LinkedIn is one of the most effective social networks for B2B companies. above800 millionIt is also considered to be the largest professional community by users around the world. But with this competition, how do you stand out from the crowd and rank higher on LinkedIn? The solution is SEO optimization of your LinkedIn profile. This will help you get higher positions in search results both on the platform and on Google.
The same keyword and link-heavy SEO strategies that work for websites don't work for individual LinkedIn profiles. Luckily, there are some things you can do that are not only effective, but also natural and organic for your profile visitors.
But let's start with the basics.
Index
What is LinkedIn SEO?
LinkedIn SEO is a process aimed at getting more profile views within the platform. It's similar to Google SEO in general, but instead of optimizing your website, you're optimizing your page. The basics of SEO are also similar:
relevance
The most important ranking factor is relevance. When searching for an “SEO expert,” irrelevant generic results like “web marketer” would be confusing. So the macro step is to determine what topic you are targeting, as you cannot be first in everything. Most of the time, your main topic is your specialization.
SEO on the page
You need to create valuable content that is accessible and understandable to bots. Technical optimization is not the case with Linkedin SEO since you are working on a single website, so the main task is keyword optimization. Using exact match search terms on your page makes it easier for the search algorithms to rank your content because the words in your title, about section, etc. will match a user's query.
Which keywords to choose?
The purpose of using keywords is to optimize your content so that search algorithms can understand and categorize it. In other words, keywords form the relevancy of your content. Good topic coverage means you've described the main idea and related issues. For example, good “SEO Specialist” text should not only include all keywords that contain “SEO Specialist +” but also include variations such as “SEO Specialist +/Manager” to cover the main topic and related link building activities ', 'Onpage Optimization', etc.
The only potential downside to LinkedIn SEO is that it cannot be tracked like website optimization. Therefore, there are no detailed statistics to see in numbers if your profile is SEO friendly. Basically, you can only search for matching keywords,Optimize your profileto appear in search results and make you attractive to potential customers by including search terms in your bio – this increases CTR because people see you have what they need.
Offpage-SEO
Another ranking factor is authority, which comes into play when multiple results compete for the same search query. The most important off-page signal for Google are backlinks, but they are different for LinkedIn as it is a social platform and not a search engine. To increase trust in your profile, you should get social proof: mentions, shares, connections, etc.
There are many people per "SEO expert" search query, so it makes sense to rank users with a wider network and posts with higher engagement metrics higher than users with zero connections and posts.
How does LinkedIn's algorithm work?
LinkedIn's algorithm does not display feed posts in chronological order. It's more complicated because the platform wants to show you the most relevant and interesting posts first to improve the user experience and let you spend more time reading the feed.
The two main ranking factors are:
- Social-Selling-Index (SSI).
This is a metric that measures your overall performance on LinkedIn: how good you are at finding the right connections, how well you are engaging with insights, and how good you are at sharing your expertise and building your brand. It's a great tool for not only seeing overall performance, but also ways you can improve.
In the example above, we see the lowest numbers for “Interact with Insights” and “Build Relationships.” Both represent more active engagement with the platform: connecting with new people and engaging with content (commenting on articles, starting discussions, etc.). So an improvement in these two areas will lead to a higher number and a higher overall SSI.
- length of stay.
The more time the user spends viewing the publication (updates when viewedLinkedIn Documents), increases the likelihood that the user will interact with it. LinkedIn benefits from showing posts that users tend to engage with, so longer stays lead to higher rankings.
Unfortunately, you can't measure LinkedIn Page time like you can with Google Analytics, but you can improve it by creating engaging content, whether it's a video, an article, or a short post.
For example, if you have a great, funny, and niche video, your contacts will watch it to the end. Let's say it's a 10-minute series of tips on how to improve your LinkedIn SEO. People who spend more time on it are more likely to do something (like, comment, etc.). Knowing this, LinkedIn will rank this video higher than a similar video with a shorter retention time.
In addition, there are 3 ranking signals that LinkedIn's algorithm uses to determine which posts to display:
- personal connections.
Since 2019, LinkedIn has changed its algorithm to show posts from your personal connections first. These are people you have worked or work with and people you have recently interacted with. - relevance of interest.
With the help of the so-called "interest chart" LinkedIn can determine how interested you are in a certain topic and which contacts share the same areas of interest. - engagement probability.
This metric is based on how likely you are to like, comment, or share a post based on your past interactions and how quickly a post receives engagements.
- personal connections.
LinkedIn SEO tips for a well-optimized LinkedIn profile
So how do you optimize for LinkedIn?
There are many tips for improving LinkedIn profile. We have selected the 10 most effective ones that, when used correctly, will give you results as quickly as possible.
#1: Build or optimize your keyword list
We determine the importance of keywords in your profile. You need to place them everywhere but make them look natural.
But where do you get keywords from?
SEO professionals use research tools to find the best keywords for a specific search engine. But there is no LinkedIn keyword research tool. So you can turn to the next best thing – a professional SEO tool like Google’s Keyword Planner orSE-Ranking-Keyword-Tool.
They show you keyword difficulty, monthly search volume, and other important data about the original keyword you researched. You'll also see suggestions for future use.
While most of the metrics you will see are the best for Google, you can choose the clearest short-tail keyword to describe your services, as well as additional, even long-tail, keywords for your posts. A higher ranking of your profile and written articles on Google will help you!
