When to use
Ideal for:
teams running LinkedIn Lead Gen or Website Conversion campaigns that are seeing good volume but low qualification rates.
Tools You’ll Need:
Primer
Builds ICP-based company and contact audiences
LinkedIn Campaign Manager
Runs the A/B test campaigns
CRM (HubSpot/Salesforce)
Informs filters you pick. Validates down-funnel results
Primer Pixel
Tracks signups and conversions across campaigns
Launch Checklist
Audience:
Primer audience synced to LinkedIn & fully matched
CRM:
or conversion tracking active
A/B Test:
set with even spendSame creative, form, and objective
Tes:t:
Run ≥14 days before evaluating
LinkedIn targeting is convenient but imprecise. Primer integrates your CRM and technographic data to rebuild your ICP from the ground up, then syncs it directly into LinkedIn as a matched audience — letting you test it head-to-head against LinkedIn’s native filters.
Prerequisites:
Pixel installed
CRM connected
LinkedIn Ads connected
Step 1
Inspect Your Current LinkedIn Audience
In Campaign Manager, open Audience Insights for your top campaigns.
You’ll often find a mismatch — e.g., too wrong seniorities or companies that don’t match selected industries.
Step 2
Build Your ICP in Primer
Use CRM win rates to help define your ideal accounts (industry, size, region) and personas.
Sync the ICP audience directly to LinkedIn as a Matched Audience.
Pro Tip:
Exclude existing customers, competitors, etc.
Note:
Audiences will take 72 hours to full match. Plan accordingly
Step 3
A/B Test Primer vs Native Targeting
Duplicate your campaign in LinkedIn Campaign Manager.
Campaign A: LinkedIn native filters (job title, industry, company size).
Campaign B: Primer Matched Audience (no LinkedIn filters applied).
Principle
Impact
LinkedIn filters are broad
Primer narrows your reach to verified companies and roles. Audience preview confirms this.
Native audiences include inferred data
Primer matches deterministically from CRM truth.
A/B proves quality lift
You’ll see fewer leads — but far more qualified ones.
Tip:
Run for at least 10–14 days for meaningful results.
Step 4
Measure Down-Funnel Quality
In Primer, compare funnel outcomes.
Compare Meta (Primer audience) results against LinkedIn campaigns for the same audience.
Key Metrics:
Qualified Lead Rate (MQL%)
Cost per Qualified Lead (CPQL)
Pipeline Conversion %
What to expect
Unless your audience is large enough to hit 50+ conversions in 7 days, your ad set will stay in learning mode. Don’t rely on the algorithm — adjust manually based on results.
Metric
CPL
LinkedIn Native
$196
Primer Audience
$124
Change
–37%
Metric
Qualified Rate
LinkedIn Native
28%
Primer Audience
46%
Change
+64%
Metric
Cost per Qualified Lead
LinkedIn Native
$700
Primer Audience
$270
Change
–61%
