When you create an ad set, you can set a budget, schedule, and bid at the ad set level to control your spending. If your campaign uses budget optimization (also known as Dynamic Group Budget), budgets and schedules are managed at the campaign level, but you can still set a cost cap or bid amount with a supported bidding strategy.
Set a budget, schedule, and bid for your ad set
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To set your budget, schedule, and bid:
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Go to the Budget & schedule section of your ad set setup for new or existing ad sets.
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From the Budget dropdown, select your preferred budget option (daily, lifetime, or both a daily and lifetime) and enter your budget amount.
- Campaign Manager automatically recommends a default daily budget for new ad sets. It is important to note that your actual daily spent might vary. Default daily budget is only available for USD and EUR currencies at this time.
- A continuous schedule is the only schedule option when you choose Set both a daily and lifetime budget as your budget option.
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Under Schedule, select your preferred ad set schedule option and enter the required dates in the date fields.
- If you choose a lifetime budget and meet applicable criteria, you can click the Set a custom schedule checkbox to select the days and timeframe your ads can run.
- When setting a custom schedule, select your time zone from the Timezone dropdown. Then, use the week calendar to choose the days and time ranges for your ads.
- To set a custom schedule, your ad set must use a Sponsored Content ad format and the LinkedIn Audience network must be disabled.
Important to know
LinkedIn recommends that advertisers don’t change the start date of an ad set to within 24 hours of the current ad set schedule, as ad set updates might not be fully implemented in time. If your campaign's start date is already set, it cannot be changed to start within the next 24 hours. For example, if your campaign is scheduled to start on Wednesday but you want to start it on Monday, you must make the change before Monday, as same-day schedule changes aren't allowed. -
Under Bidding, review your Optimization goal. Campaign Manager automatically recommends an optimization goal aligned with your ad set objective.
- Click Change to select a different optimization goal. You can't change the optimization goal for Sponsored Messaging ad formats.
- Note: For lead generation ad sets that meet the qualified leads requirements, the optimization goal defaults to qualified leads and the bidding strategy is maximum delivery. You can change the optimization goal, but it’s recommended that you select qualified leads to ensure your ads are delivered to members who are most likely to convert.
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Review your Bidding strategy. Campaign Manager automatically selects a bidding strategy aligned with your ad set objective.
- If you selected cost cap or manual bidding as your strategy, enter an amount as your cap or as your bid.
- Depending on which objective you select, you might be able to click on additional options to see other available bidding strategies.
Important to know
For continuous and set schedules, your ad set will begin running at 12:00 AM UTC on your start date. If you schedule an end date, your ad set will end at 11:59 PM UTC on your end date.
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Campaign and ad set budgets in Campaign Manager
To learn more about campaign and ad set budgets, check out LinkedIn's free, expert-built training course on this topic.
Budgets control how much you spend on your advertising. You can set budgets at the campaign level to distribute spending across multiple ad sets, or at the ad set level for precise control over individual ad set spending. Understanding your budget options helps you choose the right approach for your goals and maintain control over your investment.
Choose your budget type
LinkedIn offers three budget types to match your planning style and campaign needs. Each budget type is available at different levels depending on your campaign structure:
- Daily budget - Daily budget is the average amount you’d like to spend per day on your ad set. You can set a daily budget on a continuous schedule or with a set schedule.
- Lifetime budget - Lifetime budget is the total amount that you’ll spend for the entirety of your ad set’s schedule from start date to end date. You must set a lifetime budget to set a custom schedule.
- Daily and lifetime budget - Setting both a daily and lifetime budget allows you to guide both the daily pace and total spend of your ad set. Lifetime budget is the total amount you will spend for the entirety of your ad set schedule. Daily budget is the amount you would like to spend per day.
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When you create an advertising campaign in Campaign Manager, you can choose from bidding strategies that are aligned with your marketing objective. The bidding strategies available vary by the objective and ad format selected for your campaign or ad set.
Available bidding strategies include:
- Maximum delivery (automated)
- Cost cap
- Manual bidding
If you choose cost cap or manual bidding, you can review bid suggestions.
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Schedules control when your campaigns and ad sets are active and delivering ads to your target audience. Choosing the right schedule helps you align your advertising with your business goals, audience behavior, and budget planning needs.
Choose where to set your schedule
You can set schedules at both the campaign level and the ad set level. Understanding the hierarchy and how these levels interact helps you structure your campaigns effectively.
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With manual bidding, you can control your bid value and specify the amount you would like to bid per key result. Depending on your objective and ad format, you might also use enhanced manual bidding, optimized manual bidding, or accelerated delivery.
Basics of manual bidding
Manual bidding is available for all marketing objectives, ad formats, and optimization goals. Ad sets that use manual bidding are charged depending on the objective, ad format, and optimization goal selected. For example:
- Cost-Per-Click (CPC)
- Cost-Per-1,000 impressions (CPM)
- Cost-Per-Video View (CPV)
- Cost-Per-Send (CPS)
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When you create an ad set, you’ll choose from settings to determine who your ad is displayed to, where your ad is displayed, how much your ad set spends, and when your ad set runs. Optionally, you can also add tracking such as conversion tracking or URL tracking parameters.
The first step when you select your ad set settings is to choose a marketing objective. An objective is the goal you’d like to achieve with your ad set. Ad sets are optimized for delivery to people most likely to take the action you want based on the objective you select. Each objective offers ad formats and bidding strategies that align with the goals of that objective.