LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn Ads has a self-serve ad account and a real Conversions API. Create and associate a conversion rule, then send confirmed events.

Use ad-conversion-hub for the canonical event envelope, consent gate, identity rules, retry policy, and adapter contract.

Account and access

Campaign Manager is self-serve. Select For Business → Advertise in LinkedIn, then create an ad account. A Business Manager account requires an admin. The creator gets account manager and billing admin access. Currency and Company Page cannot change later; a Company Page is required for full features. See Create an ad account.

For a direct advertiser integration, use Data → Signals Manager → Direct API → Generate access token. This route needs no developer application. The token does not expire and appears once. Store it at once. See CAPI access.

For a product serving several advertisers, request the Conversions API product for a developer app. LinkedIn reviews the business details and use case. A Page super admin must verify the app. Partner OAuth uses rw_conversions and r_ads; the member needs a non-VIEWER role. See partner access and the API workflow.

LinkedIn defines no environment-variable names. This skill uses the hub convention:

LINKEDIN_TAG_ID                public Insight Tag partner ID
LINKEDIN_ACCOUNT_URN           urn:li:sponsoredAccount:<id>
LINKEDIN_CAPI_TOKEN             server-only direct or OAuth bearer token
LINKEDIN_CAPI_CONVERSION_URN    urn:lla:llaPartnerConversion:<id>
LINKEDIN_INSIGHT_CONVERSION_ID  browser conversion rule ID
LINKEDIN_VERSION                value for the Linkedin-Version header

Client-side Insight Tag

Create the tag under Data → Signals Manager → Insight Tag. Copy its partner ID. Load it on every eligible page in the global footer, just before </body>. See Insight Tag conversion tracking.

<script type="text/javascript">
  _linkedin_partner_id = "<LINKEDIN_TAG_ID>";
  window._linkedin_data_partner_ids = window._linkedin_data_partner_ids || [];
  window._linkedin_data_partner_ids.push(_linkedin_partner_id);
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
  (function (l) {
    if (!l) {
      window.lintrk = function (a, b) { window.lintrk.q.push([a, b]); };
      window.lintrk.q = [];
    }
    var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];
    var b = document.createElement("script");
    b.type = "text/javascript"; b.async = true;
    b.src = "https://snap.licdn.com/li.lms-analytics/insight.min.js";
    s.parentNode.insertBefore(b, s);
  })(window.lintrk);
</script>
<noscript><img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" alt=""
  src="https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=<LINKEDIN_TAG_ID>&fmt=gif" /></noscript>

For a page-load conversion, set the shared ID before the base tag:

<script>window._linkedin_event_id = "<CANONICAL_EVENT_ID>";</script>

For an event-specific conversion, pass the same ID to lintrk:

window.lintrk("track", {
  conversion_id: "<LINKEDIN_INSIGHT_CONVERSION_ID>",
  event_id: canonicalEvent.event_id,
});

Rule setup and event mapping

The streaming payload has no free-form event name. The conversion rule's type supplies the LinkedIn event name. Create a rule per type. Use separate browser and server rules when you enable deduplication.

These types are in the CAPI schema. LinkedIn documents no REFUND type.

Create a CAPI rule:

POST https://api.linkedin.com/rest/conversions?autoAssociationType=ALL_CAMPAIGNS
Authorization: Bearer <LINKEDIN_CAPI_TOKEN>
Content-Type: application/json
Linkedin-Version: <LINKEDIN_VERSION>
X-Restli-Protocol-Version: 2.0.0

{
  "name": "CAPI purchase",
  "account": "urn:li:sponsoredAccount:<ACCOUNT_ID>",
  "conversionMethod": "CONVERSIONS_API",
  "postClickAttributionWindowSize": 90,
  "viewThroughAttributionWindowSize": 30,
  "attributionType": "LAST_TOUCH_BY_CAMPAIGN",
  "type": "PURCHASE"
}

Save the returned ID as urn:lla:llaPartnerConversion:<id>. Without automatic association, use the Campaign Conversions API or Campaign Manager UI. LinkedIn only attributes to associated campaigns. See Conversions API.

Server-side Conversions API

Send the confirmed event to POST https://api.linkedin.com/rest/conversionEvents with the same bearer and version headers above:

{
  "conversion": "urn:lla:llaPartnerConversion:<CONVERSION_ID>",
  "conversionHappenedAt": 1730017211229,
  "conversionValue": { "currencyCode": "USD", "amount": "25.00" },
  "user": { "userIds": [
    { "idType": "SHA256_EMAIL", "idValue": "<SHA256_EMAIL_HEX>" },
    { "idType": "LINKEDIN_FIRST_PARTY_ADS_TRACKING_UUID", "idValue": "<LI_FAT_ID>" }
  ]},
  "eventId": "<CANONICAL_EVENT_ID>"
}

conversion, conversionHappenedAt, and user are the event fields. The timestamp is epoch milliseconds and must be within 90 days. The value amount is a decimal string. At least one valid identity is required unless another valid user field supplies identity. A successful single event returns 201 Created. See the event schema.

