Create a LinkedIn Ads Account

Last Updated / Reviewed: Jan 10th, 2023

Execution Time: 15-30 mins

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Goal: Successfully create a LinkedIn ad account.

Ideal Outcome: You will finish setting up an ad account and ready to create your first LinkedIn ad campaign.

Prerequisites or requirements: None.

Why this is important: You need to create an ad account before you can start running LinkedIn ads.

Where this is done: LinkedIn campaign manager.

When this is done: If you plan to create LinkedIn ads but have not created an ad account yet.

Who does this: The marketing manager or the person responsible for media buying.

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Important

It’s good to keep in mind that Linkedin Ads follows a a structure illustrated below:

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1. Every company or person needs a Campaign Manager account in order to run ads on Linkedin.
2. A Campaign Manager account can hold multiple Ad accounts (i.e you can create an ad account for each product or business you’re running ads for)
3. Each ad account can run several campaigns (e.g. Sponsored Content, Lead Generation, Video Ads, etc)

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Before you start

There are 2 ways to create a LinkedIn Ads account.

1. If you already have a personal LinkedIn profile — You can login to your personal LinkedIn account and create an ad account from there. Follow the detailed instructions here: Create an ad account WITH an existing LinkedIn profile.
2. If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, you must first create a campaign manager account BEFORE you create an ad account. If so follow the instructions here: Create an ad account WITHOUT a LinkedIn profile.

Note: If you’re running LinkedIn ads on behalf of a company (e.g. a client or your current company), be sure to check if they have a campaign manager account. If they do, simply login and create a new ad account for your campaigns, otherwise you can create a campaign manager account from scratch (Step 2).

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Create an ad account WITH an existing LinkedIn profile

1. Sign in to your LinkedIn profile here.
2. On the top right, click “Work” then select “Advertise”.
   
3. You’ll be redirected to the ad account setup page.
   
4. Add an ad account name and optionally link your existing LinkedIn page if you have one. Then click “Agree & Create Account”. You will then be redirected to the campaign setup dashboard.
   
5. Once you click “Agree & Create account. A new campaign manager and ad account will automatically be created for you. And you’ll be redirected to the ad campaign setup dashboard.
6. You can continue set up the ad campaign or you can head back to the account dashboard to view your ad account.

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Create an ad account WITHOUT a LinkedIn profile

1. You must first create a campaign manager account.
2. Sign up for a campaign manager account here.
   
3. You’ll be asked to complete a security verification process.
   
4. Enter your location details, then click “”Next.”
   
5. Enter your job title and company details, and click “Continue”.
   
6. You will receive a confirmation code in your email, enter the code and click “Agree & Confirm”.
   
7. Click “Yes” if you’re looking for a job, otherwise click “Not now”.
   
8. Add your colleagues’ email addresses if any.
   
9. Add a profile photo. You can choose to skip this step.
   
10. Get a link to download the LinkedIn App. You can also choose to skip this step.
    
11. Click “Finish” to complete the campaign manager account setup.
    
12. You’ll be redirected to the ad account setup page.
    
13. Add an ad account name and optionally link your existing LinkedIn page if you have one. Then click “Agree & Create Account”. You will then be redirected to the campaign setup dashboard.
    
14. You have now set up the ad account. You can now choose to create a new ad campaign or head back to the account dashboard to view your ad account.