LINE Ads Platform: Starter Guide

LINE is Japan’s most popular messaging app. It was founded in 2011 and now it boasts over 97 million monthly active users in Japan. This equates to approximately 76% of the entire population.

LINE Ads allows advertisers to reach Japan’s largest user demographic. This guide will help you learn how to use it to your advantage and start advertising on LINE today!

What is LINE?

LINE is more than just a messaging app. The platform includes a news stream, digital payment system, blogging platform, social media feed, and more.

It also has a programmatic advertising platform called LINE Ads. Brands can use LINE Ads to increase brand awareness, drive sales, and find new customers in Japan.

Want to learn more?

Read our most popular article on why LINE is Japan’s most popular social media platform.

LINE Users Demographic

LINE has over 97 million users in Japan. These users are spread evenly throughout the country. This makes it convenient for advertisers to reach a broad and varied audience.

LINE vs other platforms

LINE stands out not only for its high usage rate. A significant number of users use LINE as their primary social media platform. 

Source: Digital 2025: Japan

Advertising on LINE allows you to reach a large audience of engaged users. See the diagram below for more details.

LINE Ads – Japan’s premium ad placements

LINE Ads allow advertisers to deliver ads to LINE’s 97 million users.

The platform offers a diverse range of high-visibility placement options. Those include the Talk Head View (top of the chat list), LINE VOOM, LINE NEWS, and more.

This enables advertisers to reach their target audience seamlessly across various touchpoints within the LINE ecosystem. They also provide the flexibility to tailor ad campaigns to specific objectives and user behaviours.

In addition to LINE, ads can be displayed on other services and partner apps through the LINE Ad Network.

Want to learn more?

Download our free LINE Ads Media Guide for more insights.

LINE Ads – strengths

💡 An overwhelming number of users

• Deliver your ads to an extensive network of 97+ million domestic users actively engaging with the LINE app.
• Target users who primarily rely on LINE for their social media needs, a segment not accessible through other platforms.

💡 Wide range of age groups

• Target users of all ages, effectively expanding your brand’s reach.
• Enhanced Engagement: Connect with a diverse audience, including those particularly receptive to advertising among the 35+ age group.

💡 LINE Official Account integration

• Leverage OA data to identify and target specific user segments.
• Tailor ad content and messaging to align with the preferences and characteristics of targeted user groups.
• Achieve higher engagement rates, click-through rates, and conversions through personalized ad experiences.

💡 Many users are active consumers

• Engage with a highly active user base that is receptive to new information and opportunities.
• Target users with a demonstrated proclivity for making informed purchasing decisions.
• Leverage the power of LINE NEWS to reach a valuable audience.

Choosing the Right Bidding Strategy for Your LINE Ads

You can choose between manual and automatic bidding to achieve your campaign goals. LINE strongly recommends using automatic bidding.

Understanding Automatic Bidding

• Group-Level Optimization: Automatic bidding optimizes performance at the ad group level.
• Learning Events: For the system to fully learn and optimize, it requires approximately 40 learning events per ad group.
• Learning Priority: The number of events, rather than the campaign duration, is more influential on the learning process. The system will leverage data from the broader ad account and similar ads to make bidding decisions if there are insufficient events.
• Stability is Key: To ensure accurate optimization, avoiding frequent changes to your settings during the learning phase is advisable.

Manual Bidding

• CPC or CPM: With manual bidding, you set the exact cost per click (CPC) or cost per mille (CPM) for your ads.
• Consistent Bidding: Your set bid will be used for all auctions.

Source: LY for Business

Note:

• Customisation: Manual bidding might be a better option if you require more granular control over your bids.
• Expert Advice: Consult our LINE advertising specialist for complex campaigns or specific goals.

Targeting and distribution functions

LINE Ads targeting and distribution functions utilize data to increase the ads’ effectiveness.

LINE shows users ads based on age, gender, location, and browsing history. The ads target users who are likely to respond, like when they visit a store or buy something. This increases the cost-effectiveness and ROI. 

Source: LINE Ads Media Guide

Audience targeting/re-targeting 

Advertisers can use their own data to deliver advertisements to targeted users.

If you know the ID of a user who made their first purchase, you can show them ads to encourage them to buy again. You can use this information to target specific users with personalized ads. By displaying ads that appeal to their interests, you can increase the likelihood of repeat purchases. This targeted advertising strategy can help boost sales and customer retention.

Audience segmentation

By segmenting users based on their attributes and interests, ads that target such segments prove to be highly effective.  

Look-alike audiences 

LINE finds users similar to a certain group by using look-alike audience targeting to show ads to more people.

Advertisers can select the level of similarity from 1 to 15%. The size of the audience decreases as the level of similarity increases. 

📩 Free step-by-step LINE Ads account creation guide

Before running ads on LINE, you must open a LINE Official Account and create a LINE Business ID.

Our team can support you with this process – don’t hesitate to contact us to receive a free LINE Ads Set Up Guide.

Please note that some steps require a connection to the Japanese internet – you will need a trusted partner to help with the account set-up process.

LINE Official Account

As mentioned, you must open an official account on LINE to advertise.

An Official Account is a special profile brands use to connect with users, send promotional information, and run advertising campaigns. Every business can open an Official Account for free.

Want to learn more?

Download our free LINE Official Account Media Guide.

Start advertising on LINE in Japan

We are official overseas media reps for LINE Yahoo! advertising products. We provide clients with 100% free support, a dedicated account manager, and the latest market insights.

Click here to contact our team and discuss how we can support your brand in Japan.