LinkedIn document ads: gated content, specs and lead forms
Document ads put a PDF, deck or Word file straight into the LinkedIn feed, where people can page through it and download it. This guide covers the objectives they work with, the file and text specs, gating the full document behind a Lead Gen Form, building the ad, design advice for the document itself, and what you can measure, using what LinkedIn states in its help pages.
This guide is built from LinkedIn's own pages: the help articles on document ads, their advertising specifications, creating document ads in Campaign Manager and document ads best practices, plus the Document Ads product page and the Ads Guide entry. Campaign structure, targeting, the Insight Tag and ad review are covered in our LinkedIn ads basics guide, so they are not repeated here.
What a document ad is
LinkedIn describes document ads as "a type of Sponsored Content that allow advertisers to promote documents directly in the LinkedIn feed and on the LinkedIn Audience Network." Its examples are e-books, case studies, white papers, infographics and presentations. People read the document inside the ad without leaving LinkedIn or, on the Audience Network, the third-party site where they saw it.
Two details matter for planning:
- Downloads are always PDFs. LinkedIn says "All documents will download as a PDF regardless of the original format."
- Links only work after download. Hyperlinks in the document are clickable only if the member downloads it, so a link on page 3 does nothing for someone reading in the feed.
Document ads are one of the formats that can run on the LinkedIn Audience Network, alongside single image, carousel and video ads. When you turn it on for an ad set, the same targeting, bid type and budget apply to the off-LinkedIn placements.
Objectives and what each one changes
LinkedIn's help pages list five objectives for document ads: brand awareness, engagement, lead generation, website visits and website conversions. (The Document Ads product page names only brand awareness, engagement and lead generation; the help articles add the two website objectives.) The objective decides what the ad looks like after the first pages:
- Brand awareness and engagement: the document is shared freely, with a download button. This suits thought-leadership content you want read widely.
- Lead generation: you must attach a Lead Gen Form. The ad gets a single call to action, Unlock full document, and only PDFs are supported.
- Website visits and website conversions: you enter a destination URL and choose a call-to-action button, and you can limit how many pages are shown as a preview.
In Campaign Manager the preview-page slider appears for the lead generation, website visits and website conversions objectives.
Specifications
From LinkedIn's document ads specifications and the Ads Guide:
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| File types | PDF, DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX (lead generation: PDF only) |
| File size and length | Up to 100 MB and 300 pages; word limit 1 million |
| Recommended length | Under 10 pages (Ads Guide) |
| Aspect ratio | Vertical, horizontal or square |
| Documents per upload | Up to five |
| Videos and animations | Not supported; shown as static images |
| PDF requirements | Layers flattened or merged; all pages the same size |
| Ad name (optional) | Up to 255 characters, visible only in Campaign Manager |
| Introductory text | 150 characters to avoid shortening; 3,000 maximum |
| Headline | 70 characters to avoid shortening; 200 maximum; pre-filled with the file name |
LinkedIn adds that URLs longer than 23 characters in the introductory text are converted to a short link, that any legally required wording belongs in the introductory text, and that hyperlinks in the document should be secure. The Ads Guide also asks you to check the document against LinkedIn's copyright policy.
Both LinkedIn pages list the standard page layouts to use: Letter (8.5 x 11 in), Tabloid (11 x 17), Legal (8.5 x 14), Statement (5.5 x 8.5), Executive (7.25 x 10.5), Folio (8.5 x 13), A3, A4, B4 and B5.
Gating the document with a Lead Gen Form
This is the main reason businesses use the format. LinkedIn explains: "If you add a Lead Gen Form to your document ad, members can't see or download the full document until they click Unlock full document and fill out the Lead Gen Form. You can choose how many pages a member can see as a preview."
The rules that follow from it:
- Single-page documents can't be gated. LinkedIn says Lead Gen Forms "aren't available for single-page documents because you must have at least one page available as a preview." A one-page checklist needs a second page, or a different ad format.
- The gate needs a PDF. The lead generation objective only accepts PDFs.
- You can reuse forms. In the ad you pick a previously created Lead Gen Form or build a new one.
The form itself is the same Lead Gen Form used by other LinkedIn formats. LinkedIn's Create Lead Gen Forms page lists its sections: form details (name, language, the offer headline and description), lead details (standard fields and custom questions), data privacy (a privacy policy URL, "required for form approval"), a confirmation message with an optional landing page or booking link, and settings such as hidden fields for tracking. The character limits and field counts are in our LinkedIn ads basics guide.
