LinkedIn single image ads: specs, objectives and setup

This guide is built from LinkedIn's Marketing Solutions help pages: single image ads advertising specifications, single image ads, create single image ads in Campaign Manager and the chargeable click pages linked below. Campaign Manager structure, Lead Gen Form setup and ad review are covered in our LinkedIn ads basics guide; the formats with more than one image or page have their own guides on carousel ads and document ads. Checked on 12 November 2026. LinkedIn changes these limits from time to time, so check its pages before you rely on a detail.

What a single image ad is

LinkedIn describes single image ads as a Sponsored Content format that "includes one image and appear directly in the member's feed" of your ad set's target audience. They show on desktop and mobile, and also on the LinkedIn Audience Network, LinkedIn's placements on third-party apps and sites. LinkedIn's Sponsored Content page lists single image as one of the four formats that can run there, next to carousel, document and video.

An ad can come from three places: a new ad built in Campaign Manager (direct Sponsored Content, never posted on your Page), a single image post from your LinkedIn Page that you sponsor, or a member's public post sponsored as a thought leader ad. Each ad set uses one ad format, so a single image ad set holds only single image ads; the exception is flexible ads, covered below.

Objectives that accept it

LinkedIn says single image ads "support all levels of full funnel marketing" and lists six objectives: brand awareness, website visits, engagement, lead generation, website conversions and job applicants. Video views is the one it can't use: for that objective, "video is the only ad format available," per LinkedIn's video views page. What each objective optimises for is explained in our LinkedIn ads objectives guide.

With the lead generation objective, the ad opens a Lead Gen Form instead of a website. You pick an existing form or create a new one while building the ad. How forms are built, which fields they can hold and how leads are downloaded is in the Lead Gen Forms section of our basics guide.

Image specs

LinkedIn accepts three image shapes. It marks landscape 1.91:1 and vertical 4:5 as recommended ratios:

• Landscape 1.91:1: 1200 x 628 px recommended; from 640 x 360 up to 7680 x 4320 px.
• Square 1:1: 1200 x 1200 px recommended; from 360 x 360 up to 4320 x 4320 px.
• Vertical 4:5: 720 x 900 px recommended; from 360 x 640 up to 2430 x 4320 px.

The file rules are the same for all three:

• File types: JPG, PNG or GIF. Animated GIFs "must be 250 frames or shorter."
• File size: up to 5 MB.
• Images under 401 pixels wide "display as a thumbnail image."
• LinkedIn scales every image down automatically.

LinkedIn recommends vertical images, with one catch: "paid vertical assets will only serve on mobile devices." Older 1:1.91 vertical images still work, but LinkedIn adds borders on both sides to fit the frame, so it advises 4:5 to avoid them. It also warns that square and vertical images "might be cropped when ads are shared organically," and that an image can look cut off in Preview even though "the entire ad will appear in the live version."

You can upload up to five images of your own, or pick from the media library, free Shutterstock images, image templates (square or vertical, with your logo, title, subtitle and a call-to-action) or AI-generated images. Through the media library, LinkedIn notes "Each image will be its own ad," and you can add up to 10 Shutterstock images to your ad sets per month.

Text, URL and call-to-action

LinkedIn's limits for the text fields:

• Introductory text: 150 characters to avoid truncation, 3,000 maximum, up to 10 emojis.
• Headline: 70 characters to avoid truncation, 200 maximum.
• Description: 100 characters to avoid truncation, 300 maximum.
• Destination URL: starts with http:// or https://, up to 2,000 characters.
• Ad name: optional, up to 255 characters, seen only in Campaign Manager.
• Image alt text: optional, read only by screen readers.

The introductory text sits above the image and the headline below it. The description is not always visible: LinkedIn shows it when the image is under 200 pixels wide or when the ad runs on the Audience Network. URLs in the introductory text that are longer than 23 characters become a short link, and any legally required wording also belongs in the introductory text.

A few URL details from the specs page save rejected or broken ads. Characters such as < > # % { } [ ] in the query string "can cause errors," and quotation marks in tracking parameters can stop people reaching the page. A link to a YouTube or Vimeo video won't embed the video; for that you need a LinkedIn video ad. For click tracking, LinkedIn suggests "campaign-based tracking codes rather than the referral source," which is what UTM parameters give you.

The call-to-action button is optional and is chosen from LinkedIn's dropdown list. You can also personalise the introductory text with macros such as the member's name or company, shown only to members whose ad personalisation setting allows it.

