LinkedIn, the largest business-based social network, has made changes to its advertising services in a bid to increase revenue.
Under the new system, details of individual members - including their job titles and the name of their employer - will be made available to advertisers, allowing for more precise targeting.
This should increase the likelihood of users being served ads they find relevant and interesting, raising click-through rates.
LinkedIn's new system brings the site in line with other social media platforms, including Facebook, which already use granular ad targeting of this kind.
The business network retains around 90 million members, compared to Facebook's 500 million.
Over recent months, LinkedIn has been conducting tests on how the new system will affect the site.
The tests suggested that some clients' click rates increased three or four times over once they used the new targeting rules.
Jack Chou, senior product manager at LinkedIn, said: "We've been hearing from a number of advertisers that they love our audience and context and what they are able to do already, but they want more than that."
Figures cited by the Wall Street Journal suggest roughly one-third of LinkedIn's total revenues come from advertising.
Under the new system, details of individual members - including their job titles and the name of their employer - will be made available to advertisers, allowing for more precise targeting.
This should increase the likelihood of users being served ads they find relevant and interesting, raising click-through rates.
LinkedIn's new system brings the site in line with other social media platforms, including Facebook, which already use granular ad targeting of this kind.
The business network retains around 90 million members, compared to Facebook's 500 million.
Over recent months, LinkedIn has been conducting tests on how the new system will affect the site.
The tests suggested that some clients' click rates increased three or four times over once they used the new targeting rules.
Jack Chou, senior product manager at LinkedIn, said: "We've been hearing from a number of advertisers that they love our audience and context and what they are able to do already, but they want more than that."
Figures cited by the Wall Street Journal suggest roughly one-third of LinkedIn's total revenues come from advertising.
