Bots and automated script traffic represent a quarter of all LinkedIn ad clicks you’re paying for.
Reported by Stacked Marketer and aligned with Lunio research (rounding at 25%), paid ads are once again under scrutiny on efficiency and optimal results for CAC.
Other paid networks are also impacted, even though LinkedIn is ranking on top. 🏆
I’ve covered organic reach issues over the past several months – my current impressions are 70% to 90% lower than an ongoing streak from 2018 to early 2023.
If you’re dealing with reach issues and exploring thought leadership ads here – or pure brand/conversion ones, here’s my take:
1. Organic reach is down for most ⬇️
Speaking with hundreds of creators this year, almost everyone is dealing with a reach drop – an average of 50%. 📉
Most content formats don’t perform as effectively as they did before – Documents, Video, even Articles are getting fewer organic views than ever.
If you’re in the same boat – you’re not alone.
2. Thought leadership ads exist ⬇️
One effective way to bump reach out are thought leadership ads.
Some folks like Impactable’s Justin Rowe or Project 33 Finn Thormeier have found success in amplifying their brand here.
This channel never yielded measurable results for me after three attempts over the past 8 months, but it’s technically possible to include in the mix.
3. LinkedIn Cost-per-opportunity: north of $3K ⬇️
Metadata analyzed $130M in ad spend in 2023 and calculated an average of $3,162.89 cost per opportunity through LinkedIn.
Chris Walker crunched the numbers including conversion rates and longer funnels in B2B based on the lead cost of $172, with a lead-to-win rate of 0.1% to 0.2%, or an average CAC of…
$57,000. 🤯
4. Cross-pollinating other channels ⬇️
Organic-wise, I get an average 4X the number of views on X with the same ratio of followers and engagements.
My network of investors, hold co owners, founders there isn’t drastically different from LinkedIn, hence the audience overlap.
While bot traffic and accounts are common, CPL is dramatically lower – and easier to nurture.
The CAC estimates above are now used across B2B diluted among:
✅ Google Ads
✅ Channel partnerships
✅ Brand ambassador deals
✅ Sponsored community events
✅ Direct outreach
✅ Sponsored email/podcast deals
Is LinkedIn going to calibrate the reach going forward?
My guess is yes.
Regular B2B creators are expanding horizontally over the past few months to compensate.
Newsletters. Blog. YouTube video. Podcasts.
In the meantime, we stick around waiting for the next major update.
🔁 What’s your experience in 2024 so far?