Batch requests use X-RestLi-Method: BATCH_CREATE and allow 5,000 events. Use the hub's bounded retry and dead-letter policy. Do not replay an uncertain request unless the dispatch record and eventId rule make it safe. See CAPI FAQ.

Identity and consent

• Require measurement: true in the hub before any LinkedIn event.
• Require ad_user_data: true before hashed email, IP, or external IDs.
• Remove email whitespace, lowercase it, then SHA-256 hash it. Send lowercase hexadecimal text. Do not hash an existing hash again.
• Supported IDs include SHA256_EMAIL, LINKEDIN_FIRST_PARTY_ADS_TRACKING_UUID, ACXIOM_ID, PLAINTEXT_IP_ADDRESS, SHA256_IP_ADDRESS, and GOOGLE_AID.
• Plain and hashed IP IDs support IPv4 only. userInfo is plain text and needs both firstName and lastName. externalIds accepts one advertiser ID.
• LinkedIn preserves a matched external-ID mapping for one year across ad accounts in the same Business Manager. Pair it with a standard ID first.

The hub owns normalization and consent. LinkedIn also prohibits the Insight Tag on pages that collect sensitive health or financial data. See privacy guidance.

Click ID and first-party cookie

Enable Enhanced conversion tracking for the Insight Tag. LinkedIn then adds li_fat_id to ad landing URLs. Capture it on first landing and persist first- touch and latest values in first-party storage. The cookie lasts 30 days from the latest qualifying ad click. Send it to CAPI as LINKEDIN_FIRST_PARTY_ADS_TRACKING_UUID. Parsing only the URL can limit view- through attribution; reading the cookie supports it. Do not require a click ID before sending a server purchase. See Enabling Click IDs.

New tags enable first-party tracking by default. Check firstPartyTrackingEnabled when the cookie or li_fat_id is absent. Campaign Manager and the partial update API can change this setting.

Deduplication

LinkedIn reconciles browser and server copies with eventId.

1. Create a browser Insight Tag rule and a server CAPI rule for the action.
2. Put the same hub event_id in browser event_id and server eventId.
3. Set _linkedin_event_id before the page-load tag, or pass event_id to lintrk for an event-specific conversion.
4. Check both conversion breakdowns. For the same account and ID, LinkedIn counts the Insight Tag copy and discards the CAPI twin.

See LinkedIn deduplication. The event ID is not the conversion rule URN.

Campaign Manager settings that override code

• enabled=false stops a rule from matching events.
• conversionMethod must be CONVERSIONS_API for server rules.
• No campaign association means no campaign attribution.
• The rule controls attribution windows and model. Current CAPI defaults are 30 days post-click and 7 days view-through. Supported windows include 1, 7, 30, and 90 days; 365 days is limited to some types.
• DYNAMIC, FIXED, and NO_VALUE control reported conversion value.
• A blocked Insight Tag domain sends no downstream conversion or audience signal.
• Website Actions can create conversions that stay inactive until approved.

See rule settings and Website Actions.

Verification

1. Request proof: record the redacted event response. 201 Created proves request acceptance, not attribution.
2. Platform proof: in Campaign Manager, open Measurement → Conversion Tracking. Check the CAPI rule status and match rate. Active with a good match rate shows receipt and identity matching. Low Match Rate shows poor identity matching. Read active CAPI rules with GET /rest/conversions, filtering enabled=true and conversionMethod=CONVERSIONS_API.
3. Business proof: open Conversions & Leads, break down by conversion, and reconcile counts and value with succeeded charges.

For the tag, query GET https://api.linkedin.com/rest/insightTagDomains?q=account&account=<ENCODED_ACCOUNT_URN>. Domains can take 5–10 minutes to populate after a visit. See tag verification and CAPI measurement.

Common pitfalls and security

• Use urn:li:sponsoredAccount:<id> for the account and urn:lla:llaPartnerConversion:<id> for the rule.
• Use epoch milliseconds, not seconds. Use eventId, not event_id, in CAPI.
• Do not send raw email, an uppercase hash, or a double-hashed email.
• Do not create a new browser and server ID for one event.
• Do not send only li_fat_id; organic and direct events still matter.
• Do not treat 201, a live tag request, or an active campaign as attribution.
• Recheck rule status, domain status, campaign association, member role, and rw_conversions/r_ads after any access change.
• Keep LINKEDIN_CAPI_TOKEN server-side. Never put it in browser code, URLs, logs, screenshots, or commits. Use HTTPS, redact bearer tokens, apply the hub consent gate, and delete temporary normalized identifiers after dispatch.

Official sources checked (2026-08-28)

• Account · CAPI access · CAPI
• Schema · Click IDs · Deduplication
• Insight Tag · CAPI measurement · Privacy