Compare top searched Google searches to LinkedIn search suggestions to create a list of targeted searches.
#2: Customize your LinkedIn URL
What's the best?
- linkedin.com/name-123456789 or
- linkedin.com/name-specialty
The second is of course better. LinkedIn does not charge for claiming a URL. But there is more. You can customize it to include both your focus keyword and your name. If you are in SEO and digital marketing fields, you can use name digital marketing expert or something similar.
#3: Optimize your titles
Your title is the closest thing users will see to your name, so make sure to make it interesting too. A perfect title:
- it is informative
- it is concise
- is creative
- Contains the focus keyword
You can also useExamples of LinkedIn titlesfrom experts to understand how to write a great profile for your profile.
Describe your expertise correctly. For example, you can be a digital marketing expert and a blogger. Mention both in the title to grab the attention of a more diverse audience.
#4: Optimize the about section
The About Us section isn't the most indexed part of your profile, but why not add some keywords along with a creative introduction?
In your summary, combine the following:
- Attention Hook (non-aggressive)
- Valuable information about you as a professional
- creativity
- your advantages
- Results you have achieved and will achieve in the future
- Notable clients or companies you have worked for
Write concisely and creatively to increase approval of connections and requests from others and gain more visibility online. Anyshort examplesis designed to help you get an idea of ​​what a successful profile looks like.
Remember, you have up to 2,000 characters to engage your audience. Make sure you have at least 1000 characters of interesting text about your experiences, expectations, etc. so that users can make a first impression.
#5: Fill out the work experience
Users can simply scan their work experience, which means most, if not all, will look to this section. If there is absolutely nothing, it may seem suspicious that there is no history of your previous work.
Don't run away from experience - it can help potentialrecruiteror customers can see how long you have been in the niche and how versatile you are as a person and as an employee. Who knows what spot in your ad will become the deciding factor in another career change.
Also if you have anyvolunteer experience, make sure to add it to your LinkedIn profile.
#6: Publish content
The content you post can help you achieve several goals:
- Get more viewers, followers and connections
- Share your expertise and become popular in the niche
- Higher rank in LinkedIn's search engine
- Higher ranking on Google (if you use long-tail keywords in your posts)
All of these will bring more customers or companies to cooperate.
Publish niche-specific content regularly. Make it a rule to create small articles daily or longer articles monthly or bi-weekly to keep your audience engaged. This will drive more traffic to your page, which means more opportunities for professional growth and interesting collaborations, titles, increased authority, etc.
#7: Link to your LinkedIn profile
LinkedIn SEO isn't just about on-page optimizations. You also need to work off-page to get more exposure. There are several ways to create links:
- If you have a blog, link to your LinkedIn as a signature in each post
- Put the link in your blog description on the main page
- Post on your other social media channels
- Write guest posts for other relevant blogs with highdomain authorityand leave a link in the author area.
These simple approaches will help you improve your profile ranking on Google, which will bring more visitors to the site.
#8: Use hashtags wisely
Hashtags are pretty powerful. Some people might not know who to search for, so they search hashtags to find popular posts.
You can use two types of hashtags:
- General ones that describe your niche – #digitalmarketing, #SEO_specialist, etc.
- Owner - #name_SEO_consultant, #name_about_digital_marketing, etc.
The first type gives you more attention. The second type helps readers navigate your publications. Both types are great tools to build and improve your brand and authority.
#9: Build smart connections
Networking in general is a powerful way to improve your LinkedIn SEO. However, in addition to former and current colleagues, potential partners, etc., be sure to expand your network with experts and companies in your industry. This increases the relevance of your profile, which increases the amount of traffic and potentially valuable connections you receive due to a higher search ranking.
With a semi-proProfile pictureand an attractive about area, you will be confirmed in no time at all. You can then interact with the best profiles in your industry to kickstart the process and generate even more connections and improve results.
#10: Join groups
If you don't know who to add to your contacts and want to find more opportunities to share your knowledge and find people with similar interests, join groups. LinkedIn groups come in many shapes and sizes, from industry-specific to software-specific groups.
Comment on posts, answer questions, discuss relevant topics and contribute valuable insights. This will increase your authority and once again make you jump higher in the LinkedIn rankings.
And as a bonus, you have the opportunity to share your thoughts and talk about something you love.
summary
SEO is a powerful and versatile tool that can help you improve your online visibility not only on major search engines like Google, but also on social media. LinkedIn search optimization is very effective if you do it wisely.
Any part of your profile with text or media should be optimized for search, but not to make you look like a bot. So obviously putting in some unnatural keywords and a million hashtags will not work.
Put some effort into keyword research first. There are digital tools that can help you do this quickly, even if you don't have any SEO experience. Use these keywords wisely in the title and all other textual content sections.
Write interesting articles, including your about section. Share your thoughts and knowledge, comment on expert posts related to your niche and communicate.
Make it professional but not boring.
About the author
Kelly Brelandis Digital Marketing Manager atSE classification, an all-in-one SEO platform with comprehensive keyword research, backlink monitoring and website audit functionality. In her texts, she likes to address digital trends, marketing techniques, search optimization or corporate strategy. In his free time he enjoys reading and meditating.