How do I add a featured link on LinkedIn?

Adding a featured link on your LinkedIn profile is a great way to highlight important content you want to showcase to your connections. A featured link appears prominently on your profile and helps drive traffic to websites, articles, projects or other online content you want visibility for.

What is a LinkedIn featured link?

A LinkedIn featured link allows you to showcase a link to external content in a prominent section on your profile. It appears in a large box at the top of your profile under your profile photo and headline.

When people visit your profile, a featured link is one of the first things they’ll see, making it an effective way to draw attention to content you want to highlight.

Benefits of adding a featured link

There are several benefits to adding a featured link on your LinkedIn profile:

• Draws attention to important content – A featured link stands out visually on your profile, immediately catching the eye.
• Increases traffic – Adding a featured link makes it easy for connections to click through and access your external content.
• Demonstrates thought leadership – You can highlight articles, projects or content that position you as an industry expert.
• Promotes your brand – Use it to link to your company website, blog or other branded content.
• Shows off accomplishments – Link to published articles, big projects or media coverage to showcase achievements.

What can you link to?

Some examples of content you can feature link to include:

• Your company or personal website/blog
• Articles or guest posts published on other sites
• Projects or initiatives you contributed to
• Presentations or slide decks
• Company or product pages
• Press coverage or media mentions
• Online portfolios or case studies

Essentially, you can link out to any web content that would be relevant and valuable for your professional network on LinkedIn.

Best practices for featured links

To get the most out of your featured link, keep these best practices in mind:

• Update it regularly to keep it fresh and relevant. Don’t let the same link sit there indefinitely.
• Link to content related to your industry, expertise and interests. Don’t link to random websites.
• Write a compelling headline to capture attention. Summarize what they’ll find at the link.
• Use eye-catching images to make it more visually appealing.
• Track clicks and engagement to see what content resonates best.
• Promote your featured content through other channels too.

How to add a featured link on LinkedIn

Adding a featured link to your LinkedIn profile only takes a few simple steps:

1. Go to your LinkedIn profile
2. Click “Add profile section” and select “Featured”
3. Enter the URL you want to link to
4. Write an eye-catching headline for the link
5. Add a relevant image/media (optional but recommended)
6. Click “Save” to publish it

And that’s it! The featured link will now appear at the top of your profile for all your connections to see.

Tips for an effective featured link

• Keep the headline succinct but descriptive (less than 125 characters)
• Use keywords relevant to your industry in the headline
• Write a description providing context around the link (optional)
• Upload high-quality, eye-catching image that represents content well
• Use descriptive file names for images with relevant keywords

Performance tracking

You can track performance of your featured link by viewing LinkedIn Analytics. Here are some key metrics to monitor:

• Clicks – How many people clicked on your link
• Click-through rate – Clicks divided by impressions
• Impressions – How many times the link was shown
• Audience – Who is engaging with the link

Analyzing this data can help you understand the level of engagement and optimize your featured link approach.

Updating or changing a featured link

It’s easy to update or change your featured link any time:

1. Go to your profile and click “Featured” section
2. Click the “pencil” edit icon
3. Modify the URL, headline or image as needed
4. Hit “Save” to publish changes

Best practice is to update your featured link regularly, at least every few months, to keep it fresh and relevant.

Do’s and don’ts

Here are some key do’s and don’ts to keep in mind:

Do:

• Link to credible external websites – Don’t link to questionable sites
• Use high-quality, eye-catching images – Avoid poor quality or distracting images
• Make headlines descriptive and compelling – Don’t use vague headlines
• Feature recent, updated content – Don’t link to outdated information

Don’t:

• Link to sales or promotional pitches – Avoid overly self-promotional content
• Use false or misleading headlines – Be transparent about what they’ll find
• Link to attack articles or negative content – Keep it positive
• Use spammy techniques like affiliate links – Provide value, not sales

Conclusion

Adding a featured link is an impactful way to showcase important content and amplify your brand on LinkedIn. By linking to credible websites with compelling headlines and images, you can effectively draw attention and traffic.

Remember to track performance and update your featured links consistently to optimize their effectiveness. Use this visible profile space to demonstrate your thought leadership.