rich in its targeting and exclusion capabilities, it’s a force to be reckoned with when wielded by the right B2B advertiser. Yet, many businesses still fail to take full advantage of its ‘holy grail’ targeting potential to generate pipeline.

While Meta and Google gradually strip back targeting features in favour of AI-powered tooling, pro advertisers are left scratching their heads, seeking the next workaround to reach the right buyers. LinkedIn, on the other hand, has retained its purpose: helping businesses target real B2B decision-makers.

This article covers five core audience considerations every B2B marketer should keep in their LinkedIn playbook. We've learned them the hard way, so you don't have to.

1. Audience sizing

Audience sizing is a balancing act. Go too broad, and you’ll try to boil the ocean. Go too narrow, and your campaigns may underserve. Finding the sweet spot is key to reaching a sufficient percentage of your audience while building sufficient memorability through frequency.

Signs of a too-broad audience

• Over-expansive job targeting (e.g. long lists of job titles and variations)

• All seniorities (junior to CEO)

• Extensive lists of industries

• No audience narrowing logic

We’ve all heard the “we’ll accept anyone” quote before. Though, with B2B advertising, that’s a costly mindset. Unless you have infinite budgets, you have to trade between scale and precision.

Start by estimating your potential reach and frequency to balance impact against spend. As a rough guide divide your total budget by your average CPM to estimate total impressions. Then divide impressions by your expected frequency (typically 2–4) to gauge how many unique people you’re likely to reach.

Signs of a too-narrow audience

• Too few job titles or seniorities

• Audience sizes in the hundreds

• Some audience ‘narrow by’ sections restricting scale

• Overly aggressive exclusions

A special consideration for Account-Based Marketing (ABM). ABM campaigns target a smaller set of industries, job titles or accounts, audience sizes on purpose. This can lead to underserving campaigns if bidding isn't managed effectively. When you compete for a smaller audience, auction prices rise due to scarcity, especially if others are targeting the same segment.

If you manage bids manually, underbidding can prevent delivery altogether. Overbidding, meanwhile, burns budget quickly in exchange for higher quality. Hence, ABM requires a careful balance of audience sizing so you don’t overpay as a by-product of increased precision.

As a general ‘rule of thumb’, focus on decision-makers and stakeholders actively involved in the buying process. Expand audience criteria a little where relevant to boost audience numbers, though manage carefully with sufficient ‘guard-rails’ in place.

2. Comprehensive exclusions

Poor exclusion logic is one of the earliest contributors to wasted budget and annoyed sales teams. LinkedIn’s exclusion capabilities are rock solid, letting you prevent your ads from reaching irrelevant or low-value audiences. Many advertisers overlook this, resulting in countless wasted impressions and poor quality leads.

Building a solid exclusion stack will prevent:

• Students or job-seekers filling out high-intent forms

• Recruiters or salespeople cross-selling services

• Bad-fit companies or industries enquiring with no chance of conversion

• Large enterprises soaking up impressions and spend

• Employees clicking their own company’s ads

Our classic exclusion recipe includes:

• Firmographic filters - apply upper/lower limits for company size and revenue

• Industries - exclude categories you’ll never sell to

• Job titles - exclude job hunters, recruiters, or salespeople (unless relevant)

• Competitors - commonly forgotten, but essential to prevent wasted impressions

• Your own company - always exclude your domain

• CRM-based lists — remove lost or churned accounts to avoid re-marketing to them

Robust exclusions aren’t just about saving money, it’s about keeping campaign data cleaner, sharpening targeting, and avoiding misrepresented results.

3. Correct audience logic

Even with clean exclusions, errors with audience groupings can cause targeting mishaps. Understanding how LinkedIn’s grouping structure works is crucial to refine and filter audiences properly.

Quick refresher

• All items in the same group use OR logic.

• Adding a Narrow By section changes it to AND logic for what follows.

For example:

• Group 1: Apples OR Pears

• Narrow By: Ice Cream OR Pie

Your ad reaches Apples AND Pie or Pears AND Ice Cream, but never Apples AND Pears AND Ice Cream.

Real-World Example

Suppose you target “HR Directors” OR “Website Visitors” in one group, then narrow by “Manufacturing” in another. You might unintentionally reach a manufacturing receptionist who once visited your site, instead of your intended buyer.

