How To Keyword Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn plays a crucial role in any job search since over 90% of companies will now check you out on LinkedIn before calling you. And more than 97% of recruiters will source talent through LinkedIn. If you want to be discovered, you have to keyword optimize your LinkedIn Profile. Here’s how:

Determine The Most Important Keywords
You will need to examine this from the perspective of a recruiter and think about what keywords they would use to find candidates. Usually, they will search on titles, geographic location, and special capabilities such as “Online Marketing,” “Executive,” “Florida” or “Affiliate Manager.”

Exercise Caution When Optimizing for Specific Titles. A Director in one company is a Vice President in another and a Manager in a third, depending on size. It’s better to use generic titles like Online Marketing Executive. Look at job posts to figure out the most important keywords for you.

Integrate Keywords throughout LinkedIn Profile
Now that you know the keywords you want to highlight, make sure you use them extensively in your LinkedIn Profile. There are certain parts of your profile that are most important for this – they are:

Your Headline

This shows right under your name in your Profile box and is one of the most important locations to insert your keywords. If you do not enter anything here, it will default to the title of your most current position, so make sure you not only have the right keywords, but also a strong message.

Here’s an example:

Affiliate Marketing Executive | Sr. Marketing Manager for Award Winning Advertising Agency

Your Summary

You have up to 2,000 characters in this category to describe yourself and your value add. Basically, this is where you tell the story of you . Make sure you use your keywords generously here.

For example:

As a Senior Sales Executive for Omnicom, I lead agency sales initiatives that demonstrate the competitive advantage of Omnicom products. Recognized as a top performing Sales Executive, I have consistently ranked in the top 1% of my team.

Note how Sales Executive is used extensively.

Advice For Contacting

This is an overlooked section that allows you to get more keywords in you profile, so do not ignore it.

Utilize these quick tips and your LinkedIn Who’s Viewed My Profile results will increase dramaticaly.