Do a Google search on your name. You may notice that your LinkedIn profile comes up near to the top of the results page. This tells us LinkedIn has very good Page Rank and unless your site beats it in Google, you had better optimize your profile for search engine traffic.
Whether you are using LinkedIn for business or pleasure, there are a few steps you can take to make your profile be seen more for specific keywords.
Make your profile public & claim your vanity URL
Search engines are not going to a find a private profile so you must enable the public option for your profile. Fellow users on LinkedIn are not going to find a private profile either by the way (unless they are your first connections of course).
The first thing you want to do is to set a personalized URL (domain name) for your profile. Just like on Facebook and indeed Twitter, this will allow your profile link to appear as linkedin.com/in/yourname as opposed to linkedin.com/in/io23jr9823u98. Search engines love vanity URLs as long as you include your full name. If your name is taken, just add your initial or location at the end.
Get your headline right
Your headline will by default be your current job as entered in your work experience. Whenever you are seen across Linkedin (in groups, discussions etc), people will first see your name, photo and headline. Instead of having a headline saying “Partner at Smith Group” which doesn’t mean anything to the reader, you should opt for something like “Senior Accountant Serving Blue Chip Companies in Cambridge”. This way people know what you do, for whom you do it and where.
The rule here is to think WIIFM, why should someone contact you? Think about what people are likely to tap in when they search, it’s not likely to be Partner but it can certainly be Accountant. You have up to 140 characters to play with here so don’t be shy and bring on those keywords now. As you can see, I have gone for an all-out keyword assault…
Get your links right
You can add up to 3 website links on your profile. This is in itself a very useful feature as you give your own sites some link juice (as Google loves LinkedIn) and you allow readers to check out sites that are associated with you and your brand.
Most people will add their company, their blog and perhaps another social media profile. Instead of using the default settings in the drop-down menu, type in your search engine friendly text. So instead of “My Company”, write “Accounting Firm in Cambridge”. Instead of “My Blog”, try “Blog about Accountancy in England”. You have now given the reader an insight as to what the links are about and you have added more keywords to your profile.
You do this by selecting “other” on the drop-down menu and then enter your website title manually.
Free text fields keyword bonanza
Your Linkedin Profile contains plenty of boxes and fields for you to stuff with keywords. The more relevant ones you bring out, the more likely you are to be picked up by internal (LinkedIn) and external (any search engine) searches.
LinkedIn allows you to fill in descriptions in your profile headline, personal interests, summary, job title, and career history. Make sure, when filling out these sections, to use keyword-rich descriptions that will draw in relevant search engine traffic.
You want to make full use of your allotted text, you have no less than 2,000 characters to use in the Summary field and Job descriptions. You have 1,000 characters in the Interests section and 500 characters in the Specialties. Plenty of space to elaborate in other words.
Bottom line
Congratulations, you have now optimized your profile and you will increase your profile traffic from organic search. Bear all this stuff in mind and whenever you add new information (e.g. new job, location), throw in the right keywords and you will keep that high rank level you already have attained.
Any questions? Let me know in the comment section and I will do my best to help!
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