LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 722 million members worldwide. It allows professionals to connect with each other, find jobs, follow companies, join groups, and learn new skills. LinkedIn also provides data and insights to members about how people are engaging with their profile and content. Two key metrics on LinkedIn are “Appeared in Search” and “Profile Views”. Both provide valuable information, but they measure different things. This article will examine the main differences between “Appeared in Search” and “Profile Views” on LinkedIn to provide clarity on what each one means.
What Does “Appeared in Search” Mean on LinkedIn?
“Appeared in search” refers to the number of times a LinkedIn member’s public profile appeared in LinkedIn’s search results. This happens when someone performs a search on LinkedIn and the member’s profile shows up in the search results list.
For example, if David performs a search for “marketing managers in Chicago” and Mary’s profile shows up in the results, that counts as 1 appearance in search for Mary.
Some key things to know about appeared in search:
– It only counts when your public profile appears in search results, not private profiles or searches within LinkedIn groups.
– There must be an exact match between the search query and your profile details for it to count. Relevancy doesn’t matter, only exact matches.
– Appearances in search are counted for profile views, photos, name, headline, current position, schools, skills, etc. Any public profile data that matches the search terms can generate an appearance.
– The number reflects total lifetime appearances to date, not just within a certain timeframe.
– You can only see the aggregate number, not details on which searches triggered the appearances.
In summary, appeared in search shows how visible your profile is in LinkedIn search. The more your profile matches what people are searching for, the higher the number will be.
What Does “Profile Views” Mean on LinkedIn?
Whereas “appeared in search” focuses on visibility in search, “profile views” simply measures the total number of times your profile has been viewed by other members.
Some key things to know about LinkedIn profile views:
– It includes both anonymous visitors and LinkedIn members viewing your profile.
– Views are counted whenever someone lands on your profile page, even if they don’t scroll or engage further.
– The number reflects lifetime total views, not views within a certain timeframe.
– You can see more details like geographic location of viewers and which companies they work for.
– Views of your LinkedIn activity like posts or shared articles also count as profile views.
– Profile views indicate how much direct traffic you’re getting to your profile from all sources, including clicks, searches, campaigns, and mentions.
In essence, profile views measure total engagement people have with your profile while appeared in search only captures visibility in search results. Your profile views will generally be higher than appeared in search numbers.
Factors That Increase Appeared in Search
There are a few key factors that can help increase how often you appear in LinkedIn search results:
– **Complete your profile** – Fill out all sections, especially headline, summary, experience, skills, education. More complete profiles have higher chances of appearing in search.
– **Optimize profile with keywords** – Include relevant keywords and phrases that match what people search for in your headline and summary. This improves search visibility.
– **Be active on LinkedIn** – Engaging regularly through posts, shares, articles, and comments makes your profile more visible and discoverable in search.
– **Join relevant LinkedIn groups** – Participating in niche professional groups boosts chances of your profile appearing when people search those terms.
– **Follow companies in your industry** – This exposes your profile to more targeted audiences, increasing related search impressions.
– **Make connections** – Having more connections improves social reach and thereby search visibility. But focus on quality over quantity.
Tips to Increase Appeared in Search
– Refresh headline and summary weekly using trending keywords
– Share content and articles consistently
– Publish regular long-form posts to boost engagement
– Join new groups aligned to your goals monthly
– Follow companies your target audience cares about
– Send more connection requests to quality leads
In summary, optimizing your profile content, activity, and network on LinkedIn can all help maximize your search visibility and appeared in search numbers.
Factors That Increase Profile Views
There are several factors that can drive more profile views on LinkedIn:
– **Share unique content** – Posts, articles, images, and videos you share on LinkedIn all lead viewers back to your profile. Useful, original content attracts more organic views.
– **Engage with your network** – Commenting on connections’ posts and interacting via messages results in more people visiting your profile to learn more about you.
– **Join discussions in groups** – Active participation in relevant groups exposes your expertise to new audiences.
– **Leverage LinkedIn ads** – Campaigns like Sponsored Content and Sponsored InMail involve sending visitors to your profile, increasing views.
– **Be featured or recommended** – Getting co-workers, clients, or professors to recommend you or feature you in articles leads to referred views.
– **Optimize your profile** – A complete, keyword-rich profile encourages more clicks and engagement from search.
– **Link to your profile** – Include links on your website, email signature, and other platforms to drive external traffic to your profile.
Tips to Increase Profile Views
– Share new original content 2-3 times per week
– Respond and react to your network’s posts daily
– Participate in 1-2 relevant discussions in groups weekly
– Run regular Sponsored Content campaigns
– Request recommendations from satisfied connections
– Update your profile summary monthly
– Add links to your LinkedIn profile across online profiles and sites
In summary, quality engagement, valuable content, recommendations, advertising, and external links are all effective ways to get more LinkedIn profile views.
