LinkedIn Conversions API
Overview
Section titled “Overview”LinkedIn Conversions API creates a direct server-side connection between your marketing data and LinkedIn, so conversions are measured and campaigns optimized without depending on browser tracking alone.
It reports conversions that happen on your website. Because the events come from your server rather than the visitor’s browser, attribution holds up where cookies are blocked or a page never finishes loading.
For conversions recorded in a CRM or a file rather than on the site, use LinkedIn Offline Conversions API. For lead status updates against LinkedIn lead forms, use LinkedIn Leads Conversions API.
Supported sources
Section titled “Supported sources”Prerequisites
Section titled “Prerequisites”Before connecting LinkedIn Conversions API, make sure you have:
- A LinkedIn Ads account.
- A LinkedIn Business Manager account with access to that ad account.
- Conversion rules already created in LinkedIn Campaign Manager for the conversions you intend to report. Studio maps to them; it does not create them.
- A Datahash Studio account with the target project selected.
- A website source connected in the same project, with the subdomain and tag setup completed.
Authentication
Section titled “Authentication”In Studio, open Destinations, find LinkedIn, and click the Conversions API tile. This connector uses single sign-on only. There is no manual credentials path, so there is no token for you to generate or rotate.
- Click Sign in with LinkedIn. A new tab opens.
- Sign in with an account that has access to the ad account you intend to use.
Configuration
Section titled “Configuration”Account selection
Section titled “Account selection”- Select the Ad account you want to send to from the dropdown.
- Click Next.
Event mapping
Section titled “Event mapping”Three columns are mapped on this connector, one more than on the offline and leads destinations.
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Source event name | The event name you set up when the website source was integrated with Datahash. |
| Insight Tag conversion rule | The conversion rule your Insight Tag already fires for the same action. |
| CAPI conversion rule | The conversion rule you created in LinkedIn Campaign Manager for this connector. |
- Map each event you want to send to its corresponding conversion rule.
- Add further events with the plus icon.
- Click Finish.
The properties sent with each event have to satisfy the requirements of the conversion rule you mapped it to. A rule expecting a value will not accept an event that carries none.
Conversion rules
Section titled “Conversion rules”Conversion rules are created in LinkedIn Campaign Manager, not in Studio. If the rule you need is not in the dropdown, create it first and then reopen this step.
In Campaign Manager, switch to the right ad account using the account name dropdown in the left navigation, open Analyze and then Conversion Tracking, click Create conversion and choose Conversions API. Set the conversion name, key behavior and value, choose Direct API as the source, then associate the conversion with the campaigns you want it to inform.
Manage instance
Section titled “Manage instance”To add another, open Manage Connections and click Add Instance, then work through the same steps.
To change one, click the instance name and then the edit icon in the top right. Update the fields and click Finish. Clicking Cancel keeps the previous configuration active; updates apply only after you finish.
Data & identifiers
Section titled “Data & identifiers”Signals sends the fields your source maps. Send identifiers already hashed where you can. Plain text also works: they are normalized and SHA-256 hashed before they reach LinkedIn.
Required
Section titled “Required”| Field | When it is required |
|---|---|
| Conversion time | Always. UNIX timestamp in milliseconds. |
| CAPI conversion rule | Always. Resolved from the event mapping. |
| Email address | Always, unless the LinkedIn first-party ad tracking ID is present. At least one identifier has to reach LinkedIn. |
| Currency | Where the mapped conversion rule was defined with a value. |
| Value | Where the mapped conversion rule was defined with a value. A rule expecting a value will reject an event that carries none. |
Recommended
Section titled “Recommended”All of these raise the share of conversions LinkedIn can match to a member profile.
| Field | Format |
|---|---|
| LinkedIn first-party ad tracking ID | The cookie the Insight Tag writes when a visitor arrives from a LinkedIn ad. Matches without any personal data. |
| First name | Letters only, lowercase, trimmed, no punctuation. |
| Last name | Letters only, lowercase, trimmed, no punctuation. |
| Job title | As held in your own records. LinkedIn matches on professional attributes, which the other web conversions destinations do not. |
| Company name | As held in your own records. |
| Country | The two-letter country code. |
Best practices
Section titled “Best practices”- Create the conversion rules in Campaign Manager before you start the setup. The mapping step is the point at which a missing rule stops you, and leaving it to go back is the most common interruption on this connector.
- Map one source event to one conversion rule. Pointing two events at the same rule makes the reporting impossible to read afterwards.
- Check that each event carries the properties its rule expects, particularly value and currency for revenue conversions.
- Map only the conversions your campaigns optimize towards. Every extra rule is another line in Campaign Manager to reconcile.
- Verify in Campaign Manager under Analyze, then Conversion Tracking, against the rule you mapped rather than the account total.
Troubleshooting & FAQ
Section titled “Troubleshooting & FAQ”The conversion rule dropdown is empty. No Conversions API rule exists on that ad account. Create one in Campaign Manager with Direct API as the source, then reopen the mapping step.
No ad accounts listed after signing in. The LinkedIn account you signed in with does not have access to one. Check its role in Business Manager and sign in again.
Conversions are not appearing in Campaign Manager. Confirm the mapping was finished rather than left open, and that the source is connected in the same project and sending.
Events are rejected. The properties sent do not satisfy the mapped conversion rule. A rule defined with a value expects one on every event.
Counts are higher than expected. The same action is probably being reported by both the Insight Tag and this connector. Map the Insight Tag rule in the middle column so LinkedIn can reconcile them.
Delivery stopped. The sign-in grant may have been revoked, or the account’s access to the ad account removed. Reconnect through Sign in with LinkedIn.