How to Customize a LinkedIn Link

Your default LinkedIn profile link probably looks like a messy jumble of letters and numbers, and that's not doing your professional brand any favors. A polished, custom URL is easy to create and instantly makes you look more credible and detail-oriented. This guide will walk you through exactly how to change your LinkedIn link, share best practices for choosing the right one, and explain why this small tweak has such a big impact.

Why a Custom LinkedIn URL is a Game-Changer

The default URL LinkedIn assigns you (something like linkedin.com/in/your-name-a5b123c4d) is functional, but it's not professional. It's hard to remember, looks cluttered on a business card, and feels generic. Taking a few moments to customize it gives you an immediate professional edge. Here's why it matters so much.

It Creates a Clean, Professional First Impression

Imagine your custom URL on a business card, resume, or email signature. Which looks better?

• linkedin.com/in/jane-doe-9a8b7c6d5
• linkedin.com/in/janedoe

The choice is obvious. A clean, personalized URL signals that you pay attention to detail and care about your professional image. In a competitive job market or C-suite environment, these small details matter. At first mention or for all future referrals, your name appears professional.

It Strengthens Your Personal Brand

Your LinkedIn URL is a piece of digital real estate. It should reflect you and your personal brand, not a random string of characters. By customizing it to your name or your professional identity (like /in/sarahchencopywriter), you create a consistent brand across all your professional assets. A memorable link makes it easier for recruiters, clients, and colleagues to find you and recall who you are. The value of this instant recognizability can pay huge dividends over the course of your career.

It Improves Your Searchability (SEO)

Search engines like Google favor clean, keyword-rich URLs. When someone searches for your name, a profile link like linkedin.com/in/matthew-clark-sales is more likely to rank highly than one filled with random numbers. This makes your LinkedIn profile easier to discover not just on LinkedIn itself, but through external search engines, maximizing your visibility to potential employers and clients.

How to Customize Your LinkedIn Profile Link: A Step-by-Step Guide

Changing your LinkedIn URL is a quick and simple process you can complete in under two minutes. Just follow these steps on your desktop - it's much easier than navigating the settings on a mobile device.

Step 1: Go to Your LinkedIn Profile

Log in to your LinkedIn account and navigate to your personal profile page. You can do this by clicking the "Me" icon with your profile picture in the top navigation bar and then selecting "View Profile" from the dropdown menu.

Step 2: Open Your Public Profile Settings

Once you're on your profile page, look to the top right-hand corner. You'll see a link that says "Edit public profile &, URL." Click on that.

Step 3: Edit Your Custom URL

A new page will open, showing you how your profile appears to the public. Again, on the top right side of this page, you'll see a section titled "Edit your custom URL." It will show your current, messy URL. Find the little blue pencil (the edit icon) and click it.

Step 4: Choose Your New Link and Hit Save!

The text box will allow you to finally delete those ugly random numbers and letters. Type your desired URL here - we'll go over what makes a good URL in the next section. Once you are satisfied, click "Save". LinkedIn will confirm if the URL is unavailable and you'll need to pick a new one, but it will give a confirmation when successful.

And that's it! Your profile now has a clean, professional, and easy-to-share URL. Don't forget to update it anywhere you've previously linked to your profile.

Expert Tips for Choosing the Perfect LinkedIn URL

Now that you know how to change it, let's talk about what you should change it to. Your goal is a URL that's both professional and memorable.

1. Try Your Full Name First

The simplest and most professional choice is your first name and last name.

• /in/firstnamelastname
• /in/firstname-lastname

If your preferred name is already taken, you'll need to experiment. For example, you can add a middle-name initial, like /in/johnnycappleby.

2. Add Keywords if Appropriate

If you have a common name (like John Smith), or you want to emphasize your expertise, adding a relevant keyword can be a great benefit:

• /in/sarahsmithcopywriter
• /in/paulwilliamsdev

This reinforces what you do and may help you in LinkedIn's searching algorithms.

3. Keep it Short and Readable

The idea of vanity URLs is to get rid of complexity, so avoid unnecessary symbols, numbers, and long keywords that make the URL much harder for people to type and read.

Good Examples:

• /in/johnsclark
• /in/mariajosephdesigner

Bad Examples:

• /in/johnsclark8709
• /in/best-maria-design-in-texas

What to Do if Your Preferred URL is Taken?

With so many millions of users on the LinkedIn platform, chances are your ideal URL is already snagged. Don't worry - just be creative!

• Add a middle initial
• Put your industry as a suffix to your URL
• Use your last name and first initial

Customizing a Company Page URL

For personal profiles, this process is very easy and instant. However, company LinkedIn pages are a different story entirely. Your company's page URL can only be edited by the admin who created the page, once it's set, it cannot be changed without LinkedIn's help directly. You can make this request if you have more than 100 followers, but it isn't guaranteed. The moral of this is - choose carefully when setting up your company LinkedIn page!

Next Steps: Spreading the Word About Your Newly Minted Link

Congratulations! Your new URL looks sharp. Now it's time to make it work for you. Take a bit of time to update it across all your platforms:

• Email signatures
• Your paper business card
• Online portfolios and personal websites
• Social media profiles across Twitter, Facebook, and more

The key to a good personal brand is consistency, so make sure anyone looking for you will see the newly updated URL.

Final Thoughts

A small fix like customizing your LinkedIn URL makes an immediate difference in your branding. It is the simple trick that demonstrates your professionalism, makes your link much more memorable, and helps you to be found easily. Now that you know how it's done, go and stand out from the crowd.

After polishing your LinkedIn like this, it becomes even more important to consistently share great content. At Postbase, we built our platform perfect for organizing and scheduling your posts. We take care of video, text, and analytics without the hassle that you might find with other older tools. So you're not just looking more professional, you can work like one too.

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