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Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile For Improved Search Results

Your LinkedIn profile is an essential element in providing information to others about yourself. And that ability to describe yourself and your skills sets LinkedIn apart from other sites. Most would consider it a vital social media platform for people to look for jobs, for qualified talent to fill jobs and for networking. So to maximize LinkedIn networking, you should take advantage of the opportunities it provides and optimize your profile to increase the possibility of being found by a prior colleague, by a recruiter searching for talent or to increase your brand exposure.

1. Customize your website links and blog links
LinkedIn provides three website links in your profile. These links give you the opportunity to have visitors to your LinkedIn profile see the types of sites with which you are associated. You can identify those links that help show your knowledge and build your brand. Some of the sites you can choose to link to here are your company website, your personal blog or your social media profile.

However, it is best to change the default setting that describe the link. For instance, change the default "Company Website" description to "Quality Accounting Firm in Austin" or wording similar that provides a keyword rich description. When someone is looking for an Austin accounting firm in a search, you may just be found. Let's say you just have one website. That ok, since you can link to that site three times, but change the description for each link. The second description may say "Austin CPA" and the third could be "Accounting Solutions-Texas".

Here is how you go about changing that website description.

1. Click on “Edit Profile”, then find the “Edit” adjacent to the Website name.
2. On the next page after it opens, select “Other” from the drop-down list.
3. Insert in the name you have chosen with the appropriate keywords.
4. Type in the URL link to your website, blog or social media platform or the same link on the far right side.
5. Continue in the same manner for the other two site links.
6. Be sure to "Save Changes" to complete the process. Remember that you have a limit of 30 characters that you can use in these field, so choose your keywords wisely.

2. Pick your vanity URL - Make your profile public
You probably have done a search on your name before. Did you find the results surprising? If you are a member in LinkedIn, you DO WANT your LinkedIn profile to appear in the upper section of search engine results for your name.

Here is a step you can take to make your profile more attractive for the search engines. Get your vanity URL.

When you sign up for LinkedIn, you receive an identifying URL for your profile page. The default set-up has your name and a group of numbers with it. Certainly, it has your name, but the numbers make it confusing, as who can remember that number sequence. It would be something like: linkedin.com/in/yourname/6/247/6b4 rather than linkedin.com/in/yourname.

There is a way to claim your name as part of your URL. The trick is that you have to claim it before someone with a similar name does. However, if you find out that your preferred name set-up has already been picked by someone else, you can still change it slightly by adding a period or middle initial or location to make it yours. It could be linkedin/in/your.name.

In order to pick your URL name, follow these steps:

1. Go to “Edit Profile”, then move to your "Public Profile Name"and click the blue “Edit” just to the right.
2. A new page appears. Find “Your Current URL” on the right hand side. Click “Customize your public profile URL”. You can now identify your name that you want to appear as your URL.
3. That process now increases the chance of being picked up by the search engines.

To make your profile public, use the following instructions.

1. While you are on the "Customize your public profile UR" page, find “Customize Your Public Profile” on the right-hand side.
2. Make sure that you pick the selection “Make my public profile visible to everyone".
3. All of the items below that line should be picked, including the box for your picture, which will increase your chances of being found during searches.

3. Use your Headline to manage your message
In LinkedIn your visitors sees your name, photo and headline as they find you in discussions, groups or other locations. So that headline becomes an important item in describing who you are.

The default setting for your headline is your current job title as it appears in your work experience. You should use the headline to describe more about you than your title.

Instead of showing "Sr. Sales Repr. at ABC Company", now is the time to describe you skills. You could state "Pharmaceutical Marketing in Austin" or “Helping Companies Recruit and Retain through Branding”. Consider why someone would want to find you and try to include those keywords in your heading. However, don't overuse the keywords. You have 140 characters to use, but it is usually better to be efficient and direct. You want your visitor to want to learn more about you when they see your heading.

To change the heading for your unique description, follow these steps.

1. On any LinkedIn page, hover over the drop-down arrow near your name in the upper right-hand corner to view the drop-down list.
2. Click “Settings”.
3. On the next page, move to “Profile” tab on the left and look under “Privacy Controls” to “Select what others see when you’ve viewed their profile”.
4. Use the "Recommended" approach so your name, photo and headline can be seen. Therefore, anyone viewing your headlong will see a good, professional, keyword rich, short-hand view of you.

4. Insert keywords elsewhere to increase search engine results
There are several sections in LinkedIn that allow you to place relevant keywords. Those in your profile include the Summary, Job Description, Interests and Specialties areas. You should place keywords here, but don't stuff them. Identify the best keywords for you and promote your skills and your message in these areas.

Although you do have a number of character spaces that are available, our suggestion is to organize these sections, especially your Summary and Specialities areas for easy reading by your visitor. Keep it concise and provide a view of your skills and experience without overload.

Summary
Within this short time period you have taken these steps to optimize your LinkedIn profile. You will find that it will increase your profile traffic. With that additional traffic, there is a greater chance of finding a new contact, a new business, a new job, or the best person for an open position for your company. Continue to update your profile and remember that the best keywords in the right locations will improve your search engine ranking.

Let us know if you feel these tips have helped you on LinkedIn – and how long it took!

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