LinkedIn SEO: how a salesperson and a company page get found in LinkedIn search and in Google.

What is LinkedIn SEO?

LinkedIn SEO is the work of making a LinkedIn profile, company page, posts and articles easier to find, both in LinkedIn search and in search engines such as Google and Bing. It means choosing the words your buyers actually type and putting them where each search system reads them.

For a salesperson, the goal is simple: when a buyer, a partner or a hiring manager searches for what you do, your profile shows up and gives them a reason to click. For a company, the goal is that the LinkedIn Page appears when people search for the company name, its category and its specialties.

There are two audiences with different rules. LinkedIn search ranks results differently for every member who searches. Google ranks the public version of your profile and your company page like any other web page, and only sees what you allow it to see.

LinkedIn SEO and social search

Search optimization used to mean websites. Now buyers also search inside social platforms, and LinkedIn is the professional one: people search it for a person, a company, a skill or a question. LinkedIn SEO is search engine optimization applied to that social search, plus the Google results where profiles and Pages appear.

The optimization is less technical than website SEO. There is no code to fix. The work is choosing words, filling fields honestly, building a real network and publishing content, and the results show up as profile views, search appearances and conversations.

Two search engines, two sets of rules

Most advice on LinkedIn SEO mixes the two together. They are worth separating, because the settings and signals that matter are not the same.

How LinkedIn search works, according to LinkedIn

LinkedIn publishes a short explanation of people search in its Help Center. The main point is that there is no single ranking. LinkedIn says the same search can return a different order for different members, based on the query and the context of the person searching.

The signals LinkedIn Help names for people search are:

• The searcher: their own profile, activity on LinkedIn and past search history.
• The network: the connections between the searcher and the profiles that match. LinkedIn says closer connections, such as 2nd degree rather than 3rd degree, improve the likelihood a profile appears.
• The match: the profiles that match the words in the query.
• Other members: patterns from people who ran similar searches and how they engaged with the results.
• Filters: choices the searcher applies, such as location.

LinkedIn also says search accepts natural, conversational language as well as keywords, and is designed to interpret intent. So a buyer might type a full question rather than a job title, and the profile that answers it clearly has a better chance of matching.

Keyword research for LinkedIn SEO

Keywords on LinkedIn are the words a buyer uses to describe the problem you solve, the role you have and the industry you serve. They are often not the words your company uses internally. Start from the searcher, not from your job description.

• Role words: the standard title a buyer would search for, such as account executive, sales engineer or partnerships manager.
• Problem words: what the buyer is trying to fix, in their language, not your product name.
• Industry and market words: the sectors, company sizes and regions you work with.
• Skills: the capabilities people filter and search for.
• Company page words: your category, your specialties and your location.

In practice, good sources are the words in your buyers' own profiles and job posts, your sales call notes, the questions prospects ask, and the search queries in your website analytics. Your ideal customer profile tells you whose vocabulary to borrow.

The LinkedIn analytics for a company page also show the top keywords members used to find the Page, which LinkedIn Help describes in its Search Appearances documentation. That is real keyword data from LinkedIn search itself, and it is worth checking before you guess.

LinkedIn profile SEO for a salesperson

LinkedIn profile SEO starts with completeness. LinkedIn Help says a complete profile helps you show up in more searches and improves how you are matched, and it lists current position, past positions, schools and field of study as examples. Profile setup is covered step by step in how to create a LinkedIn profile.

Where each keyword goes matters less than whether it is true and readable. The table below maps the fields a seller should work on, and marks which advice comes from LinkedIn and which is common practice.

Keywords in the headline

The headline sits directly under your name, so after the name it is the first text a searcher reads. In practice, lead with the standard role or the problem you solve, then add who you help. Save the clever line for the About section.

A headline that reads like a list of fifteen keywords separated by bars is hard to read and looks like stuffing. See LinkedIn headline examples for headlines by role that keep the keywords and still read like a person wrote them.

{{standard role}} helping {{buyer type}} in {{industry}} {{solve problem in their words}}

Keywords in the About section

The About section has room for full sentences, which suits natural language search. In practice, write the first two lines as a plain answer to "what do you do and for whom", because that is what shows before the reader clicks to see more.

Then describe the problems you work on, the industries and company types you know, and how a conversation with you usually starts. Use each important phrase where it belongs once or twice. LinkedIn Help suggests using multiple keywords instead of repeating the same words.

