LinkedIn Right Rail Ads: How the Test Works and When to Try It

LinkedIn is testing a right rail placement for Sponsored Content. The placement lets eligible single-image ads appear on the right-hand side of desktop pages as well as in the feed. During the test, LinkedIn does not charge for right rail impressions.

If you already run static awareness creative that meets the format requirements, this is a low-effort way to show existing assets in an additional position beyond the crowded feed. There is a catch with measurement:

• Right rail results are blended with feed results.
• There are no previews or forecasts.
• LinkedIn chooses how your creative renders.

In my view, the right rail is worth testing as a creative and reach experiment. Don't expect to prove its performance (or even confirm that it adds unique reach) at the placement level yet.

TL;DR

• Right rail is an add-on placement for eligible single-image Sponsored Content, not a new ad format. It is still a limited test.

• Right rail delivery is currently not charged during the test, which lowers the cost of experimenting.

• LinkedIn doesn't report right rail results separately from the feed. You can't confirm whether the placement adds incremental reach.

• Creative must hold up across six automatically selected variants that can crop images and truncate text, and no preview is available.

• The cleanest starting point is existing horizontal awareness assets that stay legible when cropped. I also suggest remarketing and co-branded tests, which remain unproven.

• Compare blended results against a feed baseline as a directional read. Don't credit the right rail for any lift you can't isolate.

How LinkedIn Right Rail Ads Work

The right rail option extends Sponsored Content that already qualifies for the feed. When the placement is enabled, eligible single-image ads can serve both in the LinkedIn feed and in the right rail on desktop LinkedIn pages. This placement sits alongside LinkedIn's existing right rail formats, such as Dynamic Ads and Text Ads, and uses your standard Sponsored Content creative rather than a separate build.

Eligibility is narrow:

• Format: Single-image ads using horizontal creative.
• Surface: Desktop LinkedIn pages.
• Objectives: Brand awareness, engagement, website visits, and website conversions.
• Availability: LinkedIn describes this as a test, so it may not appear in every account.

You control the placement in the Placements section when creating or editing an ad set, and you can turn it on or off at that level. LinkedIn Audience Network can be enabled alongside it (note: we very rarely recommend enabling it).

The right rail shares the same ad, audience, budget, and reporting structure as feed delivery. It behaves like an extension of an existing ad set and should be planned that way. Check eligibility before you build a test plan around it.

Free Delivery Is Real, but Aggregated Reporting Limits What You Can Prove

LinkedIn currently doesn't charge for ads served on the right rail, but LinkedIn's aggregated reporting doesn't show whether the placement produces incremental reach or changes the overall delivery mix. You can get a count of your free impressions, but you won't know the exact reach.

I would rate my excitement about this test at 4 out of 5. I do see top-of-funnel ads as an essential part of a full-funnel strategy. While client buy-in is often difficult because awareness is not conversion-focused, an add-on placement is easier to approve than a new ad type, and it puts ads in a position beyond the crowded feed.

I also believe the placement could be especially useful for SMBs and lower budgets because it adds a delivery option without a new ad build. (LinkedIn doesn't explicitly identify SMBs as the intended beneficiary.)

The reporting limitation is significant. Feed and right rail results are combined and can't currently be segmented by placement. Right rail forecasting isn't available either. Because of this:

• You can't see how many impressions or clicks came from the right rail.
• You can't confirm whether right rail impressions reached people who wouldn't have seen the ad in the feed.
• You can't cleanly attribute changes in blended CPM, reach, or click-through rate to the placement.
• My hypothesis that the right rail could lower CPMs is reasonable to test, but it will be hard to confirm with current reporting.

LinkedIn says delivery is intended to optimize overall campaign performance. Treat that as a statement of intent, not a guarantee. Record in your test notes that right rail delivery is free during the test, and revisit the business case if LinkedIn changes pricing afterward.

Creative Has to Survive Six Variants You Can't Preview

LinkedIn may display your ad in one of six right rail variants and automatically tests those formats. You can't choose a specific variant, and right rail previews aren't currently available. Because space is limited, the right rail may truncate text or crop images.

