LinkedIn profile optimisation: a section by section checklist

Before almost every important meeting, the other person looks you up. Your LinkedIn profile does the selling before you've said a word. This checklist goes section by section. Work through it in order, because the early sections matter most.

Before you start: positioning

Write one sentence: “I want to be known by [these people] for [this thing].” Every section below should support it. If you can't write the sentence, start there. Our guide to why your LinkedIn bio is quietly killing your credibility helps.

Photo

• Recent, well lit, your face filling most of the frame
• Looking at the camera, dressed the way you would for an important meeting
• Plain or softly blurred background

Banner

• Reinforces your positioning: a line about what you do, your company, your newsletter or a talk
• Readable on a phone, where most people will see it
• Not a stock photo of a city skyline

Headline

• Says what you do, who for and what changes for them
• Uses the words your audience would search for
• Skips the stack of titles: “CEO | Speaker | Mentor | Investor” tells nobody anything

About

• The first two lines show before “see more”, so lead with the reader's problem or your point of view
• Written in the first person, the way you talk
• Includes proof: numbers, outcomes, notable work
• Ends with a clear next step: what to message you about, or where to find your newsletter

Featured

• Three or four items a stranger should see first
• Your best post, a talk or podcast, your newsletter, a case study or your company
• Updated every few months

Experience

• Outcomes, not duties: what changed because you were there
• Current role written with the most care
• Older roles kept short

Skills, recommendations and the rest

• Top skills match your positioning, not everything you've ever done
• Two or three recent recommendations from people your audience respects
• A custom profile URL with your name
• Creator mode tools, if available to you, with topics that match your positioning

The final test

Show your profile to someone who doesn't know you for ten seconds, then ask them what you do and who you do it for. If they can't answer, go back to the headline and About.

Want an outside eye? We do LinkedIn profile audits with a ranked fix list, or rebuild the whole profile for you.