LinkedIn has become an invaluable platform for professionals to build their personal brand, make connections, and share insights. With over 722 million users worldwide, it’s also a prime venue for driving website traffic and improving search engine optimization (SEO). But does posting on LinkedIn really help with SEO, and if so, how?
The short answer
Yes, posting relevant, high-quality content on LinkedIn can benefit your SEO in multiple ways. LinkedIn is considered an authority domain by Google, so activity there signals expertise. Your posts also enable keyword targeting and can drive referral traffic to your site. But you need an optimization strategy to maximize impact.
How LinkedIn helps SEO
Posting on LinkedIn aids SEO through:
- Increasing domain authority
- Generating backlinks
- Enhancing keyword targeting
- Driving referral traffic
Let’s explore each of these factors:
Domain authority
LinkedIn itself has a high domain authority, which denotes trust and influence with Google. Domain authority is scored out of 100, with higher being better. LinkedIn’s score is estimated to be around 99.
When you’re active on a reputable platform like LinkedIn, it signals your own authority and expertise. This can boost your website’s domain authority score by association, through backlinks and traffic.
Backlinks
Links back to your website from LinkedIn profiles and posts count as backlinks. These help search engines determine the credibility of your site. The more quality backlinks you have, especially from authoritative domains, the higher you’ll rank in results pages.
When including links in LinkedIn posts, best practice is to vary anchor text and avoid over-optimization. Make sure links are relevant and naturally placed.
Keyword targeting
LinkedIn’s powerful algorithm analyzes your posts to determine relevant keywords and phrases. The more you post quality content around specific keywords, the more authority LinkedIn assigns you for those terms.
This allows you to organically target keywords that appeal to your audience and align with your SEO strategy. Your expertise will surface in LinkedIn search, aiding discoverability.
Referral traffic
Driving visitors from LinkedIn to your website is one of the biggest SEO benefits. More referral traffic from authoritative domains indicates popularity to search engines.
Quality posts on LinkedIn that compel readers to click through will therefore boost your rankings. This incoming traffic also has SEO advantages beyond links, including lower bounce rates.
Best practices for SEO on LinkedIn
To fully capitalize on LinkedIn’s SEO potential, here are some top tips:
Complete your profile
A comprehensive LinkedIn profile establishes your credibility. Include industry keywords, a professional headshot, and links to your website.
Engage your network
Commenting on connections’ posts and sharing others’ content shows engagement. Being an active member of the community enhances domain authority.
Post high-value content
Share informative articles, insights, data and multimedia that provides value. Post at least once per week and use relevant hashtags.
Use keywords strategically
Incorporate targeted keywords in posts naturally. You can research terms using tools like Google Keyword Planner.
Include backlinks
Link back to your website from LinkedIn but don’t force it. Make sure it’s useful for the reader in context.
Leverage LinkedIn Groups
Join relevant niche Groups and participate to connect with those interested in your industry. Share content from your website when it benefits the Group.
React to your posts’ performance
Notice which posts drive the most clicks and engagement. Optimize future content accordingly, catering to your audience’s preferences.
Measuring the SEO impact
Tracking metrics helps gauge the SEO value of your LinkedIn activity. Some key stats to monitor include:
- Referral traffic volume from LinkedIn
- Bounce rates of LinkedIn referral traffic
- Keywords rankings for targeted terms
- Website domain authority changes
Using Google Analytics makes it easy to segment traffic sources and analyze landing pages. Ubersuggest and MozBar are useful for tracking keyword rankings.
Risks to avoid
While optimizing your LinkedIn presence for SEO, be wary of:
- Aggressive self-promotion – Provide valuable insights, not sales pitches
- Overuse of keywords – Appears spammy if forced
- Too many links – Moderation is key for credibility
- Low-quality posts – Well-written, unique content is ideal
- Automated messaging – Connect personally instead of default invites
Focus on genuine engagement and discussion to build relationships and trust factors that boost SEO.
The takeaway
Posting great content on LinkedIn that engages your professional network can certainly help improve website SEO. But it requires an integrated strategy optimizing your profile, activity, and metrics analysis. Done right, you can increase domain authority, backlinks, keyword targeting, and referral traffic with LinkedIn.