Job titles, experience and skills

LinkedIn Help is direct about job titles: fun titles may show personality, but standard titles are what members search for. If your company calls you a "revenue hero", put the standard title in the title field and the internal name in the description if you want it.

Skills are among the most common queries run by recruiters and hiring managers, according to LinkedIn Help. For a seller, list the skills a buyer or employer would use, such as the sales methods, industries and tools you actually work with, and not the ones you would like to learn.

What LinkedIn says to avoid

LinkedIn Help keeps a list of practices to avoid when optimizing a profile for search, and says it may take action on accounts that engage in abusive search engine optimization. The list:

• Extra words in the name fields: the name must be your first and last name only, not your title or a keyword.
• Keyword stuffing: repeating the same words or phrases instead of using several relevant ones.
• Inflated experience or education: these sections should reflect what you actually did and studied.
• Ads as profiles: a profile is not an advertisement for a product or service.
• Organizations as people: an organization gets a LinkedIn Page, not a personal profile.

LinkedIn's people search page adds that more keywords are not automatically better, and that a profile that looks overly optimized may be affected by spam detection, which can hurt its visibility in search results.

Company page SEO

Company page SEO is about making the LinkedIn Page appear for the company name, its category and its specialties, on LinkedIn and on Google. LinkedIn's own marketing blog gives the core advice: keywords at the start of the tagline, a keyword-rich About section, and every company field filled in.

Industry, location and specialties are the keywords the LinkedIn blog singles out. The blog also makes the point every seller knows: what people search for is often not what you call your products, so use their language.

The Page URL is part of company page SEO too. LinkedIn Help says the primary URL should match the Page name as closely as possible, can be changed at most once in 30 days, and may take a few weeks before search engines send traffic to the new URL.

Search Appearances in Page analytics shows how often the Page appeared in LinkedIn search and the keywords used to find it. LinkedIn Help suggests writing posts with those same keywords to improve the Page's visibility. The LinkedIn marketing strategy guide covers what those posts should do beyond search.

Public profile visibility in Google

Google does not see your LinkedIn profile the way a signed-in member does. It sees your public profile, which LinkedIn Help calls a simplified version of your profile. You decide in the public profile settings which sections are eligible to show to people who are not signed in and to search engines.

According to LinkedIn Help, when you create a profile, a public version is published to LinkedIn's member directory, and search engines periodically review that directory to index profiles. You must display your full last name to have a public profile.

LinkedIn Help lists what to do if you want your profile indexed by search engines:

• Turn on public visibility: in public profile settings, set your profile's public visibility to on.
• Connect with at least one person: invite and connect with at least one connection.
• Add sections: add more sections and information to your profile.
• Keep it current: edit your profile regularly.

Then wait. LinkedIn Help says it can take several weeks or months for Google, Bing or Yahoo to pick up changes, that LinkedIn does not control that refresh, and that incorrect results should be taken up with the search engine directly, for example through Google's outdated content tool.

Custom URL: small change, clean link

Every profile gets an assigned URL. You can add a custom public profile URL, which LinkedIn Help says helps members and recruiters identify your profile easily. Custom URLs are first come, first served, and you can only have one at a time.

The rules LinkedIn Help lists for a personal custom URL:

• Length: 3 to 100 characters, with no spaces, symbols, special characters or the word LinkedIn.
• Content: LinkedIn recommends a variation of your name or your professional brand.
• Case: the customizable part is not case sensitive.
• Changes: up to five times within six months; after the fifth change you wait another six months.
• Old URLs: a previous URL stays linked to you for six months unless you unlink it.

LinkedIn Help also warns that changing the URL several times can make you hard to find. In practice, pick your name once, put it in your email signature and on your website, and leave it alone.

SEO for LinkedIn posts, articles and newsletters

SEO for LinkedIn content is different for posts and for long-form articles. Articles and newsletters published on LinkedIn have their own SEO settings. LinkedIn Help says you can add an SEO title, used instead of the article title on search result pages, and an SEO description, used instead of the first lines of the article.

LinkedIn Help adds two specifics: an SEO title over 60 characters will be truncated, and the SEO description should summarize the piece, use keywords and aim for 140 to 160 characters. Your public profile settings also include a toggle for articles and activity.

