How to Use Natural SEO to Enhance Your LinkedIn Profile"s Searchability
There are over 85 million professionals on LinkedIn from over 200 countries, which makes it a social network that is well-worth your time. However, once you've set up your LinkedIn profile online and familiarized yourself with the network, it's time to make sure it's meeting its full potential. Because there are so many people on LinkedIn, it can be hard to search for the right professionals. In order to make sure people will be able to search and find you on the network, you will need to utilize some natural SEO techniques. Don't get lost in the millions of other profiles, read these tips from Mashable on how to optimize your LinkedIn profile to maximize its searchability.
Completely fill out your profile. Filling out as much information as you can, will work in your favor. Fill in your past work experience; include an up-to-date headline and information about your current work position. Make sure you include full contact information, a recent photo of you and update your status to include details about current projects you may be working on. Keep filling out your profile until LinkedIn says that it is 100 percent complete (this may be hard to do, but well-worth your time.) Use industry keywords or buzz words in order to help increase your profile's organic SEO.
Focus on making connections. Join and participate in groups related to your industry or personal interests. Search for present and past employers, college classmates and colleagues and ask them to join your network. Adding a personalized message to your connection request will increase the chance that they will connect with you. If there's someone you interact with in a group discussion, ask them for a connection as well. Indicate that you share a group and what the discussion was about.
Post professional status updates. Make sure your status updates highlight projects you are currently working on, news from your industry or company or express your opinion about a breaking news story (nothing too racy). LinkedIn is also a great place to post about company events. Make sure you remain professional in everything you post in order to remain respected by the rest of the members of the network. Using industry keywords or buzz words will help make your posts more searchable on the network. People can comment on your status updates and posts which creates an opportunity to open a conversation with your network.
Get quality recommendations. Employers and recruiters aren't going to just take your word for it when you talk about your awesome professional experience and accomplishments. Gaining recommendations is the best way to impress them and show that you speak the truth. Ask past and current employers for recommendations on the social network. Remember quality over quantity when it comes to getting recommendations. It's better to have 3 really good, recommendations with specific details than 10 generic ones that just say "Dan was a great employee." Ask your colleagues and supervisors for a LinkedIn recommendation face-to-face first, then send the invite. Also consider returning the favor after they come through for you, and don