The preview is the sales pitch for the form. Someone decides whether to hand over their details based on the pages they can see, so those pages need to show what the rest of the document gives them.
Creating a document ad
LinkedIn's steps, in short:
- Check permissions. You need super admin, content admin or Sponsored Content poster access on the LinkedIn Page, and creative manager access or higher on the ad account. Our Campaign Manager roles guide explains these.
- Create the ad set with brand awareness, engagement, website visits, website conversions or lead generation as the objective.
- Add the ad. On the Ads in this ad set page, write the introductory text (it appears above the document preview), then click Upload or select to open the Document Library. You can search existing documents, filter by page count, or upload a new one; the file name can be up to 255 characters.
- Set the preview with the slider (lead generation, website visits and website conversions), then enter the headline.
- Finish the objective-specific part: the Lead Gen Form for lead generation, or the destination URL and call-to-action button for the website objectives. Then click Save ad.
One technical note from LinkedIn: some documents uploaded before November 2023 that were used with a preview selection in lead generation or website ad sets can't be selected again. The fix is to upload the file to the Document Library again. After launch, ads are reviewed and, if approved, delivered according to the ad set settings.
If you would rather promote a post already published by your Page or by an employee, LinkedIn points to selecting existing content instead; see our guide to LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads.
Designing the document
LinkedIn's best-practices article is short and practical:
- Use a PDF for the best quality. Other file types are converted to PDF for download, and LinkedIn says converting "reduces the quality of the original document."
- Keep the file under 100 MB and use a standard page layout.
- Avoid URLs, pricing and other content that changes often, so the document does not go out of date.
- Minimise PDF layers; "PDFs with multiple layers render poorly."
- Avoid long documents: the document player has no search.
- Avoid calls to action inside the document, because links and CTAs aren't clickable in the player. Put the action in the ad text, the button or the form.
- Avoid multiple text columns and small fonts, and check that colour combinations have enough contrast. Our accessibility basics guide explains contrast checks.
Testing the form before launch
LinkedIn lets you send a test lead so you can check the data arrives, which it recommends when the form is connected to marketing automation or a CRM. You can send one from Content & Assets > Lead generation forms (More > Send Test Lead), or from the ad preview in the Ads tab; a test sent from the ad preview also carries the ad and ad set IDs. In the lead download, the Test Lead column shows TRUE for test leads and FALSE for real ones. To download leads you need Page admin or Lead Gen Forms Manager access. Our guide to connecting a website to a CRM covers the receiving side.
What you can measure
The Document Ads product page says you can "Track what percentage of your document was viewed and total downloads," which shows how far people read and where interest drops off. For gated documents, LinkedIn's performance metric definitions include leads, cost per lead and, when the work email field is used, leads (work email): the number of leads that don't use a free or personal email domain.
Read these together. A document many people read to the end but few unlock may need a stronger preview or a shorter form; a document that loses readers on page two needs better content, not a different form. To follow leads past the form, compare them in your CRM, and use the Insight Tag or Conversions API set-up described in our LinkedIn ads basics guide for website actions.
How we plan document ads
This is our own practice, not LinkedIn's guidance:
- We decide first whether the document is for reach (ungated) or for leads (gated), and keep that choice to one ad set.
- For a gated document, we write the preview pages as a summary of what the full version contains, so the unlock is an informed choice.
- We keep forms short and add work email only when the sales team needs it.
- We move every link and call to action out of the document and into the ad text, the form's confirmation page or the website.
- We send a test lead and check it in the CRM before any money is spent. For the wider lead flow, see our B2B website lead generation guide.
Frequently asked questions
What file types can LinkedIn document ads use?
PDF, DOC, DOCX, PPT and PPTX, up to 100 MB and 300 pages. With the lead generation objective, only PDFs are supported.
How do I gate a document behind a lead form on LinkedIn?
Choose the lead generation objective, attach a Lead Gen Form and use the slider to set how many pages people can preview. They must click Unlock full document and complete the form to see or download the rest.
Can I gate a one-page document?
No. LinkedIn says Lead Gen Forms aren't available for single-page documents, because at least one page must be available as a preview.
Are links in a LinkedIn document ad clickable?
Only after the member downloads the document. In the in-feed document player, links and calls to action aren't clickable.
How long should the document be?
LinkedIn allows up to 300 pages, but its Ads Guide recommends under 10 pages, and its best-practices article advises against lengthy documents because the player has no search.
For more on LinkedIn advertising, see our guides to LinkedIn ads basics, LinkedIn Matched Audiences, LinkedIn conversation ads and B2B website lead generation.