Short answer: Microsoft Ads can raise or lower your search bids for people based on their LinkedIn company, industry and job function, but it doesn't restrict who can see your ads.
In B2B search, keywords tell you what someone wants. They don't tell you who they are. A head of procurement and a student can type the same query. Microsoft Advertising has a way to tell them apart that Google doesn't: LinkedIn.
What Microsoft actually offers
Microsoft says it's the only advertising platform, other than LinkedIn itself, that lets you target people based on their LinkedIn profile information. There are three attributes:
- Company, such as a specific account you're selling into.
- Industry, such as finance or broadcast media.
- Job function, such as sales, accounting or purchasing. Note it's function, not individual job titles.
It works in Search, Dynamic Search Ads, Microsoft Shopping, Audience and Performance Max campaigns, with three caveats from Microsoft's own page. Not every advertiser can use it in Performance Max yet, and where you can, it's set up as an audience signal rather than a bid adjustment. Not every company, industry or job function is available, since Microsoft is still expanding the lists. And it isn't offered in every market. On our calls, this comes up again and again for B2B: the same search ads, with a layer of professional data no Google campaign can use.
The part most people get wrong
It's easy to assume that picking a company or job function means only those people will see your ads. They won't. Microsoft is explicit: LinkedIn profile targeting will not narrow your ads' audience. Targeting a specific company doesn't exclude everyone who doesn't work there.
Microsoft describes it as bid only, as opposed to "target and bid". You choose companies, industries or job functions and set a bid adjustment for each. When a matching person searches, you bid more (or less). Everyone else can still see your ad at your normal bid.
That changes how you should use it.
How to use it in B2B
- Bid up on your target accounts. Add the companies on your account list with a positive bid adjustment. Microsoft caps this at 1,000 companies per ad group or campaign, and company lists have to be added manually in the platform.
- Bid up on the functions that buy. If procurement or finance signs off on what you sell, raise bids for those job functions so you win more of their searches.
- Use exclusions for poor fits. Microsoft lets you exclude targets as well as bid on them, which is how you remove a company or function you never want to pay for.
- Keep keywords doing the intent work. Profile data sharpens who you pay more for. It doesn't replace the search query as the signal of what someone needs right now.
Treat it as a way to spend more on the right people, not as a fence. If you need a strict audience of named accounts, that's a job for LinkedIn Ads or a matched audience, which we cover in our LinkedIn Ads guide. Microsoft's version is for adding professional context to search intent.
The takeaways
- Microsoft Ads can use LinkedIn company, industry and job function in search, shopping, audience and Performance Max campaigns (Performance Max is still rolling out, and works as an audience signal there).
- It's bid only. It raises or lowers your bid for matching people; it doesn't narrow who can see the ad.
- Bid up on target accounts and buying functions; use exclusions for poor fits.
- Job function, not job title. Up to 1,000 companies per ad group or campaign, added manually.
Common questions
What is LinkedIn profile targeting in Microsoft Advertising?
It lets you target people based on their LinkedIn profile information: company, industry and job function. Microsoft says it's the only advertising platform other than LinkedIn that allows this. It's available for Search, Dynamic Search Ads, Microsoft Shopping, Audience and Performance Max campaigns, though Microsoft says not every advertiser can use it in Performance Max yet, and it isn't available in every market.
Does LinkedIn profile targeting narrow my audience in Microsoft Ads?
No. Microsoft says it will not narrow your ads' audience. Targeting a company doesn't exclude everyone who doesn't work there. It works as bid only: you set a bid adjustment for the companies, industries or job functions you choose.
Can I target job titles in Microsoft Ads?
Microsoft's LinkedIn profile targeting uses job function, such as sales, accounting or purchasing, rather than individual job titles.
How many companies can I target?
Microsoft says you can't target more than 1,000 companies in a single ad group or campaign. Company lists have to be added manually in the platform; importing them from files isn't supported.
Can Google Ads do the same thing?
Google Ads doesn't have access to LinkedIn profile data. Microsoft describes LinkedIn profile targeting as available only on Microsoft Advertising and LinkedIn itself.
Does LinkedIn profile targeting work in Microsoft Performance Max?
Partly. Microsoft lists Performance Max as supported but says not everyone can use LinkedIn targeting there yet. In Performance Max it's set up as an audience signal rather than a bid adjustment, so it guides the campaign instead of raising bids for matching people.