Your LinkedIn profile is more than a resume. It’s a personal landing page that can help you build trust, attract opportunities, and show up in the right searches.
Let’s walk through how to build a LinkedIn profile that stands out.
Basic Elements of a Great LinkedIn Profile
A recent, high-quality professional profile photo
Your profile photo follows you everywhere on LinkedIn. It shows up beside your comments and posts, and is front-and-center on your profile.
For best results,
- Use a recent, professional head shot rather than your company logo
- Take the photo close-up, or crop the picture (ensure you don’t warp it if you’re cropping though), so it is just your shoulders or neckline up. Think about how small the image is when people are viewing your profile, especially from a mobile device! You want your face and features to be clearly visible.
- Choose appropriate clothes that align with your profession.
- Use strong, natural lighting.
- Have a lighter, distraction-free background. People tend to stand out more on a lighter background.
- Smile and relax. People connect with warmth! This might be someone’s first introduction to your brand so it’s important to make a good impression.
- Ensure the image is sharp and high-resolution (400 x 400 px).
LinkedIn was created for human connection! Make sure your profile photo encourages this. This blog post shows some great examples of strong and weak LinkedIn photos.
A custom, branded background image
Opt for a clear, high-quality background image that is relevant to you and your business:
- Use Canva to create a custom background image with your brand colours.
- Use high quality images that you own or have free access to use (Unsplash, Canva, and Pexels have some great options if you don’t have your own image gallery). Avoid copyrighted images!
- Use the space to promote something such as an event, podcast, website, or a suggestion to book a call. A clear CTA can help guide viewers with their next step.
- Ensure legible text (opt for an appropriate font size and readable font choice). Think about how small the image will look on a mobile device, and adjust accordingly.
- Test how it looks on both desktop and mobile devices! Make sure that when your profile photo appears on top of the graphic that it isn’t covering any important information.
- Opt for dimensions: 15884px x 396px to align with platform recommendations.
This is prime visual real estate on your profile, so use it well!
An engaging headline
Your LinkedIn headline offers a great opportunity to hook your audience.
Best practices:
- Make it informative, benefits driven, and keyword-rich.
- Use the full 120 characters as best as you can.
- Pro-tip: on your mobile device you can update your headline to be up to 220 characters! Use this extra space to your benefit.
- Describe what you do and who you support. This isn’t just a place for your job title.
Pack a punch in this headline so that viewers are itching to read more about you.
A compelling about section
This summary section can help you relate to LinkedIn users and profile visitors on a deeper level. It’s more than your elevator pitch – though that can be part of it.
This section is meant to catch the attention of potential collaborators, prospective clients, and other professionals who may want to work with or learn from you.
Write like you’re introducing yourself at a conference: conversational, clear, and human.
While you want to appear professional, too much jargon or professional language can sometimes come off as cold or impersonal. LinkedIn is for making connections, so don’t isolate yourself!
What to include:
- Describe what makes you tick. Think about what excites you most professionally: what drives you in your business? What is your “why”? Why did you start your business?
- Who do you help? How? What is your unique approach?
- Pump the keywords to improve your search rank on LinkedIn and Google. Include keywords that highlight your top skills. Listing specialties: _______ at the end of your summary is one way to do this.
- Explain your present role. Put your job title aside and describe what you do in simplest terms. Share the problems you solve, for whom, and how.
- Frame your past. You have the freedom to call out what’s important in your job history and to gloss over what’s not.
- Highlight your successes. Cite the biggest takeaways from your experience section (we’re covering this below). Look across roles and combine accomplishments if you can.
- Reveal your character. Choose stories and words that show who you are as a person, not just a professional. Authenticity is key. What are you known for?
- Share a little bit about your life outside of work. Round out your identity by including mention of a hobby, interest, or volunteer role. Relate your outside passions to your work if you can.
Structure tips:
- Make your first sentence count. Every word matters in your summary, but your first words really matter. If you don’t hook your audience right away, you’ll lose them.
- Create white space. People are likely to skim your summary, so help by breaking up the text. Steer clear of long paragraphs and make use of headers, bullets and icons.
- Add rich media where relevant. Sometimes it’s easier to explain your impact or achievement using an image, video, or an article.
