How to Rank Higher On LinkedIn

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in LinkedIn

Wouldn’t it be nice to rank #1 on Google for a certain keyword in your industry or niche?

It would be amazing, and that’s why brands spend a lot of money every month to SEO agencies in hopes of making the front page of Google for a certain keyword.

I knew this concept was powerful as well, but realized the more I taught others this concept of ranking high on LinkedIn, they got excited about it!

Ranking High on LinkedIn

When you look at the image below, you will see that I rank first when you type in the keyword “sports” on LinkedIn.  For me this is very important as I want to dominate the online space with my site SportsNetworker, and the Sports Executives Association.  I want to be known as a credible resource in the sports industry, and by ranking first out of over 1.2 million (image below is an old screen shot) results for the word “sports” on LinkedIn this allows me to stay at the head of the pack in the sports business world.

5 Keys To Rank #1 On LinkedIn

This is a simple process to rank on the first page of search results in the “people search” section on LinkedIn.  Although this doesn’t work every time, it works most of the time and I’ve seen it well over 100 times happen for people in real time.  There are five places you need to put your keywords when you use this strategy:

1.  Headline

Your headline is the first thing people see when they go to your LinkedIn profile, therefore (in my mind) it’s the most important or most relevant part.  If your headline doesn’t have your keywords in it, then you are missing the biggest section of the equation.

2.  Current Work Experience

Your current work experience is the next most relevant thing because it is what you are currently doing in business.

3.  Past Work Experience

You start to notice that this works in the top to bottom approach within your profile.  Start from the top, and working your way through your profile to the bottom.

4.  Summary

Your summary is the meat of your profile, or the body of your speech.  Make sure it looks clean and you don’t just add a line of key words next to each other or it won’t represent your personal brand well.

5.  Specialties

This is the section you want to add a number of different keywords to showcase your talents in short phrases.

I go into more detail about each section during my video interview with the sassy Amanda Coolong and good friend Efren Toscano on the TechZulu show below.

There are a number of other reasons LinkedIn can help you improve your reach within your industry or niche, simply starting a LinkedIn group will help your build a loyal fan base of potential customers in no time.  Take advantage of this powerful site by optimizing your profile full of key words, then start using the other amazing features it has to take your brand or company to the next level.

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Wilton Blake 5 pts

Here is an addition tip that I stumbled on because I realize that I was not listed in the "writers" category. That was because I listed "writer" as a skill and not "writers." The official category for the list is "writers." I just made the change so I'm hoping to at least make the list in my city.

Wilton Blake 5 pts

 Wilton Blake Another tip. When you make comments on a post, always check your spelling and grammar. Good Grief!

elearninggr 5 pts

This was a great guide although it missing some more factors concerning ranks. For example connections and groups can help rankings on linkedin and even google

Stacie Price 6 pts

Great post Lewis -- your tips and steps were very beneficial. Before making the recommended changes, I was not not even within the first 4 -5 pages of over 243,000 seach results for keyword "financial advisor"; HOWEVER, once I made the changes that you advised, I AM NOW ON PAGE 1 when searching for this keyword. I will admit that at first I was very skeptical if it would work, but it worked like a charm. Thank you so much for sharing this info!!

wsiabelpardo 8 pts

You opened my eys, and now I'll work in LinkedIn for having more than just my profile. Thanks a lot for sharing the info, Lewis.

nvbeard 7 pts

Just discovered your blog. Great read. One more tip: Before making all these changes, be sure to change your Privacy settings and turn off your broadcast activity. Just uncheck the box and save. When you're done making your changes, go back, and recheck the box. A flurry of activity will annoy most people.

marymac2468 5 pts

Thanks for the helpful information!

Mary McCamphill

joomlacreative 5 pts

I have been using LinkedIn for more than one year. Tips would help me to optimize my profile. Thanks a lot!

Regards,

William

http://www.joomladesignservices.com

SteveatGameFace 6 pts

Sorry Lewis, I guess I'm not understanding you. How does ranking first on a LinkedIn or Google search for a specific 'key word' lend you any sort of credibility? Isn't credibility earned through hard work, consistent results, and a focus on relationship with your customers rather than dollars? I'm really looking forward to your response.

LewisHowes 54 pts

SteveatGameFace When people do keyword research... and your name/profile pops up first, that gives you the first opportunity to stand out from the crowd of potentially hundreds of thousands of search results. What if there are over 100 extremely credible people in your niche throughout the world with all great credentials? Wouldn't you like the first opportunity to showcase your experience and land the client? Or would you rather not be found at all on the worlds largest business social network?