For posts, the evidence LinkedIn publishes concerns the feed, not search. Its relevance page says the feed weighs your identity, what the content is about, how recent it is, and activity such as reactions and comments. In practice, a post that uses the words your buyers use is easier to find when they search posts.

Content, engagement and the feed algorithm

LinkedIn's relevance page describes the feed algorithm, not search ranking. It says the feed looks at what a post is about, whether it gives knowledge or advice, how recent it is, and engagement: who reacted, commented or chose to share it. Treat claims that engagement lifts search rank as practice, not as LinkedIn's statement.

In practice, content still helps LinkedIn SEO in two ways. Posts that reach the right people bring profile views and connections, and connections are a signal LinkedIn Help names for people search. A steady stream of useful content also gives your personal brand and company brand a consistent set of words to be found for.

• Create content in buyer language: use the same role and problem words as your headline, so posts, profile and Page tell one story.
• Optimize for the reach you want: a post that gets engagement from your buyers matters more than one that gets reach from everyone.
• Share articles for search engines: long-form articles with an SEO title can be found off LinkedIn, while a post is mostly found on it.
• Answer questions in comments: useful comments put your name and headline in front of the people reading.

The same buyer language that improves your profile belongs in your posts. The LinkedIn impressions entry explains what the post numbers mean once you start publishing.

How to do LinkedIn SEO, step by step

1. List the words buyers use

   Collect role, problem, industry and skill words from buyer profiles, job posts, call notes and site search queries. Keep ten to fifteen that are true for you.

2. Fix the name and the job titles

   Name fields hold only your first and last name. Change creative job titles to the standard titles people search for.

3. Rewrite the headline

   Lead with the standard role or the problem you solve, then who you help. Keep it readable as a sentence.

4. Rewrite the About section

   Open with a plain answer to what you do and for whom, then cover the problems, industries and how a conversation starts, in full sentences.

5. Complete every section

   Add positions, descriptions, skills, education and a photo, all accurate. Connect with the people you work with.

6. Set public visibility and the custom URL

   Turn on public visibility, choose which sections Google can see, and claim a custom URL based on your name.

7. Measure, then adjust

   Check Search Appearances and profile views monthly, search your name in a private browser window, and change one field at a time.

How to measure LinkedIn SEO

LinkedIn Help says that because people search is personalized, testing a query from a few accounts will not tell you how a profile ranks. It points to profile views as a more helpful indicator of visibility. Search Appearances adds the job titles you were found for.

Why LinkedIn SEO matters for sellers

Before most buyers reply to an email or accept a call, they look you up. Sometimes that is a LinkedIn search, sometimes a Google search for your name. Either way, your profile does part of the selling before you speak.

• Inbound from search: buyers who search for a role or problem can find you without an introduction.
• Credibility during outreach: a prospect who checks your profile after a message sees a clear, relevant story. See LinkedIn prospecting for the outreach side.
• A stronger network effect: more relevant connections put you closer to more searchers, which LinkedIn Help says improves the likelihood your profile appears.
• Consistency with the company page: buyers who move from your profile to the Page see the same language.

Common LinkedIn SEO mistakes

• Putting a title, emoji string or keyword in the name fields.
• A headline that is a list of keywords separated by bars, with no sentence a buyer can read.
• Creative job titles that nobody searches for.
• Repeating the same phrase in every section instead of using several accurate ones.
• Public profile visibility turned off, then wondering why Google shows nothing.
• Changing the custom URL repeatedly, so old links on email signatures break.
• A company page with an empty About section, no website link and no specialties.
• Testing rank by searching from a colleague's account and treating the result as the ranking.
• Expecting Google to show changes the same week.

LinkedIn SEO checklist

If you are building the whole LinkedIn channel, the LinkedIn lead generation hub collects the guides that come after the profile is found.

An About section opening you can adapt

The template below opens a seller's About section with the two lines that matter most for both search and the reader. It was written for this page; replace every placeholder with words your buyers actually use.

I help {{buyer type}} in {{industry}} {{solve problem in their words}}.

Most of my conversations start when a team {{trigger situation}}. I work with {{company size or type}} on {{two or three specific problems}}, usually alongside {{roles you work with}}.

Before {{current company}}, I {{relevant past experience}}. If {{problem}} is on your list this year, send me a message with where you are now.

Frequently asked questions