To fix this, you’d move “industry” and “website visitors” into the first group, then narrow by “job titles” and “TAM list” to ensure you’re filtering for qualified prospects.

Audience logic issues often look harmless in the interface but can drastically skew results. Double-check your logic flow before launch - and periodically when updating audiences.

4. Including the buying committee

Modern B2B decisions rarely rest with one person. On average, 6–10 stakeholders influence a purchase (StackAdapt, 2024). Building audiences that reflect the entire buying committee is crucial to influence the full decision journey.

Each member plays a role. John, a Software Engineer, might initiate the search for a tool. Alison, his manager, approves the evaluation. Ben in Procurement compares vendors, and Rita the CFO controls the budget. Focusing only on one persona means you're missing out on engaging the broader buying committee.

When factoring in the buying group:

• Consider the delta in audience size (e.g. how it changes as you expand or narrow targeting).

• Prioritise by influence level to focus spend where it matters.

• Tailor messaging by persona (e.g. problem-solving for managers, ROI for executives, risk reduction for procurement).

Extending audiences to all relevant stakeholders can improve deal velocity and shorten the buying cycle since all involved parties are exposed to your brand and value proposition.

5. Updating matched audiences

Matched audiences are a goldmine for engagement and retargeting - but they require regular upkeep. Much like custom audiences on other platforms, if neglected, they quickly lose effectiveness.

Common Oversights

• Outdated CRM lists - targeting stale or irrelevant accounts or contacts

• Out-of-date matched audiences - missing new website visitors or recently added campaigns

• Poor naming conventions - leading to confusion and audience overlap

Best Practices

• Adopt consistent naming conventions for audiences, campaigns, and assets. As accounts scale, this keeps management cleaner.

• Regularly refresh matched audiences from your CRM. Automate updates via integrations where possible to prevent manual errors.

• Revisit retargeting windows. Short windows (e.g. 30 days) can miss slower buyers, while long windows may include disengaged ones.

• Segment lists by funnel stage (awareness, consideration, decision) to refine sequencing and creative strategy.

Matched audiences become exponentially more powerful when maintained effectively. Ensure warm lists and exclusion pools stay aligned with your live data.

What to do (the cheat-sheet)

1. Structure and size audiences properly

• Start broad but relevant: Job Function + Seniority is a good base.

• Exclude extremes (too junior or too senior) unlikely to influence purchase decisions.

• Supplement with skills, interests, or retargeting to boost upper-funnel reach when needed.

• Maintain a balance between reach and precision - never sacrifice one entirely for the other.

• For ABM campaigns, carefully balance audience precision with size to avoid underserving or overpaying in competitive auctions.
  
  

2. Build a comprehensive exclusion strategy

• Exclude poor-fit industries, job titles, students, job-seekers, recruiters, and inappropriate company sizes.

• Always exclude your own company domain and competitors to prevent wasted impressions.

• Use CRM-based lists to exclude lost or churned accounts from campaigns.

• Reverse your ICP and priority TAM segments as a guide for your exclusion list

3. Master audience logic and grouping

• Understand the difference between OR logic (within groups) and AND logic (when using Narrow By sections).

• Double-check your audience logic before launch and when updating audiences to avoid unintended targeting.

• Start with a broader audience criteria first, then use Narrow By to filter for highly relevant prospects.
  
  

4. Target the entire buying committee

• Identify all stakeholders who influence the purchase decision (typically 6-10 people).

• Consider the delta in audience size as you expand targeting to include different personas.

• Prioritise by influence level to focus spend where it matters most.

• Tailor messaging by persona - problem-solving for managers, ROI for executives, risk reduction for procurement.
  
  

5. Apply and update Matched Audiences

• Use clean, up-to-date CRM lists of target accounts and contacts.

• Preference automatic sync to maintain freshness and ensure retargeting accuracy.

• Adopt consistent naming conventions for audiences, campaigns, and assets to maintain clarity as your account scales.

• Segment lists by funnel stage (awareness, consideration, decision) to refine sequencing and creative strategy. Remember: audiences don't always move through logical stages

• Revisit retargeting windows regularly - balance between capturing slower buyers and excluding disengaged prospects.

Wrapping things up, these five LinkedIn audience considerations form the backbone of smarter, more efficient campaigns. Get them right, and you’ll stretch your budget further, improve consistency, and keep your ads in front of the people who actually matter.