For entrepreneurs, LinkedIn is an excellent tool to generate new leads for your business . One of the main advantages of this social network —which they don’t usually take into account— is that it works like a true search engine, both inside and outside the platform. Therefore, if you are using it or plan to do it more actively, it is important that you apply SEO strategies to increase the visibility of your profile and thus stand out from the competition.

In that sense, LinkedIn works like a Web page and requires the use of specific keywords and other tactics so that you can appear at the top of the results. In this article, we share some tips so you can achieve it.

1) Complete your profile

A prerequisite for SEO optimization on LinkedIn is that all your profile data is complete and up-to-date; otherwise, all efforts will be in vain. don’t forget about

• Indicate your specialty and value proposition; for example, “content marketing expert for the tourism industry
• Indicate your location
• Customize your profile URL to make it easier to find you. Keep it short and friendly, with no spaces, symbols, or special characters.

2) Optimize the profile summary

This section is the first thing LinkedIn users will see on your profile. The challenge is to explain, in two thousand characters, what is the solution you offer to solve the problem they have, as well as arouse their interest so that they contact you.

Important note: don’t just explain what you do , but also how you do it. Also, focus on the concrete benefits for your target audience.

3) Define the most relevant keywords for your value proposition

The first step is to make a list of phrases that define the solution you offer to your potential customers. For example, “financing strategies for SMEs”, “advice on financial resources” and “investment banking for companies”. Then, type those keywords into the LinkedIn search bar , select the location to limit the results to the country in which you operate, and analyze the results to see what your competition is doing and discover new areas of opportunity.

Important note: use a mix of short keywords (consisting of up to two words) and long-tail keywords (from three words).

4) Include keywords in images

This is a tactic that we tend to ignore, but essential to go beyond the social network and appear in Google image searches. So don’t forget to include keywords related to your activity in the name of your profile picture and in your cover photo.

5) Make sure you have validated knowledge and skills

You can include up to 50! But before getting lost in a sea of ​​words, consider aspects such as: the most important thing is to ask your customers and suppliers , and even other entrepreneurs, to validate that knowledge and skills . Because these validations work as a kind of certificate of authenticity and are highly taken into account by the LinkedIn algorithm when determining the appearance of your profile in searches .

6) Ask for recommendations

In the same way, the recommendations and comments from other users of the social network increase the visibility and trust in the profiles . Who can you request them from? Ideally your most satisfied customers and with whom you have the highest level of trust, the ideal thing is that they include some of the keywords from your list in their texts.

7) Post content

Like any other social network, LinkedIn will display your profile as long as you are active. One of the best ways to do this is to publish content such as: articles, infographics, and videos that are relevant to your clients, investors, or other potential allies. The idea is to create exclusive posts for LinkedIn, because networks don’t like duplicate content. But if you don’t have time for that at first, then share the link to the article in the first comment below and summarize its main points in the introductory text of the post.

8) Generate backlinks

Links to your LinkedIn profile are a positive sign for search engines, as they improve your chances of appearing in Google results. Include them both on the home page and in the contact information of your website and in the profiles of other social networks.

9) Be an active part of a community

Finally, consider that you can improve the visibility of your profile by joining a LinkedIn group and actively interacting with other users . To find a community similar to your interests, enter your keywords in the search bar and then request to be allowed to participate. Please note that group administrators may ask you for additional information to approve your entry.

Important note: if you don’t find an interesting group, then create a new one, always thinking about the problems, needs and aspirations of your customers.