Which clicks you pay for

What you are charged for depends on the objective, optimization goal and bidding strategy. Our LinkedIn ads bidding guide covers when you pay per impression and when per click. When you do pay per click, LinkedIn's pages say which parts of a single image ad count:

• Website visits: per the website visits page, clicks on the intro text, image, headline or call-to-action that open your destination URL are chargeable. Clicks on your logo or company name, on "see more", on the social pill and social actions (likes, comments, shares, hashtags) are not.
• Lead generation: the lead generation page lists clicks on the CTA button that opens the form as chargeable, and also places landing page, LinkedIn Page and social pill clicks under chargeable. Only social actions are listed as non-chargeable.

So when a lead generation ad set is charged per click, LinkedIn's list counts a click on your company name as well. Check the page for your objective before you compare cost per click across formats.

Creating a single image ad

You need super admin, content admin or Sponsored Content poster access on the LinkedIn Page the ad account uses, plus creative manager access or higher on the ad account (our Campaign Manager roles guide explains these). Then, following LinkedIn's step-by-step page:

1. Create an ad set with one of the six objectives above and single image as the format, or open an existing single image ad set.
2. On the Ads in this ad set page, click Create ad.
3. Pick Draft with AI (LinkedIn generates the text, headline and an image for you to review), Start from a blank ad, or browse existing content to reuse an earlier ad or a Page or thought leader post.
4. Fill in the introductory text, headline, image, call-to-action and destination URL, or the Lead Gen Form for lead generation. Alt text and description are optional.
5. Use the Preview dropdown to check the ad on different devices, then launch or save the ad set. Ads are reviewed before they run.

Only Page super admins and content admins can reply to, disable or delete comments as the Page on a single image ad. What happens when an ad is rejected is in the ad review section of our basics guide.

Several ads per ad set and flexible ads

LinkedIn's media library page suggests "Creating five ads in your ad set gives your ad set more exposure and opportunity to optimize for highest performance." There are three ways to add them: the Create variant button, which uses your existing text and headline to make three AI variations in the same ad set; Duplicate on an existing ad; or picking several images from the media library.

Flexible ads go a step further. You upload up to four images or videos, four introductory texts and four headlines, and LinkedIn mixes them into "up to 64 possible ad combinations." Flexible ads need the brand awareness, website visits, website conversions or video views objective and a Dynamic Group Budget with budget optimization, which LinkedIn turns on when you choose them. The conditions and learning phase are in the objectives guide.

Retargeting people who engaged

A single image audience in Matched Audiences collects members who engaged with your single image ads. You choose either "any interaction with your ad" (social actions and clicks, chargeable or free) or only members who made chargeable clicks, a lookback of 30, 60, 90, 180 or 365 days, and which ad sets to include. The ad doesn't need to be active, but it must have performance data. The audience must match at least 300 member accounts before you can target it, and LinkedIn suggests several ad sets and a 180 or 365 day window to reach that. Our LinkedIn Matched Audiences guide covers the other audience types and the EEA consent limits.

Single image ads have no breakdown of their own in reporting; the standard columns, breakdowns and exports are described in our guide to reporting in LinkedIn Campaign Manager, and conversions need the Insight Tag or Conversions API set up as in the tracking section of our basics guide.

How we make single image ads

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

• We design one 4:5 vertical image for mobile and a 1.91:1 version for desktop, and run them as separate ads, because vertical assets only serve on mobile.
• We keep the main message in the first 150 characters of the introductory text and the headline under 70, then check both in Preview on a phone.
• We start each ad set with three to five ads that differ in one thing (image, headline or offer) so the results say which change mattered.
• Every destination URL gets UTM tags, and we report leads or conversions next to clicks, not clicks alone.
• When the message needs more than one image, we move to a carousel; when it is a report or checklist people should read, to a document ad.

If you want help planning LinkedIn campaigns, see our services.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best image size for a LinkedIn single image ad?

LinkedIn recommends 1200 x 628 pixels for landscape (1.91:1) and 720 x 900 pixels for vertical (4:5). Square images are 1200 x 1200 pixels. Vertical images only serve on mobile.

What file size and types can I use?

JPG, PNG or GIF up to 5 MB. Animated GIFs must be 250 frames or shorter.

How long can the text in a single image ad be?

Introductory text up to 3,000 characters (150 to avoid truncation), headline up to 200 (70 to avoid truncation) and description up to 300 (100 to avoid truncation).

Can a single image ad use a Lead Gen Form?

Yes. With the lead generation objective you attach an existing Lead Gen Form or create a new one instead of a destination URL.

Can I put a YouTube video in a single image ad?

No. A YouTube or Vimeo link won't embed the video. To show a video, use the video ad format.

For more on LinkedIn advertising, see our guides to LinkedIn ads targeting, LinkedIn video ads, LinkedIn ads bidding and Meta ads specs.