Import LinkedIn Ads Data to Google Sheets

Last Updated On
byAna
< Knowledge Base

In this guide, we will pull data from the LinkedIn API directly into Google Sheets, using the API Connector add-on for Sheets. The LinkedIn API only supports authentication via OAuth2, so we’ll be connecting using API Connector’s built-in OAuth2 integration for YouTube Analytics. The LinkedIn API is extremely limited and blocked off; don’t expect a way to pull out profile information for anyone but yourself. However, this API is perfect for pulling out advertising performance data from the LinkedIn Ads Reporting API.

CONTENTS

PART 1: CONNECT TO THE LINKEDIN ADS API

If you haven’t connected API Connector to LinkedIn before, you’ll first need to initiate the connection as follows:

  1. Open up Google Sheets and click Add-ons > API Connector > Create New API Request.
  2. Under Authentication, click Manage connections.
    youtube-analytics-api-img1
  3. In the list of available connections, find LinkedIn Ads and click Connect.
    linkedin-api-img3
  4. You will be directed to LinkedIn and asked to authorize the connection. Click Allow.
    linkedin-api-img4
  5. You’ll now be returned to your Google Sheet, and can verify that your LinkedIn API connection is active in the Connections screen.
    linkedin-api-img5

PART 2: CREATE A LINKEDIN API REQUEST URL

For our first request, we’ll get some basic information about your own LinkedIn account.

  • API root: https://api.linkedin.com/v2
  • Endpoint: /me

Putting it together, we get the full API Request URL.

https://api.linkedin.com/v2/me

PART 3: PULL LINKEDIN API DATA INTO SHEETS

We can now enter our values into API Connector and start importing LinkedIn data into Google Sheets.

  1. In the Create Request interface, enter the Request URL we just created.
    linkeding-api-img1
  2. We don’t need any headers for this API, so just leave that section blank.
  3. Under Authentication, choose LinkedIn Ads from the Connections dropdown.
    linkedin-api-img6
  4. Create a new tab. You can call it whatever you like. Click ‘Set current’ to use that tab as your data destination.
  5. Name your request and click Run. A moment later you’ll see some information about your account populate your sheet.
    linkedin-api-img7

PART 4: MORE EXAMPLE API URLS

Now that we’ve validated the connection, we can start pulling some more data. You can access the full list of metrics available in the ads reporting API here, but if you just want to get started, you can try the following URLs. I’m not too familiar with the LinkedIn API, so this is just what I dug up in an hour or two of playing around. If you find any other interesting endpoints, please let me know!

  • List of ad accounts (note the ID that gets returned in the elements » id field, we can use this for subsequent requests).
    https://api.linkedin.com/v2/adAccountsV2?q=search&count=10
  • Ad account performance, daily from 2019 (substitute in the account ID value from elements » id where it says 502849368):
    https://api.linkedin.com/v2/adAnalyticsV2?q=analytics&pivot=ACCOUNT&dateRange.start.day=1&dateRange.start.month=1&dateRange.start.year=2019&timeGranularity=DAILY&accounts[0]=urn:li:sponsoredAccount:502849368
  • Suggested bid amounts for a campaign targeting LinkedIn members between the ages of 18 and 24
    https://api.linkedin.com/v2/adBudgetPricing?account=urn:li:sponsoredAccount:502849368&bidType=CPM&campaignType=SPONSORED_INMAILS&matchType=EXACT&q=criteria&target.includedTargetingFacets.ageRanges[0]=AGE_18_24
  • List of ad campaigns (use Compact report style for cleaner output):
    https://api.linkedin.com/v2/adCampaignsV2/?q=search&count=10
  • Campaign reporting for a specific campaign, daily from 2019 (where it says 124782804, substitute in the campaign ID value retrieved from the list of ad campaigns):
    https://api.linkedin.com/v2/adAnalyticsV2?q=analytics&pivot=CAMPAIGN&dateRange.start.day=1&dateRange.start.month=1&dateRange.start.year=2019&timeGranularity=DAILY&campaigns[0]=urn:li:sponsoredCampaign:124782804
    linkedin-api-img8

PART 5: NOTES

  • Some useful “pivot” (aka breakdown) values include the following (this, and other info comes from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/linkedin/marketing/integrations/ads-reporting/ads-reporting):
    • COMPANY – Group results by advertiser’s company.
    • ACCOUNT – Group results by account.
    • CAMPAIGN – Group results by campaign.
    • CREATIVE – Group results by creative.
    • CONVERSION – Group results by conversion.
  • There are 2 types of calls you can make to the Ads Reporting API: q=analytics and q=statistics. q=analytics is the method used in the examples above, and is used when you are only breaking your data down by a single pivot value. If you have two pivot values, use the q=statistics query string.
  • As of July 31, 2020, LinkedIn will require you to include the names of fields in your query, up to 15 at a time. You can do so by appending a query string like this: &fields=externalWebsiteConversions,dateRange,impressions,landingPageClicks,likes,shares,costInLocalCurrency,pivot,pivotValue

Leave a Comment