LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms: setup, fields and getting the leads out

This guide is built from LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Help, mainly Create Lead Gen Forms in Campaign Manager, Lead Gen Form specifications and View and download leads, plus the pages linked below. Gated documents have their own guide, LinkedIn document ads, and message-based forms are in our conversation ads guide.

What Lead Gen Forms are

LinkedIn describes them as "customizable templates that automatically populate contact and profile information when a member clicks on your ad's call-to-action button". The person checks the prefilled answers, fills any gaps, and submits. The lead then sits in Campaign Manager, or goes on to your CRM if you have connected one.

Forms are saved as assets in the ad account, so one form can be reused across several ad sets. You can build them in advance or during ad set setup.

Objectives, formats and bidding

Forms belong to the lead generation objective. The specifications page lists the formats they attach to: single image, carousel image, video, event, message, document and conversation ads. Each format has its own guide, starting with our objectives overview.

Optimisation goals for lead generation are qualified leads, leads, clicks and impressions. Leads is the default if you have no Conversions API set up; if you do, LinkedIn recommends qualified leads, which uses lead quality data you send back. Sponsored Messaging formats only offer the leads goal.

Creating a form

1. In Campaign Manager, click Content & Assets in the left menu and select Lead generation forms.
2. Click Create form.
3. Fill in the sections: form details, lead details, data privacy, confirmation and settings.
4. Click Create, then select the form when you set up ads in a lead generation ad set.

Form details set the name, language and the offer: a headline of up to 60 characters and details of up to 160. An optional image is recommended at 552 × 200 px. The language can't be changed after saving; English forms work with ad sets in any language except simplified Chinese, while other languages must match the ad set. Headline, details and the confirmation message can be personalised with macros for members who allow ad personalisation.

Fields, prefill and custom questions

The fields page allows up to 12 fields from five groups: contact, work, company, education and demographic. First name, last name and email are selected by default and count toward the 12; you can untick them.

• Prefill: LinkedIn fills fields from the member's profile, except gender. Members can edit work and personal email and phone, gender, and any field missing from their profile.
• Validate work email: blocks common free email domains such as Gmail in the work email field. LinkedIn notes this "might improve the quality of leads" but can lower submissions.
• Custom questions: up to three, 100 characters each, multiple choice or single-line text. They count toward the 12 and are required to submit. On multiple choice, the first answer is pre-selected.

LinkedIn's best practices say: "Choose three to four fields to use on your Lead Gen Form." If many people open the form but few submit, it suggests cutting fields or rewording the ad.

Privacy policy and consent checkboxes

A privacy policy URL is required for approval. LinkedIn's privacy page says it "should be solely dedicated to your privacy policy". You can add optional privacy text of up to 2,000 characters below the questions, describing what you will do with the data.

For specific consent, such as a newsletter or sales contact, add disclosure checkboxes: up to five, 500 characters each, with links allowed. Each can be made required. They don't count toward the 12 fields. LinkedIn notes that checkboxes only appear if you enable them when building the form. Your own consent wording and legal basis are a matter for your privacy adviser; LinkedIn provides the boxes, not the policy.

The confirmation step

After submitting, people see a thank-you message of up to 300 characters, with an optional call-to-action button to a landing page. LinkedIn "doesn't automatically send any assets to members", so if you promised a guide, put an ungated link to it here or email it yourself. The best practices page also suggests saying how and when you will follow up.

Instead of a landing page you can offer appointment booking with a Calendly or Chili Piper link. LinkedIn says this isn't available for message or conversation ads.

Hidden fields for tracking

Hidden fields add columns to your leads report without showing anything to the member. You can add up to 20. A static field uses a fixed value, such as a campaign source; dynamic parameters fill in account, campaign, ad set or ad ID and name automatically, so one form can serve many campaigns. Hidden fields can't be added to a form already attached to an active ad set. Under Settings you can also rename fields so downloads and syncs match your CRM's names.