Appeared in Search vs. Profile Views: Key Differences
| Factor | Appeared in Search | Profile Views |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Number of times your profile appears in LinkedIn search results | Number of times your profile has been viewed |
| What’s counted | Exact match between search query and public profile data | Any visit to your profile page, including activity and offsite links |
| Data shown | Only aggregate number | Location, companies, and sources of visitors |
| Impacted by | Keywords, profile completeness, groups, activity | Content, engagement, ads, recommendations, links |
| Goal | Improving search ranking and visibility | Driving traffic and engagement |
In summary, appeared in search focuses specifically on how searchable your profile is while profile views encompass all traffic and engagement. Most times profile views will exceed appeared in search. Use both metrics to refine your LinkedIn optimization strategy.
Should You Focus on Improving Appeared in Search or Profile Views?
Ideally, you want to improve both appeared in search and profile views on LinkedIn. Here are some tips on where to focus your efforts:
– If your goal is brand awareness and recognition, prioritize increasing profile views through content sharing, participating in discussions, and running Sponsored Content ads. More profile views means greater engagement.
– If you want to reach more targeted audiences and be discovered by those searching specific terms, optimize for improving appeared in search through keywords, profile completeness, and niche professional groups.
– Professionals who want to be recognized as thought leaders in their field should focus more on valuable content that leads to engagement and profile views. Appeared in search will improve as a byproduct.
– Job seekers and those open to new opportunities should ensure their profile is search-optimized with relevant keywords so recruiters and hiring managers can more easily find them.
– If appeared in search numbers are low but profile views are high, you likely need to refine keywords and profile details to better match search intent. More profile views than search appearances is common.
– For sales professionals who want to drive prospecting, profile views may be a higher priority to identify accounts visiting you. Sponsored InMail can also attract quality views.
In summary, align your efforts to the results that will best support your specific goals on LinkedIn. Seeking a balance of search visibility and overall engagement is ideal for most professionals’ profiles.
Tips for Increasing Both Appeared in Search and Profile Views
Here are some best practices to boost both your appeared in search and profile view metrics on LinkedIn:
– **OPTIMIZE your profile completely** – Fill out all sections in detail using relevant keywords your audience would search. This lifts both search visibility and engagement.
– **CURATE and SHARE valuable content** – Publish original long-form posts, articles, and videos that would interest your followers. Quality content drives clicks, shares, and profile traffic.
– **ENGAGE regularly with your network** – Comment on connections’ updates, share others’ content, and participate in discussions. This gets you on more people’s radar.
– **JOIN targeted LinkedIn Groups** – Pick professional niche groups aligned to your goals to connect with relevant audiences and be discoverable in member searches.
– **RUN LinkedIn ads** – Experiment with always-on Sponsored Content or targeted ad campaigns. LinkedIn advertising increases awareness and sends visitors to your profile.
– **LINK to your profile** – Add links on your website, resume, email signature, and anywhere online you can drive external traffic to your profile.
– **GET recommended** – Request recommendations from managers, colleagues, or clients to build social proof. Their shared connections often view profiles they recommend.
– **ANALYZE and refine** – Check your metrics regularly and aim to improve search optimization, content, and engagement over time.
In summary, there are many overlapping ways to increase both your search visibility as well as overall profile engagement. Consistency and continually testing new tactics are key to seeing results.
Should You Buy LinkedIn Profile Views?
Some websites claim to sell real LinkedIn profile views and connections. However, LinkedIn prohibits artificially inflating metrics through paid services. There are a few risks to consider with buying LinkedIn views and connections:
– It violates LinkedIn’s terms of service and may lead to penalties or banned accounts if discovered.
– The sources of views and connections will likely be junk accounts or bots, not real people or your target audience.
– It provides no real value in terms of meaningful engagement or establishing credibility organically.
– LinkedIn’s algorithm may detect and filter out any sudden spikes in views from suspicious sources.
– It’s an inauthentic shortcut that avoids doing the work to earn views and connections genuinely.
Instead of buying views, focus your efforts on creating value and engaging with your community consistently over time. Some legitimate ways to get more profile views include:
– Optimizing your profile’s content to attract more organic search traffic and clicks.
– Sharing valuable insights through long-form posts, articles, and multimedia.
– Commenting and reacting to build relationships with your connections.
– Joining LinkedIn Groups and participating in discussions.
– Promoting your profile through other channels like your website and email signature.
– Running always-on LinkedIn ads like Sponsored Content.
In summary, buying LinkedIn views and connections is not a worthwhile, ethical, or sustainable strategy. There are many legitimate ways to increase your profile’s value, views, and reach over time through consistent engagement.
Conclusion
Appeared in search and profile views provide valuable but distinct metrics on LinkedIn. Appeared in search tracks your visibility in search results based on keyword relevancy. Profile views measure overall traffic and engagement with your profile.
Optimizing for higher numbers in both areas involves completing your profile, sharing engaging content, participating actively in your network, joining niche groups, running ads, and promoting your profile link online. Rather than buying views, focus on building authority and delivering value to your community.
Check your appeared in search and profile view metrics regularly on LinkedIn for insights into how well your efforts are working. Leverage the data to refine your strategy and increase the reach of both your brand and content over time. With consistency, you can improve your LinkedIn presence both in terms of search optimization as well as overall engagement.
