When you have a LinkedIn page, you want to get as many page views as possible. Those views can translate to customers, and a better bottom line for your business. You can’t just put a page up on LinkedIn and hope for the best, though.
Your chances of getting “discovered” that way are pretty slim, and you aren’t going to see the success you’re hoping for. Instead, you want to get your LinkedIn pages views to skyrocket, so you can see your customer base and profits grow.
Taking Stock of Your Surroundings
The first thing you need to know is where you stand. Until you’ve discovered where you are, you can’t really figure out where you’re going to go (and how you’re going to get there). Fortunately, LinkedIn makes finding out where you are and how you’re doing easy.
With its data tools, you can see who’s getting to your profile or page, and how they’re getting there. The skills listed on your page matter, as do the people who are similar to you (based on LinkedIn’s algorithm). Also, don’t forget to consider the keywords that lead people to the page!
Take the First Simple Steps Toward Optimization
Make sure the title you’re using on your page is one that’s common for people (and pages, and companies) like you. You want to stand out and get noticed, but you also have to be similar enough to your competition that you’re found in the same types of searches they’re found in.
Otherwise, you’re going to get overlooked, and that won’t translate to higher numbers of customers and better profits. Titles are heavily weighted, so keep them as common and widely used as possible. That will ensure that your page is found faster and easier.
Keywords should be in your professional headline. Consider the types of things you did at your past companies, or as a volunteer. Instead of listing the companies or organizations, focus on the skills and the value you brought to others. Use keywords surrounding those things in your professional headline.
Then, consider your summary. You want to optimize it the same way you optimized your professional headline. It should be a narrative, and it should be keyword-dense. That doesn’t mean engaging in keyword stuffing, though. You can put plenty of keywords in your summary without hurting the readability of it.
There’s a 50 skill limit on LinkedIn, so make sure you list 50 skills. Take up all those available spaces. More people can find you that way, when they search for the skills you have. The more populated your profile is, the better off you’ll be when it comes to getting found. Don’t skimp on filling things out.
Get Active – And Stay That Way
LinkedIn isn’t something you can just start up and then just leave alone. You have to do more than that, and one of the ways in which you can do that is to be active. For example, status updates are vital to getting people interested in your page and what you have to say. You don’t want to post every little thought, but you should post at least once a day to keep people’s interest.
Groups are another excellent way to see your page views head into the stratosphere. Join the groups that interest you, and that pertain to what you do for a living. Once you’ve joined those groups, make yourself known. Get involved. Just joining a group isn’t going to help you, but becoming part of a group will.
As people get to know you, they’ll check out your page. They may want to hire you, consult with you, or otherwise work with you in some way. Seeing those page views go up will be affirming, and the extra page views could easily translate into a better bottom line for your company. When you work toward helping others in the groups you’ve joined, you’ll be inspiring to them, and they will want to learn more about you.
While you’re getting involved in groups and staying active in the LinkedIn community, take the time to view the profiles and pages of others. People like to be noticed, and when they see you’re checking out their profiles, they will generally check out yours, as well. Make your profile visible, instead of having it set to anonymous, so people can see that you’ve viewed their profiles and reciprocate.
Recommendations and Endorsements are Important
Of course you want people to recommend and endorse you, but that’s not what this is about. Instead, you need to recommend and endorse others. The recommendations you provide about others have a ripple effect. Those recommendations spread through the other person’s LinkedIn community, and anyone who sees their page will see that you recommended them.
That can make people curious about you, and what you do – as well as how you know the other person and what you’ve recommended him or her for. Endorsements work the same way, but those endorsements have to be genuine and sincere. If you just make something up, it can come out cheesy and fake. That won’t win you any followers for your page.
Rather than try too hard to make things up, just endorse people you actually know something about, and who you can say something good about. Those endorsements will portray you as a person who pays attention to interactions with others, and who cares about the people and companies that he or she works with.
Don’t forget to use your vanity URL and expand your network aggressively. The more people you’re linked with, the more likely it is that other people will see you and be interested in what you have to offer. Also, don’t be afraid to self-promote. You shouldn’t make every status update a plea to buy something, but there’s no reason you can’t be proud of what you do. Let me know what you’ve created, and where they can get it if they’re interested.