What is a professional URL for LinkedIn?

Having a professional and customized URL for your LinkedIn profile is an important way to establish your personal brand and stand out from other LinkedIn users. Your LinkedIn URL appears in search engine results, on your LinkedIn profile, in emails and messages, and anywhere else your profile is shared or linked to. Having a unique, branded URL that accurately represents you makes your profile more memorable and searchable for networking contacts and potential employers.

A default LinkedIn URL looks something like “www.linkedin.com/in/firstname-lastname-123456”. While this is fine, it’s not very distinctive or professional. With LinkedIn’s customizable URLs, you can edit your public profile link to be more personalized, such as “www.linkedin.com/in/firstname-lastname” or “www.linkedin.com/in/yourcustomurl”.

Customizing your LinkedIn URL is free and easy to do. Here’s an overview of how to create a professional LinkedIn URL and best practices to follow.

How to Create a Custom LinkedIn URL

Creating a custom LinkedIn URL only takes a few steps:

1. Go to your LinkedIn profile page and click “View profile” at the top right.
2. Click the pencil “Edit public profile & URL” icon next to your profile photo.
3. Under the “Public profile settings” section, click “Edit” next to your LinkedIn URL.
4. Type your new desired URL – this can include your name, business name, keywords, etc. LinkedIn will let you know if the URL is available.
5. Click “Save” and your new URL will be updated.

It’s that easy! LinkedIn does give some guidance on the format and length of custom URLs, which are covered next.

LinkedIn URL Requirements

When creating your LinkedIn URL, keep these requirements in mind:

• Must be unique – No two LinkedIn members can have the same custom URL.
• 50 characters max – Your full URL including “linkedin.com/” can be up to 50 characters long.
• Letters, numbers, periods, underscores only – LinkedIn URLs can only contain alphanumeric characters, periods, and underscores.
• Cannot contain spaces – Spaces are not allowed in LinkedIn URLs. Use dashes or capitalization instead.

As long as your desired URL meets those criteria, you should be able to customize it for your profile. Keep reading for tips on choosing the best URL.

Choosing Your LinkedIn URL

When creating your custom LinkedIn URL, aim for a URL that is:

• Professional – Include your full name and/or business name.
• Simple and clean – Short, easy to remember and spell.
• Keyword-rich – Incorporate relevant keywords like your industry and role.
• Unique to you – Avoid common phrases or vague terms.

Here are some LinkedIn URL examples that would be considered professional:

• www.linkedin.com/in/firstname-lastname
• www.linkedin.com/in/firstname-lastname-marketing
• www.linkedin.com/in/socialmediamarketer
• www.linkedin.com/company/businessname

And URLs to avoid:

• www.linkedin.com/in/bestmarketingguru
• www.linkedin.com/in/socialmediaexpert2017
• www.linkedin.com/in/marketingninja

The goal is to make your URL as clean, simple, and professional as possible.

Tips for an Effective LinkedIn URL

Here are some additional tips for creating the best LinkedIn URL:

• Include your full name – This helps identify you and looks more professional.
• Add keywords – Incorporate 1-2 keywords like your job title or industry.
• Use dashes for spaces – Dashes improve readability over underscores.
• Capitalize properly – Capitalize names and keywords for branding.
• Check availability – Test URL variations to see what’s available.
• Future-proof it – Will your URL still work if you change jobs/careers?
• Shorter is better – Concise URLs are easier to share and remember.
• Match other social URLs – Consistent branding across platforms.

Also note that you can change your LinkedIn URL in the future if needed. But choose thoughtfully, as changing your profile URL too frequently can negatively impact your search visibility.

Benefits of a Custom LinkedIn URL

Here are some of the key benefits of setting a customized, professional URL for your LinkedIn profile:

• Branding – Creates a consistent, professional brand across networks.
• Memorable – A customized URL is much more memorable.
• Credibility – Shows you are detail-oriented and serious about networking.
• Google friendly – Keyword-rich URLs can improve SEO.
• Customization – Lets you stand out from the crowd.
• Recognition – People can instantly identify you by your URL.

In summary, a customized LinkedIn URL serves as an important part of your professional brand and online presence.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to some common questions about LinkedIn URLs:

Can I change my LinkedIn URL?

Yes, you can change your custom URL at any time from your LinkedIn profile settings. Just click “Edit public profile & URL” and edit the URL field.

Does my old URL redirect to my new URL?

Yes, LinkedIn automatically sets up a 301 redirect from your old profile URL to your new URL.

Can I customize my LinkedIn URL if I have a common name?

Yes, even with a common name you can still create a unique URL, for example by adding your industry or location. Get creative with keywords!

Is a custom URL free?

Yes, LinkedIn provides the ability to customize your public profile URL for free.

Can I use periods or special characters in my URL?

No, LinkedIn URLs can only contain letters, numbers, underscores and periods. No special characters are allowed.

Conclusion

Customizing your LinkedIn URL is a simple yet impactful way to enhance your professional brand and online presence. A clean, keyword-rich URL makes you more findable by networking contacts and demonstrates your attention to detail.

Aim for a URL that clearly identifies you, matches your other social networks, and incorporates relevant keywords. And don’t forget to keep your URL updated as your career evolves. With a professional, memorable LinkedIn URL, you can put your best digital foot forward for networking and career opportunities.