How to Optimise Your LinkedIn Profile - A Step-by-Step Guide.

Are you looking to promote yourself, increase your chances of getting new job opportunities, hire staff or gain traction and new leads for your business? 

LinkedIn is the place to make this happen and having a properly (and fully) optimised profile is the easiest way to boost your success rate.

Here at bizee.co we offer LinkedIn Lead generation packages to grow your network and generate sales, and one of the first things we instruct our clients to do is properly optimise their profile. Here, we are giving you the opportunity to download our 20-page Optimisation Guide for free so you can also improve your profile ranking and standing amongst your network and to prospective partners or clients. 

Here’s what’s inside:

In our step-by-step guide to optimising your LinkedIn profile I’ll show you;

1. how to Audit your profile using LinkedIn and other tools.

Before you start actually editing your LinkedIn profile, you should first analyse it. You can do so with LinkedIn’s own analysis, external online resources and offline, by downloading your profile and viewing it as a document – effectively a kind of CV.

Did you know LinkedIn gives you the option to save your profile as a PDF?

2. how to Optimise your keywords for better and more relevant visibility.

You would do this for your professional or business website so you should for your LinkedIn profile. 

Consider what want your profile to rank for, the volume of results for these search terms and if there is much competition and see how this tallies with the intent of your target audience.

I will highlight the key sections to update with keywords and the tools to help you find them and;

3. Provide a step-by-step guide to edit each segment of your LinkedIn profile.

From image dimensions to the quality of photo to use I provide a comprehensive guide to updating your profile in an optimised way.

I highlight why the background image is key in lead generation and how to optimise what you display. 

4. Provide tips on maximising your core strengths and relevant business experience to attracted correct audience.

I touch on the importance of media, your message and ensuring your professional journey is not overcrowded with everything you have done but rather with targeted, keyword rich information. Step-by-step instructions include how to change default contact labels to optimise your profile for LinkedIn searches.

Did you know your current job title is not necessarily the best headline you should use, although LinkedIn chooses it automatically?

5. Provide examples of great LinkedIn content / profiles.

You will find links and images to help you understand how and where others have got it right and given the right information in the right manner to resonate with their target audience. 

6. Provide advice on the kind of language you should use and avoid on your LinkedIn profile.

Formal or casual? Some people when describing their education have used phrases like “University of Life” or “School of Hard Knocks” but it is pretty difficult to get away with an informal tone like this unless it closely matches your style, and even then, it is probably best to stick to facts.

I also touch on the importance of talking yourself up in a verifiable way, through data, rather than just flowery language.

Oh… and don’t forget to get others to review what you write. Proofreading is essential, especially if you are anything like me and your brain is a tiny bit faster than your laboured typing skills! Spelling mistakes will reflect upon you.

7. Provide tips on getting recommendations and endorsements.

Optimizing your LinkedIn profile means filling in every section with the relevant data, including asking former co-workers for their recommendations. 

 This can be hard so I include a tip on how to do this in a “nice way”.

Full of clear instructions.

All the topics covered come with clear instructions on how to edit your information, without cluttering up your profile and always maintaining a focus on what your target audience wants to see when browsing your profile. 

With over 600 million members from 200 countries, LinkedIn is still by far the largest professional networking platform in the world. Yes, it doesn’t get the same attention as other social networks (indeed it goes unconsidered by many) but with access to 30 million companies LinkedIn is a vital tool for anyone taking their professional life seriously.

LinkedIn has become a search engine in its own right as the importance of influencer, leads, business partners and talent acquisition has sky-rocketed. Whether you choose to use LinkedIn as a research tool, a networking space to manage professional relations and mine new leads, or to advertise your available positions, the platform's value continues to increase.

Download our 20-page step-by-step guide to optimising your LinkedIn profile and set yourself on the right course to increased visibility, network growth and successful lead generation. 

Author: Thomas Smallwood is an outsourcing specialist. Having worked in companies around Europe, from the support desk to the boardroom, he founded bizee.co to help small businesses grow through efficient delegation to skilled virtual assistants. He is an award-winning blogger and a passionate advocate for mental health awareness.

Connect with Tom on LinkedIn.