Optimizing your personal LinkedIn profile is crucial for your presentation to potential clients and partners.

The optimization of your LinkedIn profile is essential for how you present yourself to your audience and potential clients/partners who visit your profile. Optimization involves correctly writing the descriptions that need to be filled in your profile.

The right choice of keywords is important for your LinkedIn presence, but the most crucial aspect is that your description is clear, relevant, and reflects your key activities. If your content is well-structured and aligns with your expertise, you have nothing to worry about.

Of course, keywords remain an essential element, so we will also focus on them. We often receive questions about whether a given profile is sufficiently optimized and how it can be improved. The truth is, there is always room for improvement, but when a profile is already well-optimized, excessive adjustments are not always necessary. It is important to maintain a proper balance between content, keywords, and engagement.

How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile?

The key question you need to ask yourself at this stage is: "Why do I need an optimized LinkedIn profile?" When you determine your goal, it will be much easier to focus your efforts on optimization.

If you are a graphic designer, you can focus on filling out your Featured section in LinkedIn and adding the Service section to describe the services you offer.

The most important elements when optimizing your LinkedIn profile are:

• A professional profile picture
• A headline with keywords that describe you and your work – How your profession helps others should be reflected in your headline.
• A cover photo that includes your contact details
• A well-written About section
• Your experience listed in the Experience section
• Your skills added to the Skills section

The first three points are the most important because they immediately present you and your main activity to the user who visits your profile.

When Should You Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile?

We recommend creating and optimizing your LinkedIn profile as soon as you recognize its value and necessity for your business.

It is essential first to determine your goal – what you want to achieve with your presence on the platform. Then, build clear and consistent key messages that engage your audience and showcase your expertise in the best possible way.

A strategic approach to LinkedIn will help you get the most value out of your presence on the platform.

For example:

• If you are looking for a new job, you can highlight your certifications, key skills, and current job responsibilities, as well as fill out all 50 skills that LinkedIn allows. These are keywords that recruiters use when searching for candidates.
• If you are a salesperson and want to connect with potential clients to close deals, focus on how you help your clients. You should complete your entire profile description and highlight how your work benefits clients. In the Featured section, you can add successful projects with past clients that potential new clients can see.

This is why defining your goal is essential and should be carefully chosen.

Example of Added Visual Elements in a LinkedIn Profile

The Featured Section, Where You Can Add Visual Elements

In the "Featured" section, you can showcase key moments from your work in an attractive and visual way. This is an excellent opportunity to highlight your most significant achievements.

We recommend selecting three to five important aspects of your work and presenting them on LinkedIn. This will help build trust, emphasize your expertise, and attract more engagement.

Optimized Headline with Keywords

Here is another example of how I have chosen to use my 220-character limit to write my Headline. We advise choosing a keyword that is not directly from your industry but is related to your personal interests. This can be your hobby or another characteristic that sets you apart.

How to Find the Right Keywords?

A frequently asked question is how to find the right keywords to place in your headline. LinkedIn’s search engine does not publicly publish reports on searches. However, you can determine the right keywords based on your practice.

Think broadly about your industry first – that’s one keyword. Then, write down two or three words describing your main activity, and now you have five keywords. Look at similar profiles and see what words they use.

Finding Keywords – Hacks

Hack 1: Check LinkedIn’s Search Engine

Type a keyword you think of into LinkedIn’s search bar. The platform will suggest keywords based on monthly searches.

Hack 2: Look for Keywords on YouTube

YouTube is the second-largest search engine after Google. Check what keywords users search for in your industry.

Whatever goal you have for your LinkedIn presence, never forget to enjoy the process and find satisfaction in it.

If you want to fully optimize your LinkedIn profile, read our article where we share a complete guide on how to do it and 18 best practices to follow.

Engage in meaningful discussions, share industry news, and communicate with your audience through your stories. Test and experiment!