LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 675 million members worldwide. As a LinkedIn user, it’s only natural to be curious about who has viewed your profile. LinkedIn shows you limited profile views with its basic (free) account, making you want to upgrade to premium just to see more. But is premium really necessary to find out who’s checking you out on LinkedIn? Let’s explore some clever tricks and free tools to expose those profile lurkers without paying LinkedIn a dime.
LinkedIn’s Viewer Limitations for Free Accounts
With a standard LinkedIn account, you can see who viewed your profile, but you only get a limited sample from the past 90 days. LinkedIn will show you the locations, industries, and seniorities of who viewed you, but you only get to see the last 5 profiles.
Upgrading to premium for $29.99-$59.99 per month gives you visibility into your last 90 days of profile viewers with names and details. But as a savvy LinkedIn user, you can uncover way more profile views without premium.
Check Website Visitors for LinkedIn Views
When someone views your LinkedIn profile, it registers as a visit to your LinkedIn public profile URL. So you can extrapolate LinkedIn views by checking your website analytics for traffic to your profile page.
Install Google Analytics on your website or blog and check the traffic sources and top pages. Look for your LinkedIn URL in the top pages report to see how many visits it receives. Each visit likely represents someone viewing your LinkedIn profile.
This method shows you total LinkedIn profile views beyond the limited 90 day window. Third-party website analytics let you identify LinkedIn viewers without upgrading to premium.
Use LinkedIn Profiles Widget to See Views
Another way to uncover more LinkedIn profile views is by embedding a LinkedIn Profiles widget on your website or blog sidebar. This displays a feed of people who recently viewed your profile.
To add the widget:
- Go to LinkedIn Settings & Privacy
- Under Account Preferences, choose Profile View Settings
- Enable profile viewing options and Save Changes
Then follow these steps to embed the widget:
- Go to LinkedIn Widgets and click “Add a Widget”
- Select Profiles and customize the widget
- Copy the embed code and add it to your website
The widget will now display a list of recent viewers beyond just the last 5 LinkedIn shows you. Having the widget on multiple sites gives you even more visibility into who’s viewed you.
Check Your Email for LinkedIn View Notifications
LinkedIn sends email notifications when certain people view your profile. To enable this:
- Go to Settings & Privacy > Communications
- Under Relationship-based Ads, choose Customize preferences
- Enable notifications for profile views by recruiters, your network, and group members
Now when those people view your profile, LinkedIn will email you to let you know. It’s an easy free way to stay on top of important profile views by recruiters and connections.
Use LinkedIn Mobile Notifications
The LinkedIn mobile app provides real-time notifications whenever someone views your profile. To enable:
- Tap your profile icon in the LinkedIn app
- Go to Settings & Privacy > Notifications
- Turn on “New profile views”
You’ll now get mobile alerts about who’s checking you out on LinkedIn. It’s the fastest free way to see profile viewers in real-time.
Check Your LinkedIn Network Updates
Your LinkedIn network activity feed shows when your connections view someone’s profile. So you can often catch views of your own profile as they happen.
Simply check your LinkedIn feed regularly and look for updates like “John Smith viewed Mathew Williams’s profile”. It’s an easy free way to spot some of the LinkedIn members viewing you.
Use LinkedIn Premium Free Trials
If you want short term access to unlimited LinkedIn profile viewer data, use Premium free trials. LinkedIn offers 1 month free trials of Premium accounts, allowing full viewer insights.
To get free trials:
- Go to the LinkedIn Premium upgrade page
- Select the 1 month free trial offer
- Enter payment details (required)
- Cancel the auto-renewal before 1 month ends
You’ll now have 30 days to see all of your profile viewers. Repeat with a new account to maintain free viewer access.
Try Out LinkedViewer and Other Tools
Third-party tools like LinkedViewer, Social Sentry, and RocketReach can identify LinkedIn viewers beyond what LinkedIn provides for free.
LinkedViewer costs $39 per year and claims to show you everyone who viewed your profile with detailed analytics. Social Sentry costs a one-time fee of $297 and extracts viewer data from LinkedIn. RocketReach is $99 per month but provides contact data enrichment.
The quality varies across tools, so try free trials first. Use these with caution as some violate LinkedIn’s terms of service. But they give you affordable LinkedIn viewer insights without premium.
Conclusion
Uncovering your LinkedIn profile viewers doesn’t require an expensive premium account. Try website analytics, email notifications, the viewer widget, and free trials to expose those lurking without paying LinkedIn. With clever use of LinkedIn’s own tools, you can gain valuable profile viewer insights for free.
Just remember to use common sense and discretion when tapping into viewer analytics – don’t be creepy! Focus on understanding your audience and making positive connections instead of stalking individuals. Profile viewing data is most powerful for optimizing your LinkedIn presence and connections when used wisely.
Key Takeaways
- Website analytics like Google Analytics reveal LinkedIn profile traffic beyond 90 days
- The LinkedIn Profiles widget displays recent profile viewers
- Email and mobile notifications alert you to real-time profile views
- Check network updates and use Premium trials for short-term viewer insights
- Third-party tools can provide viewer data but some violate LinkedIn’s terms
Focus on your LinkedIn presence, quality connections, and adding value vs obsessing over profile viewers. The data ultimately helps you enhance your professional brand and opportunities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can LinkedIn tell you who viewed your profile?
With a free account, LinkedIn shows just the last 5 profiles who viewed you. Premium accounts see all profile visitors for the last 90 days but don’t provide visibility beyond that. However, the tips in this article can uncover way more profile viewers without paying for Premium.
Does LinkedIn notify you when someone views your profile 2022?
Yes, LinkedIn added email notifications in 2022 to alert you when certain people view your profile, like recruiters and your network connections. You can also enable mobile push notifications in the LinkedIn app to receive real-time alerts when someone views your profile.
Can you see who stalks your LinkedIn 2022?
There is no foolproof way to see exactly who is “stalking” or regularly viewing your LinkedIn profile. But by enabling notifications and checking viewer analytics sources like website traffic, the widget, and trial Premium access, you can gain more insight into who is lurking on your profile most often.
Is there a free way to see who viewed my LinkedIn profile?
Yes, several free options exist beyond LinkedIn’s limited default profile viewer insights for basic accounts. Checking website analytics, the profile widget, notifications, network updates, and using Premium trials will all expose more LinkedIn profile viewers at no cost.
Can someone know if I viewed their LinkedIn profile?
If the person has a premium account, they can see you viewed their profile within the last 90 days. They may also receive a notification if you are in their network. Otherwise, individual profile viewing is generally anonymous unless you engage in excessive stalking-like behavior.
Table Summarizing LinkedIn Viewer Identification Options
Method | Cost | Data Provided |
---|---|---|
Website Analytics | Free | Total profile views over time |
LinkedIn Widget | Free | Recent profile viewers |
Email Notifications | Free | Alerts on views by connections and recruiters |
Mobile Notifications | Free | Real-time view alerts |
Network Updates | Free | Some connection’s views seen |
Premium Free Trials | Free | Full viewer data for 1 month |
Third-Party Tools | $39-$297 one-time $99-299/month |
Varies, may violate LinkedIn ToS |