SteveatGameFace 6 pts

LewisHowes

Great point, Lewis! I love intelligent discourse. Why would anybody view me as 'credible' on the "world's largest business social network" if I'm not already credible in my field already?

LinkedIn doesn't make you credible, it only enables others to discover the good work you've already done.

I've researched my 'keywords' as you suggested. I don't respect anyone who shows up...What does that mean?

LewisHowes 54 pts

SteveatGameFace you are right, LinkedIn doesn't make you credible if you do poor work and don't have any experience, but it allows you to be found by people looking for what you are an expert in. You may be the most credible person in the world in your niche, but if you can't be FOUND for what you do, then your business won't grow as much as it could through LinkedIn.

SteveatGameFace 6 pts

LewisHowes I respectfully disagree. My value is not produced through my Tweets, Status Updates, or LinkedIn Posts. My value comes from producing tangible results for the people I work with. We haven't been on social media, now we are. We survived the recession without these resources. Now, they are nice tools, but not necessary.

Here's my real fear, Lewis...your techniques are very effective, but you are letting 'credible' people and those lacking that trait, use them. What happens to you when your techniques don't work anymore?

SteveatGameFace 6 pts

SteveatGameFace LewisHowes I'm not a big fan of debating on a forum like this. Give me a call if you ever want to discuss this further - (503) 692-8855 ext 4. I've got a beautiful Florida day to enjoy!

I hope you do the same,

Steve M.

LewisHowes 54 pts

SteveatGameFace no need to call, you left the comment and I was proving my case :) enjoy your day.

SteveatGameFace 6 pts

LewisHowes Well, I'll just sit back and listen. Then, I'll try to understand your POV. I'll respond Tuesday.

skooloflife 158 pts

Wow. I watched the video and added the words podcaster and social media strategy to my profile and for the term podcaster Im on page 6 of the results. I'm definitely gonna mess with this some more :)

Marketing_Guy 11 pts

Cool ideas. Thanks for sharing the knowledge. I have done most of what you said. It is a good reminder to go back and take another look.

Rob

e9england 6 pts

This is another helpful article.. if you want to optimize your blog try to use Senuke this is also a great tool for article submission on a different Social Networking Sites, Article Directories and this tool will also help you to submit on a different bookmarking sites and RSS try it now...

barrykahan 21 pts

Ok. You got me. Time to test. Reading how someone just became the mayor of a location can get a bit tiresome on twitter. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy connecting there but eel a bit guilty sometimes hanging out there. Going to try some of your tips and spend more time in the groups. Thanks!

This is a great post. At the end you mention groups - is there a chance groups will become 'toxic' as so many of them seem to be full of self promoters and little real content. I guess you are saying 'make your own' so you can manage the content and value.

Jamie :-)

SteveatGameFace 6 pts

This happens everyday. I stopped using LinkedIn groups for this very reason! I'd work hard to build it and then people without credibility would hijack it and turn into a spam factory, rather than a force for 'good' information. I worked hard to control it, but I couldn't. I gave up. Frankly, most active 'sports industry' groups I've seen have gone down this path. Without a committed and talented leader, chaos reigns...even in LinkedIn Groups!

Great point, Jamie.

LewisHowes 54 pts

SteveatGameFace you can always remove people who are spamming and set up better guidelines. Once you get 10's of thousands of members in a group, it will be a lot more work to manage everyone (unless you put 40 hours a week into managing it), so a few spam comments are bound to slip through.

Twitter Comment

How To Rank Higher on LinkedIn in Your Niche [link to post]

- Posted using Chat Catcher

Lewis u00e2u0080u0093 Great information! I got your books, belong to the Sports Executive Association and because of the info Iu00e2u0080u0099ve received from you and these sources I have dominated the number 1 position in LinkedIn for u00e2u0080u0098mental strengthu00e2u0080u0099 and ranked very high on other keywords as well. Thanks again for the great info!

I made changes to my LinkedIn profile based on the 5 things you mentioned and I immediately rank #9 for wellness. That's cool!

Thanks for the kind comments everyone :) Glad you are enjoying this post!

I tried this yesterday, and was amazed to see myself rank on the first page for five of my keyword phrases. Lewis, thanks so much for this info!

Now I'm off to get your ebook so I can figure out how to turn this high rank into new prospects and happy clients. Thanks again!

Thank you for sharing this helpful information. You are an inspiration and a wonderful example of marketing!

Nice post, Lewis.

Thank you for publishing this and keep up the good work.

Csaba

Looks simple but I know there are many people who might not be doing any of the above specified things! Also your suggestion is really effective as you have reached top for your keyword and illustrated it!

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