There’s 1 small thing that makes or breaks your LinkedIn Profile. It’s the first thing that people see when you send them an invitation to connect, it’s what defines whether you show up in search results and it quickly & efficiently tells people what you do & how you can help them. I’m talking about your LinkedIn Headline.
I get over 50% of my clients on LinkedIn. And I generate similar results for my clients. And it has a lot to do with the headline. Let me explain:
LinkedIn is THE Search Engine for Professionals
Just like you search for topics on Google, you can search for professionals and service providers on LinkedIn. How? By using the search bar in the top left corner and entering the keywords you would use to describe for the service provider you’re looking for. Looking for an Business Coach for Entrepreneurs? Here’s what you would do:
You could then use the filters to narrow down your search to your location for example.
As you can see that people who have optimized their headline for that keyphrase show up in the search results.
Number 1 Problem with Most Headlines
The problem is that most people have simply used their ‘functional job title’ in the headline. For example I’m the founder and director of my company, so I would add ‘Founder & Director of Simplicity’. You see the problem here?
First of all no one is going to search for that and second when people receive an invitation from me to connect, they don’t have a clue about what it is I do. I could be the owner of a nail saloon !
How to fix that 1 small thing that makes or breaks your LinkedIn Profile
You have 120 characters to explain who you are, what you do and who you help. So try to answer the following 3 questions, using your keywords in a natural way.
1. What do others call you? What would they search for? (Business Coach, LinkedIn Trainer, etc.).
Don’t get too creative here because you really need to use the most commonly used words. Maybe you don’t like to be called a Career Coach and would rather be called a Career Mentor? Ask a few of your clients what they would search for… I would say it’s probably the first option. Again, don’t get too creative in the headline, you can use that creativity in other parts of the LinkedIn Profile.
2. What service or product do you provide? (Business Coaching, LinkedIn Trainings, etc.)
With a few words, explain what you do and how you help your clients.
3. Who do you serve? (Entrepreneurs, Corporates, etc.)
It really helps to be specific here. If you only work with women, say it! Business Coach for Female Entrepreneurs
Again, the key here is to come up with 120 characters that explain who you are, what you do and who you help. Bang! I guarantee that if you implement this one thing on your LinkedIn Profile you will
- show up in more search results
- see your profile views go up
- get more invitation requests
- and maybe get a new client or two
Of course the headline is not the only thing that needs to be optimized on your LinkedIn Profile. Below are a few articles that might help you further improve your profile so that it transforms into a cutting edge sales tool! Or, you can skip the endless surfing and getting bits and pieces here and there and get my LinkedIn Profile Quick Fix, a short but highly effective video course that teaches you how to create an amazing LinkedIn Profile that gets you clients !
List of related posts: