How many times did you make changes to your LinkedIn profile making it represent who you are and what you do?
But did you ever stop and think about your LinkedIn URL and if could be changed?
The answer is yes, and it’s very important to customize yours.
Let’s get started with everything you need to know.
What Is A LinkedIn URL?
A LinkedIn URL is your unique web address assigned to your LinkedIn profile.
It’s a web address or link that tells browsers where your profile is located on the internet and LinkedIn’s platform, directing people to your profile.
Every single LinkedIn profile has its own unique URL and no two profiles can have the same URL to avoid web errors.
LinkedIn URLs follow a set structure that consists of two parts.
Every URL starts with the same root: https://www.linkedin.com/in/
And the root is followed by a string of numbers and characters making up the unique URL.
How To Find Your LinkedIn URL?
It’s pretty simple to find your LinkedIn URL.
Go to your profile and check the URL in your browser or look to the right of your profile and see how LinkedIn displays it.
The other way of finding your URL is through your contact info located on your profile.
And if you wondered how to copy and share your LinkedIn URL, just follow the same process of finding it and copy it right from your browser. Afterward, you can share it with anyone by pasting it.
Note that your URL won’t be visible if you have a private LinkedIn profile.
When you first created your profile, LinkedIn assigned you a random URL consisting of random characters and numbers.
Something like “https://www.linkedin.com/in/vedran-rasic-48fp4rq83”.
These URLs look unprofessional and make it hard for people to find you on LinkedIn.
Luckily LinkedIn allows you to change your LinkedIn URL and customize it to your liking.
How To Change Your LinkedIn URL?
You can change your LinkedIn URL in just a few easy steps:
- Log into LinkedIn and visit your profile.
- Click on “Public profile & URL” on the right side.
- Find “Edit your custom URL” on the right side.
- Click the pencil and write your new URL.
- Click on Save.
That’s it, now you have a custom LinkedIn URL you can share with anyone.
To create a perfect URL you should follow some guidelines.
- Use your name and last name in your URL in some variations.
- Don’t include special characters or numbers in your URL (-, &,. ,*).
- Shorten your URL as much as possible for it to be visible.
- If someone has a similar URL make your URL unique to distinguish yourself.
It’s very important for your URL to be unique, clear, recognizable, and easy to insert into your resume, website, or any other medium.
5 Optimized LinkedIn URL Examples
Based on URL guidelines you can use one of these templates:
- Full Name – “linkedin.com/in/vedranrasic/”
- Name and Position – “linkedin.com/in/vedranrasic-ceo/”
- Name and Company – “linkedin.com/in/vedranrasic-leaddelta/”
- Brand Name – “linkedin.com/in/vedranone/”
- Full Name and Industry – “linkedin.com/in/vedranrasic-saas/”
As you can see, there are many ways to customize your URL based on your liking and how you want to be known.
Reason To Customize Your LinkedIn URL
It might seem trivial to customize your URL, but there are 3 huge reasons why you should.
You Will Look More Professional
Your LinkedIn profile is who you are online, it helps you sell, converse, connect, and run your business.
Imagine you have a good-looking profile but your URL looks something like “https://www.linkedin.com/in/12oru327j/”.
People would think you are sloppy and don’t pay attention to details which tells them a lot about doing business with you.
Now let’s say your URL was “https://www.linkedin.com/in/vedranrasic/”.
Everything is there, your name, last name, and no burden on anyone’s eyes.
Your URL Will Be Easy To Share
LinkedIn’s random URLs are very long and don’t mean anything making them hard to remember and share.
You wouldn’t come up to someone at a networking event and say “Hey you can find me on LinkedIn, my URL is 4ti483jgyq482”.
No, you would want to say “Hey, my LinkedIn URL is vedranrasic” like my name.
A custom URL is also a lot shorter making it easy to include it in your resume, business card, or website… without it messing with your design.
Optimize Your Profile For Search Engines
Search engines take in a lot of data about your LinkedIn profile and determine if they will position you high on search pages.
If you are positioning yourself as an expert on sales and build your profile around it, but leave your URL unchanged, search engines won’t bat an eye on you.
In contrast, having a custom URL sets you apart and gives you a higher chance of showing up when someone searches for your niche.
Where Should You Include Your URL?
Now that you have a custom URL that follows all guidelines you can start including it in various places.
There are 3 key areas you should include it in:
Your Resume
In the past few years, LinkedIn has become your digital resume with more and more recruiters looking at it to evaluate candidates.
Building a comprehensive LinkedIn profile gives you a 71% higher chance of getting a job interview making it a no-brainer to include it.
There are a few rules of thumb you should follow:
- Shorten your LinkedIn URL by deleting “https://www” from the root.
- Make sure your URL is hyperlinked properly.
- Include your URL in an appropriate and visible place (contact info, under your name).
Personal/Portfolio Website
If you are a designer, developer, or consultant… a website is a must in the digital world.
Adding your LinkedIn URL will give visitors a chance to explore your past experiences and see who endorsed your skills.
This also gives them an easy way to connect with you directly and start a conversation.
We recommend that you include your URL in the footer of your website or in the contact page.
Business Card
If you are regularly visiting networking events having a business card is a great way to make new connections quickly.
While including your website and phone number is a must, most people are reluctant to call you directly.
Including your shortened URL is a great way to let them view who you are and start an informal conversation over LinkedIn.
The URL is best placed in your information section or as a QR code.
Email Signature
Your Email signature is one of the first details someone sees when interacting with you.
It has a 70% role in people deciding if they will do business with you.
But a signature only tells them who you are and where they can contact you besides Email.
Including your URL in your signature will give everyone the option of viewing your profile, connecting, and taking the conversation off of Email.
We recommend making a distinction between all of your signature URLs with icons and shortening your links
LinkedIn Company Page URL
Like your personal profile, company pages have their own URL marking their location on the web.
It is similar to the profile URL with its root being different: “https://www.linkedin.com/company/“
It is also customizable and should be changed to your company’s name for easier search and sharing.
Here’s how:
- Log into your company page and click on “Edit Page”.
- In the edit options click on “Page Info” to access URL customization.
- Find the “LinkedIn public URL” box and write a new URL for your company page.
- Write your new URL and save the changes.
Be sure to follow similar guidelines used for personal profiles.
Now your company page will be well-optimized and easy to find.
Conclusion
While optimizing LinkedIn profiles many people overlook their LinkedIn URLs.
It is a small change, but it has an impact on your visibility, branding, and convenience.
With this guide, you will be one step closer to building a LinkedIn profile of your dreams.
