LinkedIn cuts CPI by 38% and scales app activations with SKAN optimization strategy
LinkedIn unlocked cost-efficient, scalable app growth under SKAN with full-service support from Dataseat (part of Verve).
38%
reduction in CPI (cost per install)
>90%
visibility into post-install events
39%
reduction in CPAA (cost per app activation)
Opportunity
As the world’s largest professional networking platform, LinkedIn plays a critical role in helping people connect, grow their careers, and stay informed. To encourage members to get the most out of the platform, LinkedIn leverages global app activation strategies to drive installs and ultimately get members to sign-up for a new account or sign-in to an existing account.
But like many advertisers adapting to Apple’s evolving privacy framework, LinkedIn faced a new set of challenges under SKAdNetwork (SKAN). Navigating crowd anonymity thresholds, delayed postbacks, and the nuances of schema design required deeper expertise to unlock meaningful performance gains.
To scale user acquisition efficiently and maintain transparency across regions, LinkedIn partnered with Dataseat (part of Verve) — a leader in privacy-first app growth, offering the technical depth and contextual optimization needed to make its SKAN campaign work at scale.
Solution
In close collaboration, the teams applied SKAN best practices across the entire campaign lifecycle — from setup to optimization to measurement. This collaboration went beyond simple campaign management, combining LinkedIn’s growth objectives with Dataseat’s expertise to navigate Apple’s privacy framework effectively.
Campaigns were structured to capture high-quality postbacks while staying fully compliant with Apple’s privacy requirements. Once initial insights were in place, LinkedIn and Dataseat applied performance-driven optimizations based on publisher-level data, enabling efficient scaling across markets. The program launched first in the US, UK, and AU/NZ, before expanding into India — a high-performing region that delivered low-cost scale with the most efficient CPI across all regions.
Results
LinkedIn unlocked cost-efficient, scalable app growth under SKAN with Dataseat’s full-service support:
- 38% reduction in cost per Install (CPI)
- > 90% visibility into post-install events
- 39% reduction in cost per app activation (CPAA)
Within the first 9 weeks, LinkedIn’s SKAN campaigns moved from the setup phase — when Apple’s crowd anonymity limits available performance data — to strong cost-efficiency levels. Since then, the campaigns have continued to deliver consistent, improving results for over a year. With Dataseat managing SKAN end-to-end, LinkedIn could focus on growth while maintaining measurable performance at scale.