- End with a call-to-action. Think about what you want your audience to do after reading your summary. What is your goal? How do people get a hold of you? List it, including a booking tool link if you have one.
A strong experience section
Rather than viewing LinkedIn as a digital resume, think of it as a mini website. It’s a place to highlight your most relevant roles, related to your current career and/or career goals.
List all jobs related to your current position and link to each company page, if they have one.
Then, take the time to fill out each experience you list with keyword-heavy titles and descriptions of the roles. Use the characters provided to paint a clear picture of your impact, as well as why someone should hire you or your company, or buy your product.
Focus on accomplishments, results, and storytelling.
Think outside the box! For example,
- Consider adding your media channels such as YouTube or Slideshare.
- List wins or tell a “save the day” story.
- Add links to projects, talks, or press features.
- Include rich media, testimonials, and brand names.
Education, certifications, and licenses
LinkedIn has really expanded this section so that you’re able to highlight a wide variety of qualifications. This includes:
- Traditional, formal education
- Certifications, courses completed, and licenses obtained
- Areas of expertise
- Publications and patents
- Volunteer work and passion projects
The more you can paint a full picture of your background, the more likely someone is to trust you or your company.
Personalized public profile URL
You can customize your URL in LinkedIn’s settings so that it lists your name or business. Make sure your public profile reflects your name, business, or area of expertise!
For example, http://linkedin.com/in/sherrycrummy is a much better look than a public profile that reads: http://linkedin.com/pub/firstname-lastname9890734-akjshfiho.
Add your contact information and website
Don’t let the exploring stop on your LinkedIn profile. If people are interested in you and what you offer, there should be a clear opportunity for them to connect with you beyond LinkedIn.
Include:
- An email
- Location (especially for local or brick-and-mortar businesses)
- Phone number (if relevant)
- Website and social media links
Pro-tip: customize your website link text to say something like “Book a Free Discovery Call” or “Visit Crummy Media Solutions.”
When you add your website URL, the drop-down menu gives the option of “other.” When you click on that, a new field opens up that allows you to type in your business name, website name, call to action, or description of your website.
Tips for Going Above and Beyond: Maximize Your LinkedIn Profile
01: Treat your profile like a website.
Keep formatting clean, copy error-free, and design consistent.
In some sections of LinkedIn you can pull in bullet points and special characters to break-up large paragraphs of text. Use this white space to help with readability! Alas, there are still no bolding or italics options for text other than what LinkedIn itself formats.
Pro-tip: create your profile first in a Word document. This allows you to catch errors, and to get a better idea of what your profile will look like on the website before it’s published.
02: Know your keywords.
Like any website, LinkedIn’s internal search engines weigh your keywords heavily in its searches.
Make sure you place your most important search or keywords strategically throughout your profile:
- Headline
- Title fields
- Specialties
- Interests
- Recommendations
- Education (activities and societies)
03: Collect thoughtful recommendations.
LinkedIn tells you your profile is complete with three recommendations. However, I suggest between 10 – 15, high-quality recommendations which speak to different strengths and skills.
Securing these will help to fill out your profile, giving a comprehensive idea of who you are and what you’re good at.
To ask for recommendations:
- Click the “Me” icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage. Select View Profile.
- Scroll down to the Recommendations section and click “Ask to be Recommended.”
- Type the name of the connection you’d like to ask for a recommendation from in the, “Who do you want to ask?” Field.
- Select the name from the dropdown that appears. Ask for recommendations from thought leaders in your field, old employees, and well-known clients.
- Fill out the Relationship and Position at the Time fields of the recommendations pop-up window, and click “Next.”
- Include a personalized message with your request by changing the text in the message field. I recommend giving these people a bulleted list of your strengths, skills, and/or services so that people will write a more complete recombination and not something generic.
- If you’re comfortable, you could even write a recommendation that this person could use or tweak as they felt was required!
- Click Send.
If the person writes you a recommendation, it will appear publicly on your LinkedIn page.
Pro-tip: If it’s particularly glowing, you might want to copy and paste it to your website as well.
04: Add rich media to your profile.
While words are great, visuals often make more of an impact, boosting engagement and credibility. Add videos, images, case studies, slide decks, or blog links to your Summary, Experience, or Education sections.
To add media to your LinkedIn profile:
- Click “Edit Profile.”
