LinkedIn SEO Guide: Get the Most Out of Your Profile

LinkedIn is the go-to place for both business and individuals. It’s a professional social platform dedicated to all aspects of work.

However, there are more than 875 million profiles on LinkedIn, so one can’t help but ask: how do I stand out from the crowd?

Fortunately, LinkedIn SEO can help you achieve that. Furthermore, it’s basically the same as regular SEO.

Let’s get you started with some tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your profile.

Readers Also Enjoy: Your LinkedIn Content Guide for 2022 – DevriX

7 LinkedIn SEO Tips [2023]

1. Add Keywords to Your Profile
2. Upload High-Quality Profile and Background Pictures
3. Publish Relevant Content
4. Get Recommendations and Endorsements
5. Join Groups
6. Expand Your Network
7. Create Backlinks

1. Add Keywords to Your Profile

No SEO endeavor can begin without the proper use of keywords. LinkedIn is no different. If you want to optimize your profile, you need to start by adding relevant keywords. Of course, you must be careful not to start keyword stuffing, just add them naturally.

Here’s what you can do for LinkedIn profile optimization in these different sections:

• Name. It’s good to add a title right after your name. This will help you appear in more searches, especially if the title is a frequently searched keyword. For example, James Zane, QA, or Natalya Evans, Human Resources.
• Headline. The headline section allows you to highlight who you are, what you’re doing, and what you can bring to the table. Don’t miss the opportunity to include a keyword there, since it will appear in Google search results, plus recruiters, and potential employers, often perceive you from the headline.
• About. Make sure to include your industry, and location. You can also outline your education, and previous work experience. Again, try to insert keywords, not just generic phrases. For instance, write that you work in the marketing industry, and have experience with email marketing, inbound marketing, SEO, advertising, etc., instead of writing that you are a marketing guru.
• Education and work experience. Another section that you can place keywords regarding your education, and qualifications. Additionally, you can write a short description of your main responsibilities in your different roles.
• Recommendations. This might sound like an edgy tactic, but what if, instead of asking others to write you a recommendation, you write it yourself, and then ask them to approve it? This way, you can make sure that keywords are included in your recommendations, not to mention other people won’t have to do anything.
• Accomplishments. Do you have any publications, completed projects, courses, awards? If so, don’t miss out on the opportunity to include some keywords there, as well.

2. Upload High-Quality Profile and Background Pictures

If you’re wondering how to optimize your LinkedIn profile, look no further than uploading high-quality pictures, both for your profile and background covers.

After all, a profile with missing pictures will often be overlooked by anyone that comes across it. The same goes for LinkedIn business profiles.

Ensure that your background picture doesn’t stray too far from the theme and/or meaning of your business or personal professional profile. If you’re a developer, for instance, and have a background featuring unicorns, that won’t add much value to your profile.

Furthermore, make sure that you give proper names to the images you upload. Include keywords, as they will also be indexed by Google, and appear in image searches.

This is how not to name your company background image: 313fa33t13tg4.png
This is how to name your company background image: devrix-company-background-image.png

3. Publish Relevant Content

A lot of companies are well aware that they should regularly publish relevant content on their LinkedIn company page. However, the same principle applies for individuals.

Personal branding is not something that you should underestimate. What’s more, publishing content on your profile can make you easier to find. Naturally, you should keep it relevant, and interesting.

4. Get Recommendations and Endorsements

Of course, having zero recommendations and/or endorsements is not great. The thing is you might be a great professional, however, people often forget about those types of things, unless asked for.

So, don’t be shy, ask your previous and/or current colleagues, and managers to endorse you for a skill, or a recommendation. As we mentioned above, a good idea might be to write drafts about yourself with keywords in them, and then just show them to the person for their approval.

Readers Also Enjoy: 9 B2B LinkedIn Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business – DevriX

5. Join Groups

Staying isolated is never a good idea. It’s much better to join groups and participate in community discussions. What’s more, sharing your own insights and opinions can help you boost your brand reputation, or personal authority.

Ultimately, look around for groups relevant to your industry, and try to be active in the discussions.

Readers Also Enjoy: SEO and Branding: How to Use Search Engines in Your Online Strategy – DevriX

6. Expand Your Network

Whether you participate in groups or not, expanding your LinkedIn network is essential to successfully optimizing your profile.

You see, networking is not only about adding people to your connections list, it’s about developing meaningful relationships, and growing your business.

7. Create Backlinks

No LinkedIn profile optimization, nor search engine optimization, in general, is complete without adding backlinks. Why are backlinks so important? For instance, the more times your LinkedIn profile is linked to, the higher your chances of it appearing in search results.

Furthermore, it’s not that hard to achieve. Your company LinkedIn profile, for example, can easily acquire the necessary backlinks by adding a link to your LinkedIn page on your website.

Additionally, you can make sure that all your employees have added their current job title and company, which will provide more links to your company profile page.

Readers Also Enjoy: Demystifying 7 Common Link Building Myths – DevriX

What Are the Benefits of LinkedIn SEO?

In case you’re still uncertain about the benefits of search engine optimization for LinkedIn, let’s outline the main advantages:

• Increased Brand Awareness. A well-optimized LinkedIn profile can greatly increase your brand awareness. Think of it as part of your brand personality – a place where anyone – from potential customers to current and future employees – can see your team, events, branded material, etc.
• Better Career Opportunities. Your chances of getting noticed by recruiters and employers are much higher when your LinkedIn profile is optimized. Nowadays, LinkedIn is the go-to place for employment opportunities, and stats show that there are 8 people being hired every minute on LinkedIn.
• More Visibility and Credibility. As we mentioned earlier, a good SEO on LinkedIn can ensure your profile appears more often in search engine results. What’s more, a complete profile makes you appear more professional, credible, and trustworthy, compared to one with missing images, information, and previous experience.

In a Nutshell

LinkedIn SEO is more important than you might think. It’s equally beneficial for businesses and individuals, as it helps to boost your visibility, and trustworthiness.

Ultimately, you don’t have to spend too much time optimizing your LinkedIn profile. Optimizing is almost always advantageous for your business, or personal branding, and affords you the exposure needed to further your success.