Complete LinkedIn industry list in Campaign Manager

LinkedIn is the largest social network for business contacts. Businesses are divided into LinkedIn industries, which consist of main categories and subcategories.

Currently, (as of December 2023), the LinkedIn industry list consists of a total of 24 main categories and 148 subcategories as applicable industries in LinkedIn Campaign Manager. Those categories have not been updated by LinkedIn since March 2022.

Which corporate sectors are available on LinkedIn?

The current main categories of corporate LinkedIn industries are

• Agriculture
• Arts
• Construction
• Consumer Goods
• Corporate Services
• Design
• Education
• Energy & Mining
• Entertainment
• Finance
• Hardware & Networking
• Health Care
• Legal
• Manufacturing
• Media & Communications
• Nonprofit
• Public Administration
• Public Safety
• Real Estate
• Recreation & Travel
• Retail
• Software & IT Services
• Transportation & Logistics
• Wellness & Fitness

Complete LinkedIn Industry List 2023

Industry Catergory	Subcatergory
Education	Education Management
	E-Learning
	Higher Education
	Primary/Secondary Education
	Research
Construction	Building Materials
	Civil Engineering
	Construction
Design	Architecture & Planning
	Design
	Graphic Design
Corporate Services	Accounting
	Business Supplies & Equipment
	Environmental Services
	Events Services
	Executive Office
	Facilities Services
	Human Resources
	Information Services
	Management Consulting
	Outsourcing/Offshoring
	Professional Training & Coaching
	Security & Investigations
	Staffing & Recruiting
Retail	Retail
	Supermarkets
	Wholesale
Energy & Mining	Mining & Metals
	Oil & Energy
	Utilities
Manufacturing	Automotive
	Aviation & Aerospace
	Chemicals
	Defense & Space
	Electrical & Electronic Manufacturing
	Food Production
	Glass, Ceramics & Concrete
	Industrial Automation
	Machinery
	Mechanical or Industrial Engineering
	Packaging & Containers
	Paper & Forest Products
	Plastics
	Railroad Manufacture
	Renewables & Environment
	Shipbuilding
	Textiles
Finance	Banking
	Capital Markets
	Financial Services
	Insurance
	Investment Banking
	Investment Management
	Venture Capital & Private Equity
Recreation & Travel	Airlines/Aviation
	Gambling & Casinos
	Hospitality
	Leisure, Travel & Tourism
	Restaurants
	Recreational Facilities & Services
	Sports
Arts	Arts & Crafts
	Fine Art
	Performing Arts
	Photography
Health Care	Biotechnology
	Hospital & Health Care
	Medical Device
	Medical Practice
	Mental Health Care
	Pharmaceuticals
	Veterinary
Hardware & Networking	Computer Hardware
	Computer Networking
	Nanotechnologie
	Semiconductors
	Telecommunications
	Wireless
Real Estate	Commercial Real Estate
	Real Estate
Legal	Alternative Dispute Resolution
	Law Practice
	Legal Services
Consumer Goods	Apparel & Fashion
	Consumer Electronics
	Consumer Goods
	Consumer Services
	Cosmetics
	Food & Beverages
	Furniture
	Luxury Goods & Jewelry
	Sporting Goods
	Tobacco
	Wine and Spirits
Agriculture	Dairy
	Farming
	Fishery
	Ranching
Media & Communications	Market Research
	Marketing & Advertising
	Newspapers
	Online Media
	Printing
	Public Relations & Communications
	Publishing
	Translation & Localization
	Writing & Editing
Nonprofit	Civic & Social Organization
	Fundraising
	Individual & Family Services
	International Trade & Development
	Libraries
	Museums & Institutions
	Non-Profit Organization Management
	Philanthropy
	Program Development
	Religious Institutions
	Think Tanks
Software & IT Services	Computer & Network Security
	Computer Software
	Information Technology & Services
	Internet
Transportation & Logistics	Import & Export
	Logistics & Supply Chain
	Maritime
	Package/Freight Delivery
	Transportation/Trucking/Railroad
	Warehousing
Entertainment	Animation
	Broadcast Media
	Computer Games
	Entertainment
	Media Production
	Mobile Games
	Motion Pictures & Film
	Music
Wellness & Fitness	Alternative Medicine
	Health, Wellness & Fitness
Public Safety	Law Enforcement
	Military
	Public Safety
Public Administration	Government Administration
	Government Relations
	International Affairs
	Judiciary
	Legislative Office
	Political Organization
	Public Policy

