Searching Google for LinkedIn profiles can be a great way to find new connections, research potential employees, or learn more about people you may interact with professionally. However, simply searching someone’s name on Google does not always bring up their LinkedIn profile. To effectively search Google for LinkedIn profiles, there are some tips and tricks you can use.
Use Advanced Search Operators
Google’s advanced search operators allow you to refine and focus your search queries. Here are some useful operators for finding LinkedIn profiles:
- site:linkedin.com – This limits results to only pages on LinkedIn.com
- “inurl:pub” – Finding profiles with /pub/ in the URL tends to give better results for personal profiles as opposed to company pages.
- “intitle: | LinkedIn” – Searching for results with the words LinkedIn in the title can also help surface profiles.
You can combine these operators together for an even more targeted search. For example:
“John Smith” site:linkedin.com “inurl:pub” “intitle: | LinkedIn”
This will look for LinkedIn profile pages with John Smith’s name that also have LinkedIn in the title.
Use LinkedIn’s Search Syntax
LinkedIn has its own search syntax that can be used directly in Google searches. Some useful LinkedIn search strings include:
- firstname lastname – Search by full name
- company – Search by company name
- title – Search by job title
- school – Search by university attended
- location – Search by city, state, or country
For example, you could search:
site:linkedin.com “John Smith” AND “Company Name”
This would look for John Smith’s profile that also lists Company Name as his current or past employer.
Search by Email Address
If you have someone’s email address, you may be able to find their LinkedIn profile by searching for their email in Google. Put the email in quotes:
This works because some LinkedIn profiles have the user’s email address listed publicly. However, many users choose to hide their email, so this method is not foolproof.
Reverse Image Search
If you have a photo of someone but don’t know their name, you can use Google’s reverse image search to potentially find their LinkedIn profile. Here’s how:
- Go to images.google.com
- Click the camera icon to upload or paste the image URL
- Google will search for matches of that image across the web
- Look through the results to see if any LinkedIn profiles appear using that same photo
This can be helpful if you have a company headshot or other professional photo but don’t have a name to search for.
Search Within LinkedIn Directly
While Google searching can be useful, don’t forget that you can also search for profiles directly within LinkedIn. Here are some tips for searching on LinkedIn:
- Use the main search bar at the top of the LinkedIn homepage. This will search profiles, companies, groups, posts, and more.
- Go to the “People” section and use the filters to narrow your search by location, company, job title, school, and more.
- Do an advanced search under the “People” section to target your search further with more filters and options.
- If you have a LinkedIn Recruiter account, use the Recruiter search to apply more filters to your search.
Searching directly within LinkedIn can sometimes provide more targeted and accurate profile results than relying on Google alone.
Tips for Effective LinkedIn Profile Searches
Here are some additional tips for successfully finding LinkedIn profiles through Google:
- Try different name variations and spellings if needed – for example, Jon vs. John.
- Search using variations of job titles and company names.
- Add location terms like city and state to your query.
- If you have a unique piece of info like an alma mater, try searching based on that.
- Browse through several pages of results to find relevant profiles.
- Use LinkedIn’s own search operators like firstname, title, and company.
Why You May Want to Search Google for LinkedIn Profiles
Here are some of the main reasons you may want to search Google specifically to find LinkedIn profiles:
- To research people you may be meeting or doing business with
- To look for potential employees or industry connections
- To find profiles of speakers, authors, or thought leaders
- To verify that someone actually has the background/credentials they claim
- To get additional information beyond what someone has on their resume
- To see if a prospect, lead, or customer has a LinkedIn presence
- To find mutual connections you may share with someone
Having access to someone’s full LinkedIn profile can provide much more background, connections, and career history than you may find through a standard web search alone.
Profiles That May Not Show Up in Google Searches
There are some cases where searching Google may not successfully produce someone’s LinkedIn profile:
- They have a very common name that makes their profile hard to isolate.
- They have privacy settings enabled to keep their profile from being indexed by search engines.
