In the days before dot coms (the dark ages) when we wanted to find a service provider, we’d open the Yellow Pages. Then Google came along and we’d search the web for potential vendors. Today, LinkedIn has become the place where we often search for resources.
Unless you’ve optimized your LinkedIn Profile, you might as well be hiding from your prospects because they won’t find you. When people are looking for your type of solution, the secret to getting found is Keyword Stuffing. This is a little-known strategy where you “stuff” your profile with specific keywords that your prospects are searching for.
For example, I wanted to get found when people searched for the term “prospecting” since I teach prospecting skills. Below, you’ll see where I sprinkled this keyword throughout my profile. Notice when you search for “prospecting” I’m the #1 search result.
Before and After
Prior to optimizing my profile, no one was finding me. Just a few days after optimizing it, I began showing up in search results on a daily basis. Look at the report below from LinkedIn and notice that I have shown up in search results 19 times in the past 7 days.
Finding the best keywords to use:
How do you know which keywords to add to your profile? When in doubt, ask Google (those nerds know everything*). You can use Google’s free Keyword Planner to see which keywords are the most popular. After searching for a keyword, Google will tell you the average monthly searches for it, which will give you a good idea about how popular it is. Once you find the most popular keywords, then start stuffing!
*By the way, those nerds at Google figured out the Keyword Stuffing trick a few years ago and now they penalize people for doing this on websites. However, LinkedIn still rewards this tactic.
Here’s where to stuff the keywords in your profile:
1. In your Headline
Don’t just use your title in the headline. Use this section to insert several keywords. Notice in my headline it doesn’t say “Sales Consultant.” Instead, it mentions “Prospecting & Lead Generation Strategies” as well as “Social Media and Email Marketing.”
2. In your Summary
When writing an overview of your expertise, include each keyword at least 2-3 times throughout the Summary.
3. In the Experience section
When listing your past positions, insert keywords to describe your job functions. Again, try to use each keyword 2-3 times.
If you’ve done enough stuffing, each keyword should appear at least 5 times throughout your profile. Now sit back and watch the magic happen as your prospects find you on LinkedIn.
Download Top Secret LinkedIn Tactics & Tools for more ideas.