That changes how creative review should work. I recommend you:

• Design for the crop. Keep logos, product shots, and key text away from image edges so the asset still reads after cropping.
• Make the headline carry the message. If introductory text is shortened, the headline and image need to explain the offer without it.
• Don't approve based on the feed preview alone. It won't show how the ad renders in the right rail.
• Keep text inside images minimal. Small in-image copy is more likely to become unreadable in a compact unit.

I do see an upside here. The placement can put the headline front and center without the surrounding noise of a feed ad. That means the creative has to earn the click on its own. I would presume that sharp copy aimed at the right audience could perform well.

That's only a hypothesis, though. LinkedIn may serve variants that include compact or truncated introductory text, so don't assume every impression will be headline-led.

Where to Start: Existing Awareness Assets, Then Secondary Experiments

Horizontal static awareness assets are the lowest-effort test

I recommend testing if you're already running static top-of-funnel awareness assets in horizontal orientation, which is the only option available right now. Enabling the placement is low effort only when those assets are eligible and stay legible when cropped or reduced. In that case, the work is mostly a settings change and a creative check. If assets rely on edge-placed logos or small in-image text, plan for revisions first.

I also see this as a practical alternative to production-heavy formats. Shorter videos come up often in my client conversations as a format to prioritize. In my experience, though, video usually demands more from creative teams and can create bottlenecks. Static ads are typically faster to produce, but the size of that advantage depends on each team's workflow and asset library.

Awareness and website visit campaigns are logical first candidates. Additional visibility, if the placement provides it, aligns most cleanly with those goals.

Why I want to test remarketing and co-branded ads

I also want to test two further ideas:

• Remarketing reminders: Using the right rail as a lower-funnel reminder for people who have already engaged.
• Co-branded content: Pairing recognizable brands with a short format, on the theory that this combination could attract early clicks. I think capturing clicks early matters for showing a new placement's value.

Both ideas are worth testing, but LinkedIn doesn't document either as a best practice and also hasn't published evidence that novelty improves response. I recommend running them after an initial awareness test so you have a baseline to compare against.

Build the test around a feed baseline, and treat results as directional

No test design available today can isolate right rail performance. The goal is a directional read on blended results:

1. Record baseline feed metrics for the ad sets you plan to test. Include reach, frequency, CPM, click-through rate, and conversions where relevant.
2. Prefer a pre/post comparison on the same ad set. Enable the placement on an ad set with a stable history; keep creative, audience, and budget unchanged; and compare blended trends before and after.
3. Use matched ad sets only when audiences don't overlap. Don't run a feed-only ad set and a right-rail-enabled ad set against the same audience. They may compete in the auction and receive materially different delivery.
4. Document every difference as a limitation. Note audience, timing, spend, frequency, and delivery differences, plus any seasonality or creative fatigue during the window.
5. Monitor blended trends over a meaningful window instead of reacting to the first few days.
6. Report conservatively. Describe results as "campaign performance with right rail enabled," never as "right rail performance" or placement-level lift.

Be clear with stakeholders about the limits. Account eligibility, LinkedIn's delivery optimization, auction dynamics, and the absence of placement-level data all reduce experimental clarity.

Test LinkedIn Right Rail Ads as a Reach Experiment, but Keep Performance Claims Modest

The right rail test is attractive for a simple reason: it puts eligible static creative in a new desktop position at no extra media cost while the test runs. For teams struggling to justify top-of-funnel spend, easier client adoption may be the most practical benefit.

Just don't treat the placement as a proven performance lever or guaranteed source of new reach. Until LinkedIn separates placement reporting, all you know is that you get free right rail delivery during the test, potential incremental exposure as the test objective, and blended results as the only evidence.

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FAQs

Does LinkedIn charge for right rail Sponsored Content during the current test?

Not during the current test. LinkedIn says it doesn't charge for ads served on the right rail while the test runs, and feed delivery is billed normally. Pricing could change after the test period, so revisit the business case if it does.

Can I see right rail results separately from feed results in Campaign Manager?

No. LinkedIn combines feed and right rail results, and reporting can't currently be segmented by placement. The practical approach is to compare blended metrics against a feed baseline as a directional read, without attributing changes directly to the right rail.

Which LinkedIn ads are eligible for the right rail placement?

Eligible ads are single-image Sponsored Content using horizontal creative, under the brand awareness, engagement, website visits, or website conversions objectives. The placement appears on desktop LinkedIn pages and is still a test, so it may not be available in every account.

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