LinkedIn has published an 18-page guide to help businesses figure out which of their ads actually lead to sales. The guide targets business-to-business marketers, who sell products and services to other companies rather than individual consumers. It also includes five step-by-step frameworks for tracking ad performance across the full buying journey.
As per LinkedIn:
This guide is purpose-built for B2B marketers who are done guessing and ready to act on better signals. Whether you’re building your attribution strategy from scratch or looking to get more out of LinkedIn’s measurement capabilities, this is the resource for you.
Indeed, B2B sales work very differently from regular consumer purchases. For example, a single deal can take months and involve several decision-makers from the same company. During that time, buyers move between channels, read content without clicking ads, and even use AI tools for research. As a result, many of the interactions that lead to a sale happen before the marketing team can track them. LinkedIn calls this hidden activity the “dark funnel,” where buyers engage with a brand without leaving a clear trail.
According to LinkedIn, only 33% of B2B marketers strongly agree they can prove their marketing’s impact to company leaders. On top of that, 75% say their current measurement systems are falling short. Furthermore, research by analytics firm Dreamdata puts the average B2B buying journey at 211 days and 76 separate touchpoints. Consequently, many marketers find it hard to connect their ad spending to actual business results.
For this reason, the guide lays out five frameworks for tracking results at each stage of the buying process. In addition, it explains how to connect early signs of buyer interest with later outcomes like deals and closed sales. LinkedIn also lists several approved analytics partners, including Dreamdata, Factors.ai, and RevSure, that can add more detail to tracking reports. Additionally, the guide includes steps for improving what LinkedIn calls “full-funnel visibility.”
However, the guide is largely promotional for LinkedIn’s own paid analytics tools. In particular, some of the features it highlights are only available on paid plans. Despite this, the frameworks and breakdowns offer useful starting points for marketers who want to rethink how they measure B2B ad impact.
