13 Tips for LinkedIn SEO in 5 Minutes or Less

May 6, 2015


Is your LinkedIn profile simply not getting the attention you feel it deserves? LinkedIn, like Facebook and Google, relies on a custom search algorithm for retrieving and presenting results. Ensuring your profile gets the right amount of attention from potential clients and employers requires platform-specific optimization efforts. Will loading up your profile with tons of details on your work history and education, links, endorsements, and a long bio help? It certainly will. While LinkedIn’s algorithm is kept under wraps, it’s extremely likely that quite a bit of preference is lent to individuals with highly-robust, detailed profiles on the social media network. To help get you pointed in the right direction, we’ve included a hack to assist with each SEO tip included in this profile:


1. 5-10 Minutes: Complete Your Profile


Just listing your entire work history isn’t the same as completing your LinkedIn profile! Far too few users take the time to complete any of the following “optional” sections, all of which can significantly boost your profile’s completeness: Projects Publications Courses Awards & Honors Organizations In particular, use projects to your advantage by sharing some of the accomplishments you’ve lead in the workplace, and tagging the people you’ve worked with.


2. 1 Minute: Use Anchor Link in Text


Avoid linking to your personal portfolio or blog with anchor text that reads “my portfolio” or “my blog.” It takes less than a minute to optimize these fully by including relevant keywords. Strive for descriptive language like “Nashville Graphic Design Portfolio.”


3. 3 Minutes: Keyword Optimize Job Titles


While listing that you were a “Marketing Manager” is certainly impressive, you can add more information to these sections, especially if you worked in a highly specialized capacity. Job titles are effectively headers, and may be lent more weight by LinkedIn’s algorithm than body text. Could you optimize your job titles to resemble one of the following examples? Marketing Manager | Certified Inbound Marketer | PPC Expert Marketing Manager, North America Professional Services Marketing Content and Paid Search Marketing Manager


4. 5 Minutes: Maximize Group Membership


You’re not required to actively participate in LinkedIn groups that you belong to, though it can certainly be a beneficial experience. Each group you join expands your possible connections, and is likely indexed as profile content. Commit to searching and joining several relevant groups each day until you’ve joined the maximum of 50 groups.


5. 5 Minutes: Build Recommendations


Earning recommendations is easy. Take the time to sincerely recommend a former or current colleague, and send them a quick note explaining that you’re optimizing your LinkedIn profile and would appreciate a recommendation in return. The worst they can say is “No Thanks!”


6. 5 Minutes: Leave No Field Blank


Have you listed second languages? Professionally relevant courses you took as a student? Have you started publishing to LinkedIn Pulse? While you should never enter throwaway values into your LinkedIn profile, always be searching for ways you can add valuable and relevant information.


7. 2 Minutes: Claim Your Vanity URL


Is your name claimed already on LinkedIn? No problem. Add your profession. Regardless of what you choose, ensure your vanity URL makes you more searchable and will look good on a business card.


8. 5 Minutes: Promote Your LinkedIn Elsewhere


If possible, be sure to link to your LinkedIn profile on your company website, blog, Twitter account, and every other social media platform you actively use. The more links you add, the better your page authority and page views. Job searchers can also boost their profile’s authority by linking to their LinkedIn when commenting on blogs and other industry publications.


9. 5 Minutes: Avoid Keyword Stuffing


Search algorithms are pretty good at sniffing out would-be spammers. Describing yourself as an “inbound marketer with 10 years experience managing inbound marketing campaigns seeking opportunities to expand my career in inbound marketing” doesn’t sound natural. It sounds like you’re trying too hard. Using a variety of terms to describe your career and aspirations can only help your profile’s visibility and authority.


10. 5 Minutes: Aggressively Grow Your Network


Have you added the individuals from your collection of business cards to your LinkedIn network? Personal email contacts? While spammily adding LinkedIn contacts you don’t know can get you permanently banned from the network, taking the time to add people you already know can only be to your benefit.


11. 5 Minutes: Shamelessly Self-Promote


LinkedIn is your space for being proud of your professional accomplishments. Did you successfully manage a $ 25,000 marketing campaign? Achieve 250% growth in ROI in just 18 months time? If there is any possible way to quantify your existing content or add impact statements, do it!


12. 5 Minutes: Keep Collecting Endorsements


The best way to receive endorsements is to sincerely give them to other people. Spend a few minutes a day endorsing people for skills you know they have, and watch your own endorsements pour in.


13. 5 Minutes: Optimize Your Job Descriptions


I’ll be the first to admit that it’s really laborious to add paragraphs, bullet points, and descriptors underneath each of the positions you’ve held in the past. However, this is well worth your effort, especially if you’re able to mention some of the relevant tools and programs you’ve worked with, and the impact of your efforts.

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