Having a custom LinkedIn URL that matches your personal brand is an important step in establishing your professional online presence. Your LinkedIn URL acts as your digital business card and makes it easy for people to find and remember you on LinkedIn. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through everything you need to know about how to create a custom LinkedIn URL that best represents you and your personal brand.
What is a LinkedIn URL?
Your LinkedIn URL is the web address that leads to your public profile page on LinkedIn. By default, LinkedIn assigns you a URL that includes a series of random numbers and letters like www.linkedin.com/in/abcd1234567. This default URL is not very memorable or brandable.
A customized LinkedIn URL will be formatted like www.linkedin.com/in/yourname. Having your actual name or a version of it in your URL makes you more searchable and recognizable on LinkedIn.
Benefits of a Custom LinkedIn URL
Here are some of the key benefits of creating a customized LinkedIn URL:
Increased Memorability
A customized URL that includes your name or brand is much more memorable than a string of random characters. People are far more likely to remember your URL and link back to your profile.
Enhanced Personal Branding
Your LinkedIn URL is an important part of your personal brand and digital identity. A customized URL that aligns with your name or personal brand looks more professional and credible.
Improved Searchability
You will rank higher in LinkedIn search results when people search for your name if your URL contains your name. This makes you easier to find on LinkedIn.
Consistency Across Platforms
Having matching or consistent URLs across your online profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms makes your personal brand more cohesive and professional.
LinkedIn URL Requirements
LinkedIn has some specific requirements when it comes to customizing your public profile URL:
– The URL must be unique – no one else can have the same customized URL you want on LinkedIn.
– The URL can only contain alphanumeric characters and single hyphens between words. Special characters like ampersands (@) and underscores (_) are not allowed.
– The maximum length for a custom URL is 100 characters including hyphens. But shorter URLs are recommended for simplicity.
How to Check URL Availability
Before setting a customized URL, you should check LinkedIn to make sure it’s available by:
1. Going to your LinkedIn public profile
2. Clicking on the “Edit public profile & URL” button
3. Entering your desired URL in the URL field
4. Clicking the blue “Check Availability” button next to the URL field
If your desired URL is taken, LinkedIn will let you know and you’ll have to try another option.
Who Can Create a Custom LinkedIn URL?
LinkedIn has some requirements around which members can create a custom LinkedIn URL:
– Your LinkedIn profile must be set to public. Private profiles are not allowed to customize URLs.
– You must have a minimum of 10 connections in your LinkedIn network.
– Your account must be at least 30 days old. New LinkedIn profiles under 30 days cannot edit the URL.
– You must not have changed your public URL in the past 90 days already. LinkedIn limits members to one URL edit every 90 days.
How to Change Your LinkedIn URL on Desktop
If you meet LinkedIn’s requirements, customizing your public profile URL is easy to do from your desktop:
1. Go to your LinkedIn profile page and click “Edit public profile & URL”
2. Select the pencil icon next to your existing URL in the Public Profile URL section.
3. Type your new desired URL – make sure to check availability first!
4. Click the blue “Change URL” button.
5. Confirm the pop-up prompt to change your URL.
Your new custom URL will now be live and redirecting to your LinkedIn profile!
Changing Your URL on Mobile
The process for changing your LinkedIn URL on mobile is very similar:
1. Open the LinkedIn app and go to your profile page.
2. Tap “Edit public profile & URL”
3. Tap the pencil icon next to your URL.
4. Type your new desired URL and tap “Change URL”.
5. Confirm the pop-up to change your URL.
You have now successfully updated your custom LinkedIn URL on mobile!
LinkedIn URL Examples
Here are some examples of good customized LinkedIn URLs:
– www.linkedin.com/in/johnsmith
– www.linkedin.com/in/john-smith
– www.linkedin.com/in/johnsmithmarketing
– www.linkedin.com/in/smithjohn
– www.linkedin.com/in/john-socialmedia
Essentially you want your name, your first name and last name initial, or your name plus your professional niche in the URL. Keep it simple and relevant.
Tips for the Best LinkedIn URL
Follow these tips when creating your customized LinkedIn URL:
– Include your full first and last name if possible – this maximizes search visibility.
– Use hyphens (-) to separate words – this improves readability.
– Put your most important keywords first – usually your full name.
– Only add relevant words like your niche or profession. Generic terms like “marketing” or “social media” get drowned out.
– Pick a URL you can commit to long term – avoid changing it too frequently.
Can I change my LinkedIn URL?
Yes, you can change your custom LinkedIn URL anytime. However, LinkedIn does limit members to one URL change every 90 days. So pick your new URL wisely as you can’t alter it again for another 3 months.
There is no limit on changing back to your original default URL with random numbers and letters. You can revert to your default at any time.
When you do change your URL, LinkedIn will automatically redirect your old URL to the new one. But any existing links pointing to your old URL will break. So substantial URL changes can negatively impact your search engine visibility if you had important sites linking to your old profile link.
What happens to my old LinkedIn URL?
When you customize your LinkedIn URL, your old URL does not completely disappear. LinkedIn keeps your old URL active and automatically redirects anyone who navigates to your old URL to your new profile URL.
So your profile does not lose any traffic or connections if other sites or people still have your outdated LinkedIn link. The redirect keeps those old links working.
However, search engines still prefer the most current URL version. So substantial URL changes can negatively impact your LinkedIn search rankings until search engines update their links.
Is a custom LinkedIn URL free?
Yes, customizing your public LinkedIn URL is completely free as a standard member benefit. LinkedIn does not charge users to claim a unique URL or change URLs.
The only exception is users with very old paid Job Seeker accounts created before 2011. They must first upgrade to a free Career account through LinkedIn’s Customer Service to qualify for a custom URL feature.
Should I get a custom LinkedIn URL?
Here is a quick summary of whether you should customize your LinkedIn URL:
Situation | Get a Custom URL? |
---|---|
Actively looking for jobs | Yes, customize your URL to stand out. |
Open to new career opportunities | Yes, customize your URL to be remembered. |
Established in your career | Yes, customize your URL to polish your personal brand. |
Content marketer/blogger | Yes, customize your URL improve your SEO. |
Employer reviewing candidates | Yes, customize your URL to look professional. |
College student with no experience | No need to customize until you start your career. |
Inactive LinkedIn user | No need to customize if you rarely use your profile. |
In most cases, customizing your LinkedIn URL benefits your personal brand and online presence as a professional. The only exceptions are inactive users or students just starting to build their LinkedIn presence.
Can I change my LinkedIn URL back?
Yes, you can revert your LinkedIn URL back to the original default URL with random numbers and letters at any time.
To change back to your default URL:
1. Go to your LinkedIn profile.
2. Click “Edit public profile & URL”.
3. Delete your current custom URL.
4. Save your profile.
LinkedIn will automatically reassign your previous default URL.
There is no limit on how many times you can toggle between your default URL and a custom URL, unlike changing between custom URLs.
Conclusion
Creating a custom LinkedIn URL that matches your personal brand is the first step in establishing your professional presence on LinkedIn. The benefits include increased discoverability, memorability, credibility, and consistency with your other online profiles.
With just your name or your name and profession in your URL, people can instantly understand who you are and what you do when they see your LinkedIn link.
As long as your account meets LinkedIn’s requirements around profile privacy, connections, account age, and previous URL changes, setting up a customized URL is a quick and simple process through LinkedIn’s profile settings.
A LinkedIn URL personalized to your personal brand helps you stand out in job searches, networking outreach, referrals, and as an employer reviewing candidates. It’s a free and easy way to look more professional and be remembered.