LinkedIn is a social media site the majority of professionals in the UK have heard about, now with nearly two thirds of British professionals holding an account. On top of this nearly a third of users are actually using the site to grow their own businesses.

As one of the largest search engines, 80% of users actively search for other professionals and businesses through the site.

It is actually incredibly easy to boost your profile to the top of the LinkedIn search results just by spending a bit of time getting the basics right. But remember, as the sites popularity grows, the more you are competing for that spot at the top spot.

Like Google, the majority of people will only look at the first page of results. If you are not on that page then you can lose out to competitors. Yet, just spending a bit of time on your profile, even if it is 15 minutes, can make a massive difference even for a small business.

Here are three tips from our recent webinar to make the most out of your profile.

Tip 1 - Search engine optimisation (SEO)

Your profile page is the perfect place to start your optimisation. Your headline is one of the first things people see when searching. This is the prime spot to make sure you describe who you are. Don’t put John Smith, Plumber; put John Smith, Plumber (Water Treatment Engineer). This makes it crystal clear who you are; so try picking a phrase/key word which best describes your job for your profile.

Not only can you be specific on your job title headlines, but also describe the company itself in more detail around you key phrase. This key word can be placed in titles and descriptions, to increase the number of times the phrase is mentioned.

Tip 2 – Adding the key phrase to your profile

Every professional has skills and expertise in their field. What are yours?

If you are a CRM expert then having CRM as a skill is essential and it increases the number of mentions in your profile.

Go through all aspects of your profile e.g. experience, and think about where your key phrase can apply to your page. I myself have 26 mentions of Public Relations. So when you are competing with dozens of other accountants called John Smith having an optimised page will increase your chances of being found.

Also don’t forget to optimise your company page around SEO. With people searching for businesses on LinkedIn, your company profile also needs as much attention as your personal page.

Tip 3 - The company page.

Services: More and more businesses are utilising their company page on LinkedIn. It is a great tool to promote the services you provide and also allow others to publicly recommend your business. Informing other users about the variety of services you provide can help improve the knowledge they have about you when making a decision to contact you.

Recommendations: The company page allows you to secure recommendations from your connections. However, getting the first recommendation can be tricky. Plus, only having one recommendation can hold negative connotations. But some customers/clients will be happy to recommend you, so have a chat with a few of them and see if they are willing to help you out.

 

By Tim Prizeman, Director at PRmyBusiness.

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