- Scroll down to your Summary section, your Experience section, or your Education section, depending on where you’re hoping to add the media.
- Click “Add Media.”
- Add your link (your video, image, document, or presentation must have a URL address to be uploaded).
- Once you’ve added the link, you can edit the Title field and Description to provide additional context.
- Hit Save.
05: Create a business page.
If you haven’t already, create a LinkedIn company page for your business. This is important, even if you’re a solopreneur, consultant, or freelancer.
Like your personal profile, this page should be filled out as much as possible. A complete company page:
- Enhances credibility on your personal profile.
- Provides additional opportunities for your business to be found in the search results for the services you offer
- Highlights your services, team, and values.
Here’s how:
- Create a Company Page. To get started, just enter your name and company email address. Then, verify that you are eligible to create a page on your company’s behalf.
- Complete a company profile. Create a company description and overview. Try to be concise, but include what your company does, its specialties, and what makes your business unique.
- Add a banner and a logo. Include your company’s logo and a banner image to bring your page to life. Your logo appears when members search for your company as well as on your employees’ profiles.
If you already have a company page, but haven’t looked at it recently, it’s time to revisit it. Update the page, utilizing new LinkedIn features like the banner photo, featured groups, targeted updates and targeted service pages.
Connect this company page to your personal profile to look more professional.
06: Create a strategic content plan.
Strategic planning is all about getting clear on your objectives, identifying new opportunities for growth, and measuring success.
Start by asking,
- What makes you unique? What are your greatest skills and strengths? Use these answers to create a LinkedIn presence that feels authentic, relevant, and aligned.
- What topics and values are most important to you? Use these to anchor your messaging and profile content.
- What are your personal and business goals? What would success for you look like on LinkedIn? Whether it’s getting more website visits, booking more sales meetings, positioning yourself as a thought leader, or closing more clients for your business, get clear on these intentions.
Once you know your goals you can break them down into smaller, actionable steps.
For example:
- Connecting with 5 new prospects weekly
- Creating two articles that lead to calls
- Engaging with 5-10 current contacts a week
From this place of understanding and clarity, you can work backward to build a strategic content plan focused on clear pillars and a sustainable schedule that works for you.
07: Make strategic connections.
Building your LinkedIn network is a great way to build a community of aligned, relevant contacts.
Start with:
- Colleagues, alumni, past clients
- People you’ve met at conferences or networking events
- Potential leads, collaborators, or referral partners
A primary email is required to send invitations, and members become 1st-degree connections once they accept. LinkedIn allows up to 30,000 1st-degree connections, giving you plenty of room to grow.
Your 2nd-degree connections are people you share mutual connections with. Don’t be afraid to ask for an introduction! You can:
- Reach out to your mutual connection and ask if they’d be open to making a warm introduction
- Or, if you’re comfortable, reach out directly and mention the shared connection
Other ways to connect with people on LinkedIn:
- From a member’s profile. Click or tap the Connect button on their profile page.
- From the Search Results page. Click Connect to the right of the member’s information.
- From My Network page. Accept any pending invitations.
- People You May Know section. Click or tap the Connect button below the member’s name.
Build an intentional plan:
- Make a list of people you want to connect with.
- Follow them, read through their bio, comment on their posts, and find natural ways to engage before sending an invite.
- When you do reach out, make it more about them than you.
- Personalize every connection request. Mention where you met, who you both know, or why you admire their work.
- Don’t send a generic message! If too many people mark your invites as spam, LinkedIn can temporarily restrict your ability to send connection requests. Instead, take the time to build out a short but impactful introduction message that will build trust and set the tone for a genuine relationship.
Prioritize authenticity. Don’t jump straight to pitching your offer. Show genuine interest in what they’re doing and keep your first interaction about making a meaningful connection. Allow the relationship to grow from there.
Final Thoughts
Your LinkedIn profile should reflect who you are, what you do, and who you help. It should make people feel like they know you. Revisit it quarterly and update it as your business evolves.
LinkedIn is about more than being social, it’s a true tool for networking, connection, building credibility, and generating leads.
Whether you’re just getting started or looking to optimize your current LinkedIn presence, these steps will help you stand out.
For more strategies on building business connections and networking via LinkedIn, check out my accompanying blog post on this topic.
Need help building your LinkedIn profile? Let’s connect!
