Published by the Zolyp team ·
What are LinkedIn Matched Audiences?
Matched Audiences let you aim ads at people you already know about. There are three kinds:
- Uploaded lists: company or contact lists you upload.
- Retargeting: people who followed or engaged with your Page, visited your website (through the Insight Tag), responded to your LinkedIn Event, engaged with your ads, or opened or submitted your Lead Gen Form.
- Third-party data from a connected marketing partner.
- Lookalike audiences were discontinued on 29 February 2024. Existing ones stopped refreshing.
- You can have up to 1,000 audience segments. In the European Economic Area and Switzerland, only members who have opted in are matched, so audiences may be smaller.
Source: LinkedIn Help: LinkedIn Matched Audiences, checked 15 October 2026
How do you upload a contact or company list?
In Campaign Manager:
- Open your ad account.
- Click Plan in the left menu, then Audiences.
- Click Create audience and select Matched Audience.
- Select Company / Contact, then click Next.
- Name the audience, choose the List type, click Select list and pick your saved file.
- Click Agree & Upload.
- Download the CSV template first: under Upload a list, open the List type dropdown and choose the company or contact template.
- Once matched, add the list when you set up an ad set's audience. You can narrow it with attributes such as job function or seniority.
Source: LinkedIn Help: Upload company and contact targeting lists for LinkedIn Ads, checked 15 October 2026
What are the file rules?
From LinkedIn's requirements pages:
- Don't rename or delete the template's header row, or the upload fails.
- Emails can be plain or SHA-256 hashed; plain ones are hashed in your browser before saving. Save the file as UTF-8 if it has special characters.
- Each audience comes from one list. Contact lists can't be combined with member interests or traits in the same ad set.
| Rule | Contact list | Company list |
|---|---|---|
| File | CSV, or sent by a third-party partner | CSV, or sent by a third-party partner |
| Needs at least one of | Email, first and last name, or a Google Advertising ID | Company name, website, email domain, LinkedIn Page URL or stock symbol |
| Minimum rows | 300 | 300 |
| Maximum | 20 MB or 300,000 records | 20 MB or 300,000 companies |
| LinkedIn suggests | At least 10,000 email addresses | 1,000 or more companies |
Sources: LinkedIn Help: Requirements for contact targeting lists in Campaign Manager, checked 15 October 2026; LinkedIn Help: Requirements for company targeting lists in Campaign Manager, checked 15 October 2026
How long does it take, and how big must it be?
Expect a wait and some loss in matching:
- Building usually takes up to 48 hours, and occasionally longer.
- An ad set needs at least 300 matched member accounts. Smaller lists show as < 300 members and appear grey on the Audiences page.
- Location is required in every ad set and can shrink the audience, so make sure your list matches well over 300 members before adding it.
- After processing, it can take another 24 hours for the audience to start working in your targeting.
- LinkedIn's company list page says an audience expires if it isn't used in an active or draft ad set within 90 days.
Sources: LinkedIn Help: Requirements for contact targeting lists in Campaign Manager, checked 15 October 2026; LinkedIn Help: Upload company and contact targeting lists for LinkedIn Ads, checked 15 October 2026; LinkedIn Help: Troubleshooting tips for LinkedIn Matched Audiences, checked 15 October 2026; LinkedIn Help: Requirements for company targeting lists in Campaign Manager, checked 15 October 2026; LinkedIn Help: LinkedIn Matched Audiences, checked 15 October 2026
Why is my Matched Audience not working?
What each status or problem usually means:
| Problem | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Building for more than 72 hours | Processing has stalled | Check the requirements and upload it again as a new audience; then contact support |
| Failed | The matched audience is too small | Add more contacts or companies |
| Upload error | Changed headers, special characters or not a CSV | Use the template and save as CSV |
| Processed but ads aren't delivering | It needs up to 24 more hours, or the audience or bid is too small | Wait, check it's over 300 members, raise the bid, or pause and reactivate the ad set |
| Low match rate | Missing identifiers | Add more fields, and Page URLs ending in the company name rather than a number |
| Create audience is greyed out | You have 1,000 segments | Delete one |
Sources: LinkedIn Help: Troubleshooting tips for LinkedIn Matched Audiences, checked 15 October 2026; LinkedIn Help: LinkedIn Matched Audiences, checked 15 October 2026
Where Zolyp fits
Zolyp, which publishes this guide, is our own product, so weigh this section with that in mind. Zolyp doesn't manage ad audiences. It writes and schedules organic company Page posts and shows their analytics, so people on your list who look up your Page after seeing an ad find it active. LinkedIn is one of the 9 platforms it publishes to (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads), and you approve the week before anything goes live. Plans that create the posts start at $29 a month, with a 3-day free trial.
Common questions
What's the minimum size for a LinkedIn contact list?
The file needs at least 300 rows, and at least 300 members must match before an ad set can use it. LinkedIn suggests uploading 10,000 or more emails.
How long does a LinkedIn Matched Audience take to build?
Usually up to 48 hours, sometimes longer. If it's still building after 72 hours, upload it again as a new audience.
Can I still create lookalike audiences on LinkedIn?
No. LinkedIn discontinued them on 29 February 2024.
Do I have to hash email addresses before uploading?
No. You can upload plain emails, which are hashed in your browser, or SHA-256 hashed emails.
Can I upload an Excel file?
No. LinkedIn accepts CSV files, or lists sent through a third-party partner.