118. LinkedIn Ads in 2026 - Targeting, Creative and How to Avoid Common Mistakes w. B2Linked's AJ Wilcox

AJ Wilcox, founder of a US-based LinkedIn Ads agency, has run five of LinkedIn’s top 10 highest-spending accounts of all time and audited hundreds of accounts. He sees the same five mistakes that are often the difference between accounts that perform and don’t; simple fixes that most advertisers never think to check.

In this episode, he joins Rocket Agency’s Co-Founder, James Lawrence, to walk through what's actually moving the needle on LinkedIn in 2026; from the settings worth double-checking, to why "thought leader ads" are outperforming company posts by 5x on engagement, to the connection between a strong LinkedIn presence and visibility in LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude.

Key Takeaways:How AJ went from a first-week LinkedIn pilot to running the platform's biggest-ever spending accountFive settings worth reviewing in every LinkedIn ads account: geography, audience expansion, network placements, bidding method, and suggested bid rangesWhy a post from a person consistently outperforms a post from a brand, and a simple way to get executives producing months of content in one sittingA colour theory approach to static creative that helps ads stand out against LinkedIn's blue-and-white interfaceWhy B2Linked doesn't run LinkedIn ads for its own business and what that says about the relationship between organic and paidThe CRM integrations most teams underuse, and why manual lead follow-up is costing more than people realiseWhy LLMs are emerging as a real lead source and the simple form-field fix that gets them properly credited

Guest:AJ Wilcox is the Founder of B2Linked, a LinkedIn Ads-only agency that helps B2B marketers get better results from their LinkedIn campaigns. AJ has worked with 5 of LinkedIn’s top 10 spending accounts and managed over $150 million in LinkedIn ad spend.

He is a trusted expert in LinkedIn Ads and has spoken at more than 80 industry events and appeared on over 200 podcasts.

You can follow AJ on LinkedIn.

Find Us Online:James Lawrence LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameslawrenceoz/ Smarter Marketer Website: https://rocketagency.com.au/smarter-marketer-podcast Rocket Agency Website: https://rocketagency.com.au/ Rocket Agency LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rocket-agency-pty-ltd/

Buy Smarter Marketer:Hardcover: https://amzn.to/30O63kg Kindle: https://amzn.to/2ZqfCWm

About the Podcast:This is the definitive podcast for Australian marketers. Join Rocket Agency Co-Founder and best-selling author, James Lawrence in conversation with marketers, leaders, and thinkers about what it takes to be a smarter and more successful marketer.