Editing a live form

Editing needs the campaign manager or account manager role, and an active Company Page. A form not used in an active ad set can be edited in full, except its language. Once it is attached to an active Sponsored Content ad, only the headline, details, privacy text and URL, confirmation message, landing page, thank-you call-to-action and work email validation can change; with Sponsored Messaging, only work email validation. An edited active form goes back to ad review, and LinkedIn warns ads "may stop serving" until it is approved. The editing page has the full rules.

Downloading leads

To download leads you need viewer access or higher on the ad account and the Lead Gen Forms manager role or higher on the company Page; Page roles are in our roles guide. If a Business Manager owns the ad account, the Page must be owned by the same Business Manager.

• By form: Content & Assets, Lead generation forms, select one or more forms and a date range, then Download leads. You get one CSV per form.
• By ad set: Advertise, Ad Sets tab, select the ad set and dates, Export, and choose Leads as the report type.

If accented or non-English characters look wrong, import the CSV into a spreadsheet as UTF-8. One important limit: LinkedIn says "Collected member profile data can only be stored for one year because of our member privacy policy." Performance metrics stay in Campaign Manager beyond that, but the leads themselves don't, so move them out regularly.

CRM and marketing automation

LinkedIn's integration page says leads can sync to supported marketing automation and CRM platforms, giving Salesforce Sales Cloud and HubSpot as examples, and points to the LinkedIn Marketing Partner Directory to find a partner. If your platform isn't supported, download the CSV and import it, checking that columns match your CRM's fields.

Two cautions from LinkedIn: some partners don't support profile link fields, hidden fields or custom checkboxes, and custom questions work with all partners except Microsoft. Editing a form that isn't in an active ad set means updating the settings on the CRM side too, or new leads may not sync. Our guide to connecting your website to a CRM covers the receiving end.

Reporting and what you pay for

In Campaign Manager, choose Conversion & Leads in the Columns menu to see leads, completion rate and cost per lead for each ad set. With the qualified leads goal you also get qualified leads and cost per qualified lead. Conversions on your website are tracked separately, with the Insight Tag or Conversions API.

LinkedIn says ads with forms "can be purchased on a cost-per-click or cost-per-impression basis, but cost-per-lead is not available at this time." Its chargeable clicks page sets out what counts: for Sponsored Content, impressions with maximum delivery or cost cap, and clicks with manual bidding on a clicks goal; for Sponsored Messaging, sends. How the auction sets the price is in our bidding guide.

How we build forms

This is our own practice, not LinkedIn's guidance:

• We keep forms to the fields sales actually uses, usually name, work email, company and job title, plus at most one custom question.
• We add hidden fields for campaign and ad from the start, so every lead can be traced back without separate forms.
• We connect forms to the client's CRM before launch and send a test lead, rather than relying on manual downloads.
• We write the thank-you message to say exactly what happens next, and link the promised download there.

If you want help with LinkedIn lead generation, see our services.

Frequently asked questions

How many questions can a LinkedIn Lead Gen Form have?

Up to 12 fields, including up to three custom questions. Disclosure checkboxes (up to five) don't count toward the 12. LinkedIn recommends three to four fields.

How long does LinkedIn keep Lead Gen Form leads?

LinkedIn says collected member profile data can only be stored for one year. Download the leads or sync them to a CRM well before then.

Can I connect LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms to Salesforce or HubSpot?

LinkedIn names both as examples of platforms you may be able to integrate. Find the right partner in the LinkedIn Marketing Partner Directory; if yours isn't supported, download the CSV and import it.

Does LinkedIn send the promised download to people who fill in the form?

No. Put an ungated link to the asset in the confirmation step, or email it yourself after downloading the leads.

Can I pay per lead on LinkedIn?

No. LinkedIn says cost-per-lead buying isn't available; you pay by click, impression or, for message ads, send.

For more on LinkedIn advertising, see our guides to LinkedIn ads basics and Matched Audiences.