Short answer: Yes, split them. North America is the most expensive region on LinkedIn, then the UK and Ireland, then the rest of Europe, then APAC, and that order has held for more than eight years. One campaign per region lets you bid less where it's cheaper and see which market is actually working.
Are you running one global LinkedIn campaign? Then you're using one bid for markets that price completely differently, and you can't tell which one is driving results. Here's how we set up regions instead.
Which LinkedIn regions cost the most?
North America: most expensive.
UK and Ireland: second.
Continental Europe: third.
APAC: cheapest overall. Australia runs higher, and Thailand and India are the cheapest.
Same audience, different region, very different price. You can bid a lot less in APAC than in North America.
Why does one global campaign go wrong?
One campaign means one bid. Set it for North America and you overpay everywhere else. Set it lower and North America won't deliver. You also lose your reporting. When results change, you can't tell which market moved. Don't run one global campaign.
How do we split campaigns by region?
Break out NA, UKI, EU and APAC at minimum, each in its own campaign group or at least its own campaigns.
Bid separately in each, starting at least 30% below that campaign's recommended bid.
Budget by where sales can close, not by where clicks are cheapest.
Set location to Permanent, not "Recent or Permanent." Recent includes people traveling through, and they're not your buyers.
Start with the same creative, then localize spelling, currency and examples once you know what works.
Name campaigns the same way every time, like Region_Audience_Objective, so reports stay readable.
What should you watch out for in each region?
EU and Conversation Ads: GDPR rules limit which EU members you can reach with messaging ads, so expect a much smaller audience there. Sponsored content isn't affected, and neither is the UK.
Fraud risk: Be careful in North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia. LinkedIn doesn't verify job titles, and you'll see people claiming senior titles at companies they don't work for. Use specific job titles instead of broad functions, use double exclusions, and add a qualifying question to your lead gen forms.
Germany and Japan: both have their own big professional networks, so LinkedIn tends to perform weaker there.
When shouldn't you split by region?
If a region's audience is too small to deliver on its own, combine it with a nearby market rather than forcing a campaign that won't spend. And if you only sell in one market, there's nothing to split. Focus on audience and offer instead.
FAQ
Do LinkedIn ads cost different amounts in different countries?
Yes. North America is the most expensive, then the UK and Ireland, then the rest of Europe, then APAC.
Should I use "Recent or Permanent" location targeting on LinkedIn?
No. Use Permanent. Recent includes travelers who aren't in your market.
Should LinkedIn ad creative change by region?
Start with the same creative so you can compare results, then localize the details once you know what's working.
Written by Trey Buchanan, founder of TB3 Digital. Trey has spent nine years in B2B paid media and has twice been selected for LinkedIn's Customer Advisory Board. This is one of the seven things we do on every account. See the full list in How TB3 runs LinkedIn Ads, or book a strategy call and we'll look at your account with you.