Organic and Paid LinkedIn Performance Benchmarks by Industry for 2023

Author's avatar Marketing UPDATED May 29, 2024 PUBLISHED Nov 27, 2023 12 minutes read

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    Peter Caputa

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    LinkedIn offers plenty of native analytics to creator accounts and ad owners, but if you don’t know how your performance compares to others, it’s hard to do much with them. Plus, the popularity of LinkedIn and subject matter varies greatly by industry, so a general number won’t be a helpful comparison.

    This report will clear up the confusion for you. We analyzed clicks, impressions, ad spend, engagement, and reactions for LinkedIn organic posts and ads for 15 industries, courtesy of our Benchmark Groups. All LinkedIn industry benchmarks mentioned in this report are from October 2023.

    Organic and Paid LinkedIn Performance By Industry Benchmarks

    Keep reading to find out where your LinkedIn account stands.

    Organic LinkedIn Impressions

    The median number of organic impressions for LinkedIn Pages was 3.72K in October 2023.

    Organic LinkedIn Impressions

    Here are the totals for different industries:

    IndustryImpressions
    Apparel & FootwearMISSING
    Automotive7.39K
    Construction4.47K
    Consulting & Professional Services3.53K
    eCommerce & MarketplacesMISSING
    Education4.8K
    Food3.18K
    Healthcare2.8K
    Health & Wellness2.85K
    Information Technology & Services4.38K
    Industrials & Manufacturing4.24K
    Real Estate3.13K
    SaaS4.07K
    Technology4.24K
    Travel & LeisureMISSING

    The median for all industries is noticeably lower than a lot of the median values for individual industries, so pay careful attention to how those numbers differ for your sector. Automotive had by far the highest median number of impressions at 7.39, which could suggest that it has good organic reach. Meanwhile, Healthcare and Health & Wellness had the lowest median impressions, indicating they could struggle with organic performance.

    EXPERT RECOMMENDATION: If you’d like to improve your organic impressions on LinkedIn, make sure you’re putting plenty of time and thought into your posts. When we talked to LinkedIn power users about using LinkedIn for marketing, they mentioned tips like planning out your content and investing in audio and video.

    You can also work around your LinkedIn page’s limitations in the algorithm by starting an employee advocacy program. Ask your team members to post about your company and content to direct their followers to your page.

    Organic LinkedIn Clicks

    The median number of organic LinkedIn Page clicks throughout all industries was 161.5 in October 2023.

    Organic LinkedIn Clicks

    Here’s what medians by industry looked like:

    IndustryClicks
    Apparel & FootwearMISSING
    Automotive510
    Construction326.5
    Consulting & Professional Services163.5
    eCommerce & MarketplacesMISSING
    Education238
    Food141
    Healthcare108
    Health & Wellness112
    Information Technology & Services208
    Industrials & Manufacturing180
    Real Estate157
    SaaS147
    Technology168.5
    Travel & LeisureMISSING

    Like with impressions, the overall median skewed lower than most industry medians. Automotive also won out here with a median of 510 clicks, indicating more of its potential for organic engagement on LinkedIn. Healthcare and Health & Wellness also earned the lowest median clicks at 108 and 112 clicks, respectively.

    EXPERT RECOMMENDATION: If your content isn’t earning as many clicks as you’d like, revisit the best practices for making your posts more engaging. Some of these strategies include encouraging engagement, getting your employees involved, and posting consistently. As you try these new tactics, keep measuring your performance to see which approaches get you the most clicks.

    Organic LinkedIn Reactions

    In October 2023, the median number of organic reactions for LinkedIn Pages was 98 across all industries.

    Organic LinkedIn Reactions

    These were the medians per industry:

    IndustryReactions
    Apparel & FootwearMISSING
    Automotive88
    Construction99
    Consulting & Professional Services93
    eCommerce & MarketplacesMISSING
    Education120
    Food97.5
    Healthcare91
    Health & Wellness158
    Information Technology & Services130
    Industrials & Manufacturing110
    Real Estate104
    SaaS103.5
    Technology111
    Travel & LeisureMISSING

    Despite having one of the lowest medians for impressions and clicks, the Health & Wellness industry had the highest median number of reactions at 158. This could mean that even though the industry has less reach, the visitors who do see posts are more likely to engage through LinkedIn.

    With impressions, clicks, and reactions having such a strong relationship with each other, it’s ideal to track all three metrics together. Our LinkedIn Company Page Engagement Dashboard Template brings these performance factors together into one databoard.

    LinkedIn Ads Impressions

    Throughout all industries, there was a median of 55.38K impressions for LinkedIn Ads in October 2023.

    LinkedIn Ads Impressions

    Let’s see how each industry performed:

    IndustryImpressions
    Apparel & FootwearMISSING
    AutomotiveMISSING
    Construction42.57K
    Consulting & Professional Services41.37K
    eCommerce & MarketplacesMISSING
    EducationMISSING
    FoodMISSING
    Healthcare55.79K
    Health & WellnessMISSING
    Information Technology & Services76.69K
    Industrials & Manufacturing42.57K
    Real Estate39.68K
    SaaS73.21K
    Technology76.69K
    Travel & LeisureMISSING

    The technology-related industries, Information Technology & Services, SaaS, and Technology, had the highest medians, clocking at more than 70K. This could be due to the fact that LinkedIn users focus on business, and these are services that businesses in multiple industries use, making them relevant to a lot of users. Real Estate ended up having the lowest median at 73.21K.

