On this page
The five minute version
For anyone who has to explain LinkedIn spend to someone who signs the cheques.
- Lead with money. Pipeline and revenue first, impressions last.
- Make qualified leads a LinkedIn metric. Send them back with the Conversions API or CRM Sync and Campaign Manager reports cost per qualified lead itself.
- Report post-click and view-through conversions separately. The export already splits them.
- LinkedIn and your CRM will never match. Explain the gap once, in writing, then stop arguing about it.
- Every number gets a sentence. "Paused, here's why" beats a red cell.
- Weekly checks for us. Monthly report for the client. Quarterly: is LinkedIn still the right channel?
If you need a glossary to read your own ad report, the report's wrong.
01The metrics, in the order that matters
If a report leads with tier 4, it's hiding tier 1.
The bit most people miss: qualified leads don't have to live only in your CRM. Send them back to LinkedIn (through CRM Sync or the Conversions API) and Campaign Manager reports Qualified Leads and Cost Per Qualified Lead natively. Both columns are in the standard export. That's tiers 2 and 3 in your LinkedIn data, no spreadsheet gymnastics.
02What's on our dashboard
Here's the layout we use, with made-up numbers for a made-up engineering firm. Click between months.
Northbank Precision · LinkedIn Ads
Monthly report. Money first.
Funnel
Bar lengths on a log scale, or impressions would be the only thing you could see.
Ad sets
| Ad set | Spend | Leads | Qualified | Cost per qualified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awareness · Target accounts · Video | £1,420 | 0 | 0 | – | Doing its jobNot meant to make leads. 41% of target accounts reached this month |
| Consideration · Warming up · Case studies | £1,050 | 4 | 2 | £525 | WorkingCompanies Hub list feeding it 11 warm accounts |
| Conversion · Engaged · Lead form | £980 | 12 | 5 | £196 | ScalingBest cost per qualified lead in the account. Budget up 20% |
| Retargeting · Website 90 days · Document ad | £430 | 5 | 2 | £215 | TestingWeek 9 of 12. Too early to call |
| Test · Thought leader ads · MD posts | £300 | 2 | 0 | – | PausedDecent CTR, no qualified leads in three months |
| Total | £4,180 | 23 | 9 | £464 |
What we did
- Paused the thought leader test late in the month and put an extra £160 into the lead form ad set
- Swapped the case study ad for the 14-day turnaround one
- Added the Companies Hub "Warming up" list to consideration
What's next
- Second lead form question to filter out students
- New video for awareness
- Review retargeting at week 12
Demo data. Not a real client.
03The settings that change your numbers
Before you compare anything, check these. Two accounts with different settings are two different rulers.
| Setting | Default | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion window | 90-day click, 90-day view (LinkedIn's current recommendation and default) | Keep 90-day click. Report view-through separately, never blended |
| Attribution model | Last touch, each ad set | Fine for optimising. Just know every ad set that touched the conversion gets credit |
| Lead counting | Lead gen form submissions | Add a qualifying question so "lead" means something |
View-through conversions are people who saw an ad, didn't click, and converted later. They're real influence, but they're not the same as a click. The export gives you Post-Click Conversions and View-Through Conversions as separate columns. Use them.
One of LinkedIn's help pages still says the window options are 1, 7 or 30 days. The newer conversion setup page says 90-day click and 90-day view is the default. Check the setting on each conversion in your own account.
04Why LinkedIn and your CRM never match
They won't. Ever. Here's why, using LinkedIn's own explanations.
From 41 to 11 in one month
Where LinkedIn's conversions go before they reach the CRM.
- View-through counts. LinkedIn counts people who saw an ad but didn't click.
- No deduplication across ad sets. Two ad sets, one conversion, two credits.
- Cookies. The Insight Tag relies on cookies, and Safari and ad blockers get in the way.
- Modelled conversions. LinkedIn now uses machine learning to estimate some conversions it can't observe.
- Different windows. LinkedIn looks back up to 90 days. Your CRM records what it records.
The fix isn't a better spreadsheet. Pick one number to make decisions on (we use qualified leads in the CRM), report LinkedIn's number next to it, label both, and explain the gap once.
05Revenue: what LinkedIn can do now
If your CRM is connected to LinkedIn through CRM Sync (Salesforce, HubSpot or Dynamics 365), you get the Revenue Attribution Report in Business Manager and pipeline columns in Campaign Manager.
What you get: revenue won, ROAS, pipeline amount, open opportunities, closed won, opportunity win rate, average deal size and average days to close. Lookback of 30, 60, 90, 180 or 365 days (180 by default).
What to watch
- It's influence, not attribution. A deal counts if people at the company saw or engaged with your ads before the opportunity was created, depending on the attribution model you pick. Useful. Not the same as "LinkedIn made this sale".
- Your business must own the ad account. No CRM data on accounts shared with you or owned by an agency.
- It's slow. CRM data can take up to 72 hours to reach Business Manager, then another 24 to 48 hours to reach Campaign Manager.
