10 Ways to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile

It’s not news that LinkedIn is a fantastic resource. It allows you to build a profile and connect with other professionals, with a couple clicks (or the swipe of a credit card if you register for LinkedIn Premium). But in a sea of other people, what can you do to stand out? These 10 tips will help you optimize your LinkedIn profile and help with your overall content marketing strategy.

1. Make a good first impression with a professional header.

This is the first thing people see when they access your LinkedIn page, so making an impact here is key. Make sure to list your current job position, skills and educational information. Headers listing this information achieve approximately 50 percent more views than headers that don’t. Also, ensure your background photo at the top relates to your career or is a neutral or striking image (such as a photo from nature).

2. A professional profile photo is a must.

Many people, however, send the wrong message with their LinkedIn profile picture. The photo should be professional, but also be representative of your position, industry and personal style. If you spend your days on construction sites, then a wearing a suit and tie in your headshot isn’t truly reflective of your career.

3. Have an accessible summary.

Remember that most people on LinkedIn have never met you. This is their only real chance to get to know you, your story and what your company does. Your summary should be indicative of your career and education successes, in a personable as well as professional way.

4. Share relevant posts, but don’t over share.

Quality is far better than quantity when posting to your LinkedIn profile. Remember to keep this strictly professional—LinkedIn is not Facebook.

5. Ask for endorsements to build your reputation.

Endorsements are some of the best ways to market on LinkedIn. Ask people whom you’ve worked for or done business with to recommend you. LinkedIn makes it easy: here’s how.

6. Join groups to help drive traffic to your page.

Some of the best LinkedIn profiles use groups as a way to make connections with other users. It helps to keep you up to date on what’s going on in your industry. Groups are very similar to skills—it is best to show fewer than 10 on your profile so your profile doesn’t get too cluttered, but join as many groups as you’d like.

7. Optimize your page to get a higher ranking.

Inserting keywords about your skills and aspirations will optimize your page to show up when a potential employer or client searches for your skillset. The most important places to optimize with keywords are: title, experiences, website URL, summary and skills.

8. Customize your public profile.

This helps your profile show up when people search for your name, industry, or skills featured on your profile. To learn how to customize your profile, click here.

9. Add your professional blog, presentations and other resources featuring your skills.

You can also add your SlideShare presentations. Use your LinkedIn credentials, then create an account to login to a SlideShare account. You will be prompted to upload photos and videos to create your first SlideShare. More questions? Click here to check out SlideShare’s help desk.

10. If you have contacts that require you to upgrade to LinkedIn Premium, sign up for Premium by-the-month.

With Premium you can do some research and networking,  then cancel your subscription if you no longer need this feature.