    EXPERT RECOMMENDATION: If you want more eyes on your LinkedIn ads, follow the best practices for creating engaging ads on LinkedIn — particularly those related to targeting. For example, you could try using LinkedIn’s custom targeting options to better match your audience. Your targeting settings determine who sees your ads in the first place, which influences the reception you’ll get.

    LinkedIn Ads Clicks

    Across all industries in October 2023, there was a median of 451 clicks for LinkedIn Ads.

    LinkedIn Ads Clicks

    Take a look at the median number of clicks by industry:

    IndustryClicks
    Apparel & FootwearMISSING
    AutomotiveMISSING
    Construction325
    Consulting & Professional Services337
    eCommerce & MarketplacesMISSING
    EducationMISSING
    FoodMISSING
    HealthcareMISSING
    Health & WellnessMISSING
    Information Technology & Services551
    Industrials & Manufacturing331
    Real EstateMISSING
    SaaS559
    Technology579
    Travel & LeisureMISSING

    Tech industries also thrived in this metric, with all three earning more than a median of 550 clicks in October. However, there were also many industries with missing numbers, meaning that we could get a more accurate view if more users join relevant Benchmark Groups.

    EXPERT RECOMMENDATION: When we consulted frequent LinkedIn Ads users about the strategies that work best for improving metrics like clicks, their preferred strategies involved personalized and highly targeted ads. Even though you’re getting your ads out to a lot of people, speak to the exact customer you want to click on your ad.

    The best strategies for improving LinkedIn Ads clicks also depend on the format of your ad. Our guide to LinkedIn Ads CTR offers tactics for every ad type.

    LinkedIn Ads Engagement

    The median number of engagement actions (likes, comments, shares, etc.) for all industries’ LinkedIn Ads was 646.5 in October 2023.

    LinkedIn Ads Engagement

    Let’s examine medians for each industry: 

    IndustryEngagement
    Apparel & FootwearMISSING
    AutomotiveMISSING
    ConstructionMISSING
    Consulting & Professional Services499
    eCommerce & MarketplacesMISSING
    EducationMISSING
    FoodMISSING
    HealthcareMISSING
    Health & WellnessMISSING
    Information Technology & Services785.5
    Industrials & ManufacturingMISSING
    Real EstateMISSING
    SaaS811.5
    Technology890
    Travel & LeisureMISSING

    Only four industries had enough data to report, with three of those being the tech industries that succeeded in other areas. We need more data from Benchmark Group participants to make any definite conclusions.

    One factor behind your LinkedIn Ads that offers insights into your engagement is your audience’s demographics. The LinkedIn (Demographics overview) databoard template breaks down your follower profiles by function, geographic area, seniority, and other traits that influence their content preferences.

    LinkedIn Ads Spent

    The median LinkedIn Ad spend for companies in all industries was $1,369.88 in October 2023.

    LinkedIn Ads Spent

    Let’s examine medians for each industry: 

    IndustryMoney Spent
    Apparel & FootwearMISSING
    AutomotiveMISSING
    Construction$878.44
    Consulting & Professional Services$1,004.51
    eCommerce & MarketplacesMISSING
    EducationMISSING
    FoodMISSING
    Healthcare$2,509.42
    Health & WellnessMISSING
    Information Technology & Services$1,920.23
    Industrials & Manufacturing$616.45
    Real Estate$1,582.73
    SaaS$1,827.68
    Technology$1,827.68
    Travel & LeisureMISSING

    The Healthcare industry had the highest median ad spend in October at $2,509.42. This increased spend could suggest a need for targeted advertising, but we can’t determine this for sure without clicks and engagement data.

    Information Technology & Services, Technology, and SaaS also had high median spend figures, which aligns with their high impressions and clicks values.

    Industrials & Manufacturing had the lowest median ad spend at $616.45.

    EXPERT RECOMMENDATION: Your LinkedIn Ads spend should be high enough to reach your intended audience without wasting money on unneeded impressions. The advice we received from LinkedIn Ads professionals on reducing spend related to proper targeting, such as putting retargeting to use and spending more on your highest-performing audiences.

    LinkedIn Benchmarks for Your Industry

    The data featured in this article comes from Databox Benchmark Groups, where companies can share their performance data anonymously and get insights into the group’s overall performance to understand how their efforts compare. We offer groups targeted at all industries and specific industries to account for differences between sectors.

    If you want more LinkedIn Pages or Ads data for your industry, join your relevant Benchmark Group and contribute your data. You can also take part in the group for all industries to add to the bigger picture. Databox users with any plan, including the free one, can join by connecting their accounts and integrations.

    Here’s the full list of Organic and Paid LinkedIn performance groups by industry:

    Grow Your LinkedIn Performance With Benchmark Groups

    When you’re trying to improve your LinkedIn Page or Ads performance, it can feel like a shot in the dark. LinkedIn benchmark data gives you the context you need to:

    • Better understand your performance compared to your peers
    • Feel confident in your strategic decisions
    • Prove your performance to clients and investors

    Join a community of data-driven professionals in your industry by signing up for Benchmark Groups today. Contribute to the data available to everyone and grow your LinkedIn presence in return.

    Author's avatar
    Article by
    Nevena Rudan

    Marketing Research Analyst at Databox. Being an experienced Strategic and Creative Planner, with more than 15 years of practice, Nevena is passionately dedicated to untying the knots and entanglements of marketing, sales, and human behavior in order to deliver understandable, useful, and actionable insights for businesses.

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