Expansion of LinkedIn company industries

LinkedIn expanded the list of industries for company profiles to over 400 in March 2022. However, this massive list is not reflected in the LinkedIn Campaign Manager. There, advertisers currently have a targeting choice of 148 industries.

LinkedIn automatically rolls up these very defined subcategories into the available industries of their list in the Campaign Manager.

It is important to note, however, that LinkedIn did not make this expansion until March 2022. As a result, most companies have already selected their industry before then and probably haven’t adjusted it since the expansion.

What is industry in LinkedIn?

The industry in LinkedIn is an option companies can select from the LinkedIn industry list. Individuals can’t choose the industry but rather get assigned the industry of the company they are attached to.

As you can see above, the list of LinkedIn industries is divided into categories and sub-categories.

Please keep in mind, that there is a difference between the LinkedIn industry option and the job function. For example, you might be wondering “what industry is sales on LinkedIn”? Well, sales is a function that works in every industry. If you don’t know which industry to pick on LinkedIn, always choose a broader one like Corporate Services (e.g. management consulting) instead of Healthcare.

Targeted advertising using LinkedIn sectors (industry targeting)

LinkedIn advertising is great for building high-converting B2B lead funnels and also targeting your account-based marketing lists on LinkedIn with advertising messages.

In most campaign settings, industry or company lists are used. It is unlikely that a product or service is suitable for all target groups. There are basically two possible approaches here: Either certain industries are selected very specifically and only LinkedIn profiles that are/were active in this industry get to see the ad. Or LinkedIn industries are excluded.

Include or exclude LinkedIn industries (targeting)

If the target group is precisely defined, it can be helpful to include certain industries in LinkedIn Industry Targeting and to select only these industries. On the other hand, it may be easier and more effective to exclude non-relevant company categories.

Problem of self-picked LinkedIn industries as a company category

When selecting the industry option of a LinkedIn company page, the creator or page admin determines the industry. Since these are not always completely clear, irregularities can occur there. Especially in certain industries that focus on specific industries. For example, a marketing service provider in the healthcare industry may classify as marketing and advertising, but also healthcare. Similarly, an NGO may be classified in the nonprofit category for social services, or environmental services for corporate services if it is working against climate change.

Facility management can also be considered real estate, or business services. You understand the problem.

Therefore, it is best to follow some tips when placing LinkedIn ads, including creating a company list and uploading it to LinkedIn. In addition, campaign demographics should also be monitored and analyzed on a regular basis.

How does LinkedIn assign an industry to a member profile?

While ads are served to LinkedIn users, and they are selected based on demographic and firmographic segmentation, they are not directly assigned an industry option, but rather the company that the user has linked as an employer.

If a user has multiple jobs/employments or has not correctly terminated an old job, they may be active for different industries. 

This can not only lead to confusion and overlap in the industry but applies to all targeting attributes such as job function, company size, career level, etc.

Lastly, it is also important to note whether only current, recent, or past attributes such as job titles are selected in the targeting settings in the LinkedIn Campaign Manager.

LinkedIn is the only social network with real industry information

LinkedIn is the largest social media channel with firmographic information. On platforms like Facebook, users don’t update their data very often or even publish their employer. On LinkedIn this is different. Here, LinkedIn users have a vested interest in always maintaining an up-to-date member profile. The bottom line is that the online resume of an employee and employer is becoming more and more important and often even replaces a written or PDF resume. One-click applications or pre-filled fields provided by LinkedIn are the norms in 2023.