LinkedIn SEO: Where Do I Add Keywords in my LinkedIn Profile for Optimal Results?

Hi Donna,

I hope you are doing great! I’m finalizing my LinkedIn presentation and had a question if you don’t mind…

Is there any difference in LinkedIn profile optimization if someone puts a keyword in their headline vs their about section vs their experience section?

For example, if a recruiter were searching on a specific keyword, and a LinkedIn user has it in their profile, in one of those sections, does it make a big difference where?

I just wasn’t sure if LinkedIn prioritizes keywords in the headline section over other sections.

Thank you!

Heather

The Priority of Keywords for LinkedIn SEO

Hi Heather,

Great question! LinkedIn is constantly tweaking its search algorithm. Nothing is ever made public so all we can offer are guesses as to what we think works best.

Inject your keywords into your Headline, About/Summary, Job Title, Job Description, and Skills/Endorsements sections but do it naturally and organically. Don’t just list keywords. Instead, use the keywords in your narrative. Tell a story. Provide context.

Is there an order of importance?

The headline is important but it’s not just “AI” but the “human eye” that I am concerned about– the headline travels next to your name and is associated with all of your LinkedIn activity. When your LinkedIn headline is crafted well, it compels a person to open your profile. When you have a lot of views to your profile, LinkedIn assumes you and your profile are relevant to others and thus serves your profile higher up in their search results.

The Company Name field is one that you can’t tweak – company name is the company name, but I have frequently noticed that when the company name contains a keyword– that profile jumps to the top of the search results for that keyword.

Simply keeping your profile up to date makes a big difference too. Freshly updated profiles perform better than profiles that are keyword-optimized but haven’t been touched in months. LinkedIn really cares about relevance.

MY LINKEDIN SEO ADVICE

So here’s my LinkedIn SEO advice: don’t get too granular and don’t spend too much time trying to game the system! Determine your keywords (the words a person would be using to find someone like you if they didn’t know your name), use them organically in your LinkedIn profile, infuse them where you can in your LinkedIn profile’s sections, where it makes sense. But most importantly, use LinkedIn! Log in, have fun, engage and network with others, add value, educate, inspire… and good things will happen, I PROMISE!

Best of luck with your LinkedIn presentation, Heather!

–Donna

PS Here’s another article that I wrote about LinkedIn SEO