One of the most common questions we hear from B2B founders and marketing leaders is deceptively simple:
“Our LinkedIn ads aren’t working.
What should we fix first- ad copy, targeting, or the landing page?”
The honest answer is: it depends on where the leak is. (Duh!)
It might sound very obvious to “fix where it leaks” but when you’re actually running a LinkedIn Ad campaign, it’s very common to fall into the trap of changing everything at once or building a fresh ad from scratch.
But that usually leads to:
- No clear learning
- Burned budget
- And the false conclusion that “LinkedIn Ads don’t work for us”
Let’s break this down and understand different scenarios where you analyze and fix different parts of your LinkedIn ads.
The Core Rule: Fix in the Order of the Funnel
Before touching anything, remember this:
You can’t fix downstream problems with upstream changes.
In LinkedIn Ads, the funnel flows like this:
Targeting → Ad Copy / Creative → Landing Page → Follow-up
So the real question isn’t what feels broken, but where users are dropping off.
Scenario 1: If You’re Not Getting Impressions or Clicks → Fix Targeting
Symptoms
- Low impressions
- CTR below ~0.4–0.5%
- Ads are barely spending the budget
- High CPC with no engagement
What’s Actually Wrong
This usually means one of three things:
- Targeting is too narrow
- Targeting is mismatched to the message
- You’re targeting roles, not buyers
On LinkedIn, precision doesn’t mean stacking 6 filters.
It means reaching the right decision-makers at the right level of awareness.
What to Fix
- Test job titles vs job functions
- Avoid hyper-niche targeting in early tests
- Separate economic buyers from end users
- Don’t mix ICPs in the same campaign
👉 If targeting is wrong, even perfect copy won’t save you.
Scenario 2: If You’re Getting Clicks but No Conversions → Fix the Landing Page
Symptoms
- CTR looks decent (0.8%–1%+)
- Traffic is coming in
- The conversion rate is low
- Leads feel unqualified
What’s Actually Wrong
This is where most teams misdiagnose the problem.
Their first concern goes on to the Ad copy and creative.
But in reality, the underlying problems could be beyond how your ad looks:
- The landing page isn’t aligned with the ad promise
- The message jumps too far ahead in the buyer journey
- The offer is generic or self-centered
What to Fix
- Match the headline language exactly to the ad
- Reduce cognitive load (one action, one CTA)
- Speak to pain before product
- Stop pitching demos to cold traffic
👉 If the landing page is weak, better ads will only waste money faster.
Scenario 3: If You’re Getting Leads but They Don’t Convert → Fix the Offer (Not Just Copy)
Symptoms
- Leads are coming in
- Sales says “low quality.”
- Long follow-ups with no traction
- “They’re curious, not serious.”
What’s Actually Wrong
This is not a copy problem.
This is an offer + intent mismatch.
Most B2B teams ask for too much, too early:
- Demo requests for cold audiences
- Sales calls before trust is built
- Product-first messaging instead of problem-first
What to Fix
- Introduce MoFu offers (playbooks, audits, POVs)
- Use Document Ads or Lead Gen Forms to educate first
- Segment follow-up by intent, not form-fill alone
- Let ads qualify before sales does
👉 Good copy can’t fix a bad ask.
Where Ad Copy Actually Matters Most
Ad copy should be optimized after:
- You know you’re targeting the right people
- You’ve validated landing page alignment
That’s when copy becomes a scaling lever, not a band-aid.
Great B2B ad copy filters out the wrong audience, calls out a specific pain, signals who the ad is not for, matches the buyer’s current awareness level
The Shivyaanchi Rule of Thumb
When LinkedIn Ads underperform, we fix things in this order:
- Targeting: Are we reaching the right buyers?
- Offer & Landing Page: Are we asking for the right action?
- Ad Copy & Creative: Can we scale what’s already working?
- Follow-up: Are leads being handled correctly?
Most teams do this in reverse.
That’s why most LinkedIn Ads feel “expensive.”
Final Thought
LinkedIn Ads rarely fail because of one thing.
They can fail because everything is slightly misaligned. And no one knows what to fix first
If you fix the biggest leak first, LinkedIn Ads stop feeling like experiments and start behaving like a pipeline.