- You can't export the Pipeline view from Campaign Manager. Screenshot it, or export from the Revenue Attribution Report.
For revenue by company, see Companies Hub's Revenue view.
06Getting LinkedIn data into Google Sheets
The free way (what our template uses)
- Campaign Manager › select your account › Export (top right of the table).
- Report type: Ad set performance. Time breakdown: Monthly. Date range: last full month, or the last few.
- Open the file in Excel or Numbers, select all, copy, and paste into the template's Paste LinkedIn tab at cell A1. Preamble rows and all.
Why most people's imports go wrong: LinkedIn's "CSV" isn't really a CSV. It's a tab-separated UTF-16 file with five lines of report info above the headers, and the dates are in US order (9/14/2026). Excel copes. Google Sheets often doesn't. Our template finds the header row itself and is set to read US dates correctly.
The automatic way
Connectors pull LinkedIn into Sheets on a schedule. Several have free tiers (Porter Metrics, Windsor.ai and Coupler.io all list one), with paid plans once you add accounts or history. Automation tools like Make can do it too. Worth it once you're reporting weekly.
What you can't export
Some Campaign Manager columns never make it into the export: Key results, Cost per result, Bid, and Leads under data-driven attribution. The Pipeline view and the attribution model view can't be exported either.
Raw data on one tab. Dashboard on another. Never edit the raw tab by hand.
07Our reporting rhythm
| When | What | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | Signals (tier 4). Fix what's broken | Us |
| Monthly | The dashboard plus a short video walkthrough of tiers 1 to 3 | Client |
| Quarterly | Zoom out. Is LinkedIn still the right place for this money? | Both |
08My take
The best report is the one the owner actually reads.
Lead with money. Put a sentence next to every number. Say what you're doing next.
And if your agency's report starts with impressions, ask them what they're hiding in tier 1.
The free template
The Google Sheets dashboard from this page. Paste in your Campaign Manager export and your CRM numbers. It does the rest.
- Reads LinkedIn's export as it comes: preamble, US dates, old and new column names
- Money first, signals last
- A reconciliation tab for the LinkedIn vs CRM argument
09Common questions
What should a LinkedIn Ads report include?
Money first (pipeline and revenue), then conversations (qualified leads, calls, opportunities), then efficiency (cost per qualified lead), then signals (CTR, CPC, CPM, frequency). Plus a sentence on what changed and what you're doing next.
How do I export LinkedIn Ads data to Excel or Google Sheets?
In Campaign Manager, click Export, choose Ad set performance and a Monthly time breakdown. The file is tab-separated UTF-16 with five lines of report details above the headers and US-format dates, so paste it into a template built to handle that.
Can I connect LinkedIn Ads to Google Sheets automatically?
Yes, through third-party connectors such as Porter Metrics, Windsor.ai or Coupler.io (several have free tiers) or an automation tool like Make. There's no Google-built LinkedIn connector.
Why don't my LinkedIn conversions match my CRM?
LinkedIn counts view-through conversions, doesn't deduplicate conversions across ad sets, relies on cookies, and models some conversions. Your CRM counts what it records. Pick one number to decide on and report the other next to it.
What is the default LinkedIn conversion window?
LinkedIn's conversion setup page says 90-day click and 90-day view is the recommended default, with 1, 7, 30 and 90 days available. Check each conversion's settings in your account.
How often should I report on LinkedIn Ads?
Check signals weekly, report to the business monthly, and review whether LinkedIn is the right channel quarterly.
Can LinkedIn report revenue from my ads?
Yes, if you connect Salesforce, HubSpot or Dynamics 365 through CRM Sync. You get the Revenue Attribution Report and pipeline columns, measured as influence. Your business must own the ad account.
Is there a free LinkedIn Ads dashboard template?
Yes. Ours is a Google Sheets template built around Campaign Manager's own export, with a money-first dashboard and a LinkedIn vs CRM reconciliation tab.
Read next
Sources
Checked 13 October 2026. Export format checked against a real Campaign Manager Ad Set Performance export, October 2026 (87 columns, UTF-16, tab-separated).
- LinkedIn Help: Reports available to export in Campaign Manager
- LinkedIn Help: Time breakdown in reports
- LinkedIn Help: Conversion tracking setup and attribution windows
- LinkedIn Help: Attribution models
- LinkedIn Help: Conversion discrepancies
- LinkedIn Help: Modelled conversions
- LinkedIn Help: Data-driven attribution
- LinkedIn Help: Lead funnel metrics (Qualified Leads)
- LinkedIn Help: CRM Sync
- LinkedIn Help: Revenue Attribution Report
- LinkedIn Help: Revenue Attribution Report models
- Microsoft Learn: LinkedIn Conversions API
- Social Media Today, 30 Sep 2025: LinkedIn updates campaign naming
- Porter Metrics: LinkedIn Ads connector (free plan)
- Windsor.ai: LinkedIn Ads to Google Sheets (free plan)
- Coupler.io: LinkedIn Ads report templates (free account)