Web's Take On...

LinkedIn is an extremely powerful social media platform with as many as 50 million users. Because LinkedIn is a business networking platform, the people who use LinkedIn are high quality individuals who are often searching for what YOU have to offer! When people are searching for your industry, or specialty on LinkedIn, it’s important that your profile will be on the top of the search results and not lost in the mix. By ranking over others for a specific key term, you can be seen as a credible source in your industry. Read our tips on how to SEO your LinkedIn profile so you can be found by the people who matter.

Choose Your Keywords:

In LinkedIn, others will find your profile through the “people search” function. Pick one or two key terms that you would like to rank well for. Think of something that is related to your industry, or that you are specialized in. For example, one of our Web Full Circle team members may want to rank well for “social media”, “search engine optimization”, or “website design” as these are areas we specialize in. Make sure the term you decide for yourself is in fact something that you believe you excel in. Doing this ensures that when others find your profile they can clearly see through your experiences why you are a quality candidate that represents this keyword.

Where to Place Your Keyword:

1. Headline

The headline is the very first thing seen when others view your LinkedIn profile.  This area is used to sum up your professional identity in a short phrase. Often users put their current job title or their area of specialty if they are looking for employment. Placing your desired keyword here is essential as the headline is the most relevant area of your profile that displays just what you are an expert in.

2. Current Work Experience

This is an extremely relevant area to add your keyword to as it is what you are currently doing business in. The same goes for if you are currently looking for a job opportunity, be sure your keyword reflects the industry you would like to be working in.

3. Past Work Experience

It is helpful to include your keyword in your past work experience as this shows viewers that you are experienced in this industry.

4. Summary

The Summary section is your area to express your professional experience and goals. Think of it as the soapbox you stand on to tell everyone what you have done, what you are doing, and the kinds of things you are interested in for the future. When adding your keyword to this section, make sure it looks clean and fits neatly into your sentences. You don’t want to inject the keyword repetitively without it making sense. Fashion your summary in a way that is to the point, and lets others know why you are an expert in regards to this keyword.

5. Specialties

This section is meant for you to mention particular skills or experiences you consider your professional specialties. Include your main keyword in this area among other relevant keywords that will showcase what you are skilled in through precise phrases.

Ready to Stand Out on LinkedIn?

Using this approach your LinkedIn profile should be fully optimized to ensure you are much more likely to be seen in the LinkedIn people search results. Your profile is similar to a webpage, in that what is shown at the top is the most important and the further you continue down, the less significant the information is. Your keywords should be most visible at the top of your page and then the terms should continue to trickle down into the rest of your profile.

LinkedIn is an incredible tool to help you personally brand yourself, and extend your reach within your industry. Optimizing your profile for specific keywords will allow you to further connect and network with industry leaders. Don’t miss out on the opportunity of being seen.

While Twitter doesn’t allow an excess of SEO, there are still some important elements you can utilize for SEO value when creating your profile.

SEO Title: Your Twitter Username

On Twitter your username works for SEO purposes as title tags. Your user name is what you will see after the “@” symbol. Edit your username under “settings”. If a keyword you would like to use is still available, you may want to consider using it in your Twitter username for added value.

Profile Image: Filename and ALT Tag

When uploading your profile photo, make sure to optimize it by using your keyword or username as the filename. Twitter will automatically use this file name for the ALT tag of your profile image as well.

Bio: Use of Keywords

Use keywords when appropriate in your Twitter bio. Certain Twitter search engines use these keywords to pull your name up when people are looking for your industry or interest you utilize as a keyword. Never leave your Twitter bio blank as this is not only great for search purposes, but also for connecting to other users similar to you. Use the 160 allotted characters to tell what your industry is about.

Twitter URL:

While Twitter uses the nofollow attribute, still include your website link in your Twitter bio so new followers will know where to find your website. You won’t get any link juice from it, but it will add to increased website exposure and traffic.

Background Image:

While it’s easy to just depend on the default Twitter background, this is yet another area you can utilize for branding and SEO purposes.  Create a background design that shows who you are by mirroring your websites design, or signature colors. Also, it’s important to add your company website as a call to action. Twitter can be tricky with backgrounds, but if you can format it to look right,  feel free to also include your logo, tagline and even phone number.

Tweets: Content and Use of Keywords

Write tweets that are interesting, and relevant to your industry. This will increase the likelihood of your tweet being “Re-tweeted” by others and therefore will increase your exposure. More people will be brought to your Twitter page, which then also allows the opportunity for increased website traffic as well.

While it’s a big Twitter faux pas to write “spammy” tweets, use your keyword in your tweet when it is appropriate and looks right. Add the “#” to your keyword to allow Twitter users who are searching for this keyword, to find your tweet.

(Source: webfullcircle.com)

Heard about Facebook Places but not sure what it means? Facebook Places is a location based application targeted towards Fan’s with web on their phones. Using Facebook Places is a tremendous opportunity to promote your business to a wider audience as each time a Fan visits your location they can “check-in”. This check-in will be shown to all of their Facebook Friends who may have not heard of or visited your business before. By clicking the check-in these potential customers will be directed to your Place Page which shows information about your business including contact information. Hence, your business exposure can increase drastically. Here are a few tips to get started with Facebook Places:

1.      Gain Business Fans Not Friends

To have a Facebook Place Page you need to ensure your business is using a Facebook FAN page and not a Friend Page. Friend Pages are meant to be used for people instead of businesses and cap at 5,000 friends. A Fan Page is business oriented and allows more functionality to attract Fans such as unlimited likes, and tabs. Having a Friend Page can limit you on Facebook whereas the Fan Page will help you gain maximum exposure for your business.

2.      Fill Out Your Profiles

Since these pages represent your business and allow the potential of gaining new customers, you should make sure you fill out your profiles as accurately and completely as possible. You will fill out both your Facebook Fan Page profile as well as your Place Page. Make sure the information on these pages (particularly the address) mirrors each other as closely as possible. As your consumers continue to check-in they will see these pages repeatedly, as well as this information about your business.

3.      Promote Check-In’s With Deals!

A “check-in” is extremely valuable as it will display your business location and be broadcasted on the Fan’s wall and newsfeed. In order to entice people to do this, think about deals you can offer them when they check-in. Special discounts and savings are the most popular ways to attract people to check in each time they visit your location. Even if it’s something simple, Fan’s love to know that you are offering them a special deal and you are rewarding them for their brand-loyalty. Doing this will create deeper connections to your consumer and hopefully encourage repeat behavior!

(Source: webfullcircle.com)

Our dedicated Network Team has achieved Microsoft Certified Partner for 2011. This means we are in a better position to help support our customer’s business strategies! Microsoft recognizing our expertise is a fantastic reassurance of our proficiency for customers. The honor covers several areas including Desktop, Server, and Mid-Marketing Solution Provider. It signifies our skills of building, designing, deploying, and supporting the Windows Server operating system, Windows Server–based applications, and the Microsoft server infrastructure. 

Way to ROCK Network Team! You guys have continually raised the bar and demonstrated hard work and an exceptional level of commitment.

Check out our Network Team here:

(Source: webfullcircle.com )