- They have an alternate or shortened version of their name on their LinkedIn profile.
- Their profile image does not show up in Google image search for some reason.
- They have a dedicated common name making search complicated (e.g. John Smith, Sarah Davis).
In these cases, you may need to rely on searching for their profile directly within LinkedIn rather than through Google. Or if you have some additional unique information about them, try searching based on their company, school, location, etc. to help surface their profile.
Is Searching for LinkedIn Profiles on Google Useful?
Searching Google for LinkedIn profiles can absolutely be useful in many professional and research contexts. However, it does have some limitations to be aware of:
- Not everyone has a LinkedIn presence, so you may not always find profiles.
- Some profile information may be outdated or inaccurate.
- It can be hard to confirm a profile actually belongs to who you are searching for.
- Profiles do not necessarily represent someone’s full professional network or activities.
So while Google searching can provide helpful background insights in many cases, it should not be relied upon as a sole source of information about someone’s career, credentials, or network.
Table of LinkedIn Profile Search Best Practices
| Search Tip | Example | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Keyword operators | “intitle: | LinkedIn” | Surfaces profiles in results |
| LinkedIn search syntax | site:linkedin.com “Sarah Smith” AND Chicago | Advanced targeting |
| Name variations | “Michael Jones” “Mike Jones” | Catches different versions of names |
| Job title variants | “Product Manager” “VP of Product” | Matches various titles |
| Location terms | “John Smith” Seattle | Geographically targets results |
| Image search | Reverse image search of profile photo | Identifies name from photo |
Advanced Techniques for Finding LinkedIn Profiles
In some cases, basic Google searches for LinkedIn profiles may not be enough. Here are some more advanced techniques you can try:
Leverage LinkedIn Recruiter
If you have access to LinkedIn Recruiter through an organization account, take advantage of its advanced search capabilities like searching profile text, groups, skills, and more. Recruiter can surface profiles regular LinkedIn searching may miss.
Use Social Media Cross-References
People often list their LinkedIn URLs on sites like Twitter, Facebook, personal blogs, and professional directories. Searching those sites can sometimes surface profiles.
Tap into Mutual Connections
If you share a mutual connection, ask them for an introduction or to confirm the correct profile. Tapping mutual connections can help cut through limited profile visibility.
Use Archive.org to View Past Profile Versions
Archive.org stores old copies of LinkedIn profiles. Search it to potentially find profiles no longer publicly viewable.
Professional Organization Directories
Members lists on sites for professional associations, alumni networks, etc. may include LinkedIn info or full profiles.
How Profiles Can Be Kept Private
Some LinkedIn users actively try to keep their profiles from being found through Google. Here are steps they can take:
- Enable search engine privacy settings in Profile visibility.
- Use an alternative name variation on their profile.
- Exclude their profile from search engine indexing in their profile URL settings.
- Opt out of being in the LinkedIn member directory.
- Block web crawlers and bots through their LinkedIn privacy settings.
These measures prevent profiles from appearing organically in Google results. But you can still try searching for profiles directly on LinkedIn itself.
Ethical Considerations
While searching Google for LinkedIn profiles has many legitimate uses, keep these ethical considerations in mind:
- Respect someone’s privacy settings – if they limited profile visibility, assume it was intentional.
- Searching solely based on someone’s gender, ethnicity, age, or other attributes can be problematic without proper context.
- Only search individuals relevant to your specific professional needs to avoid overstepping boundaries.
- Be transparent if you connect with someone that you located through a web search.
With thoughtful practices, searching Google for LinkedIn can be a useful tool while still respecting professional courtesy norms.
Conclusion
Google can be an effective way to find LinkedIn profiles through advanced searches, operators, reverse image lookup, and cross-referencing social media. While not foolproof, it provides valuable publicly-viewable career and background information in many cases. Use these best practices to optimize your search efforts while maintaining proper professional ethics. With some diligence, you can likely track down useful LinkedIn connections, leads and intel.
