SEO glossary · L

LinkedIn Profile

What is a LinkedIn Profile?

A LinkedIn profile is a person’s professional page on LinkedIn, showing their experience, skills, education and activity. For business owners, consultants and salespeople, a strong profile is also a marketing asset: it is often the first thing prospects check before a meeting.

What makes a strong LinkedIn profile

  • Photo and banner: a clear, professional photo, and a banner that says what you do.
  • Headline: who you help and how, not just a job title.
  • About section: a short story of what you do and for whom, with results and a call to action.
  • Experience: achievements and results rather than duties.
  • Featured section: case studies, articles or your website.
  • Recommendations from clients and colleagues.

Profiles vs company pages

A profile belongs to a person; a LinkedIn Page belongs to a company. Posts from people usually reach far more people than posts from company pages, so many businesses encourage their team to share content from their own profiles.

Public LinkedIn profiles often rank in Google for people’s names, and they help search engines and AI assistants connect authors and experts with the companies they work for.

LinkedIn profile example: headline and about

Weak headline: “Owner at Smith Consulting”.

Stronger headline: “I help small manufacturers cut energy costs with free audits | Energy consultant”.

The first About paragraph then says who the person helps, what problem they solve and what happens when someone gets in touch, with one result and a clear next step.

LinkedIn profile checklist

  1. Use a clear photo of your face and a banner that states what you do.
  2. Write a headline with your audience and benefit.
  3. Write the About section in the first person, with a specific result and a call to action.
  4. List achievements, not duties.
  5. Add featured items: a case study, an article, your website.
  6. Ask for two or three recommendations from clients.
  7. Use a custom profile URL.

LinkedIn profile mistakes

  • Leaving the headline as the job title.
  • Using a logo instead of a photo.
  • Connecting with everyone and sending sales pitches at once.
  • Not updating the profile when you change focus.

LinkedIn profile FAQs

Does a profile help SEO?

Profiles can appear in search results for names and roles, so keep yours accurate. See brand awareness and LinkedIn advertising.

How is it different from a company page?

A profile is personal. A company page represents the business. See social media marketing.

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