When we want to reach specific companies, industries or job functions in B2B advertising, LinkedIn is usually the first platform that comes to mind. Google gives us other ways to reach those audiences, but not the same professional targeting data. What is less well known is that Microsoft Advertising offers access to LinkedIn profile targeting too. And with recent additions to the platform, it is becoming a more interesting option for B2B marketers than many might realise.
Most marketers still associate Microsoft Advertising with Bing search ads. That is understandable. But looking at it only as an alternative to Google Search means missing a rather useful capability, particularly for companies working with account-based marketing.
LinkedIn data without advertising on LinkedIn
Microsoft Advertising lets us target audiences using professional information from LinkedIn profiles. That includes company, industry, job function and, since 2026, job seniority.
The last addition is interesting. Microsoft introduced ten seniority levels, including CXO, VP, Director and Manager, giving us another way to distinguish between different levels of responsibility within an organization.
The important difference is where the advertising appears.
We are not buying ads on LinkedIn or importing an audience from LinkedIn Campaign Manager. We are using LinkedIn’s professional data within Microsoft’s own advertising platform, where ads can reach people through search and across Microsoft’s advertising network.
For a B2B marketer, that opens up another way to reach relevant professionals beyond LinkedIn itself.
And it is particularly interesting for industrial B2B, where we often work with relatively small groups of companies spread across several international markets.
Audience Ads are where it gets interesting
Microsoft offers LinkedIn profile targeting in both Search and Audience campaigns, but there is an important distinction between them.
In Search, the professional data is primarily used for bid adjustments. If we want to prioritise searches made by employees of certain companies or people in particular job functions, we can adjust our bids accordingly. But selecting a company does not mean that everybody else is excluded from seeing the ad.
Audience campaigns work differently.
Microsoft’s Audience Ads include display, native and video formats. They also support a setting called Target and bid, which allows advertisers to restrict delivery based on selected companies, industries or job functions. That makes professional targeting particularly interesting for ABM, although the exact combination of targeting criteria needs to be checked when setting up the campaign.
Imagine we are running an ABM campaign for a manufacturer of industrial equipment. We have a defined list of companies and want to build familiarity among the people who influence purchasing decisions.
With Microsoft Audience Ads, we can use LinkedIn company data to focus on those accounts, rather than relying entirely on broader industry interests or geographical assumptions. Job functions provide another way to refine the audience around people involved in engineering, operations, purchasing or other relevant areas.
It does not replace LinkedIn Campaign Manager, and it does not automatically identify an entire buying group. But it gives us another advertising environment where professional targeting can support a focused B2B campaign.
The opportunities are getting more practical
Two developments in 2026 make this more interesting.
The first is the addition of job seniority. Being able to distinguish between management levels adds another dimension to professional targeting, particularly when we want to influence both operational specialists and people higher up in an organization.
The second is the expansion of Microsoft’s LinkedIn company lists.
In September 2026, Microsoft increased the maximum list size from 1,000 to 10,000 companies. Advertisers can now create larger account lists and associate them with Search and Audience campaigns.
For a company working internationally, that makes it easier to organize account-based campaigns across different markets and customer segments.
There is, however, an important geographical consideration. Microsoft’s new company-list capability is available in supported markets, and the company states that its underlying user data excludes the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland.
That restriction applies to the new company-list capability, and should not be confused with the availability of every other LinkedIn profile targeting feature. The options need to be checked against the markets we actually want to reach.
For international B2B, that matters. A global account list does not automatically mean the same targeting possibilities are available in every country.
Another channel does not mean another copy of the same campaign
I would not approach Microsoft Advertising by simply copying an existing LinkedIn campaign and expecting the same result.
The advertising environment is different. People are not necessarily browsing professional content or engaging with posts from their industry. They might be reading news, checking email or using other Microsoft services when an Audience ad appears.
That changes what the advertising needs to achieve.
For an industrial company trying to build recognition among selected accounts, a message built around reliability, a customer reference or a specific application could be a useful way to create repeated exposure.
Search adds a different opportunity. When somebody is actively researching a solution, LinkedIn profile data can help us place greater bidding emphasis on searches from the companies and professional groups we care about.
I would also pay attention to the targeting settings before launching. Microsoft’s predictive targeting can expand reach beyond audiences we have selected, which is useful in some campaigns but not necessarily what we want when the objective is a narrowly defined ABM list.
And as with LinkedIn, we should not judge everything by clicks and form submissions. Reaching relevant companies and professional audiences can serve a purpose long before somebody is ready to contact sales.
A useful addition, not a replacement
Microsoft Advertising does not suddenly solve every challenge in B2B audience targeting. Geographic availability, audience size and the quality of professional profile matching still matter.
But it offers something that deserves more attention: the ability to use professional targeting data outside the platform where we normally associate that data.
For industrial B2B companies, especially those working across international markets, that gives us another way to reach selected accounts and the people who influence purchasing decisions.
We already spend considerable effort identifying the companies and professional functions that matter to our clients. It makes sense to use that knowledge in more than one advertising platform.
LinkedIn is not the only place where LinkedIn data can help us reach them.
If you want to discuss how to reach the right companies and decision-makers through targeted B2B advertising, just reach out to:
Joakim Ebstein
Head of Digital Marketing
+46 725 555 984
joakim.ebstein@sfinxagency.se
