Lots of people tell you what you should be doing, but what about what you shouldn’t be doing?

LinkedIn is the place to not only find others, but also to be found. And that’s why you need a LinkedIn profile that not only helps you get found, but also entices people to contact you once they see your profile. I see a lot of people making fundamental mistakes that actually work against them in this regard. If you’re going to spend time creating a LinkedIn profile, I guess you want to maximize your chances of being contacted by the right people, right?

With that in mind, I’ve created an easy-to-understand list of a few things to check with my reasoning. If it sounds like a search engine optimization exercise, you’re on the right track. Just like any website owner, you want your LinkedIn profile to stand out and be found!

Enjoy my LinkedIn profile tips!

1. Do not show your personal photo

I wrote an entire blog post on why you should include your photo on your LinkedIn profile, but it all comes down to whether or not you have social media credibility. There are too many fake profiles on LinkedIn, so you want to prove that you’re real. If you’ve taken the time to fill out your LinkedIn profile, why not display your photo? It just raises too many potential questions. And company logos or pictures of pets obviously have no value here.

2. LinkedIn Profile Title Isn’t Branded Enough

See that space under your name? That is your “Professional” or profile title. It will appear in search results next to your name, as well as next to any questions you ask or answer. It is, in essence, your elevator pitch in a nutshell. Are you just putting your title and company name here? Whose! This is the place where you should entice anyone who finds you in a search result to contact you and look at your profile. Your profile title is the most important real estate element of your LinkedIn profile and should be marked as such.

3. The LinkedIn status update is unattractive

This is that “What are you working on?” box I refer to as “Status Update”. Assuming someone finds you and looks at your profile, chances are they’ll look at what you write here simply because it appears just below your main profile. What do you write here? Many people in transition notice that they are looking for work here. What do you use your LinkedIn status update for? It’s part of your branding exercise, and it should be something engaging that informs the reader of your latest activities and hopefully adds, not subtracts, to your LinkedIn brand.

4. Do not include enough companies you worked for or schools you attended

One of the ways you are found on LinkedIn is through searches for company or school names. If you’re only listing your current company and/or not even showing your university, you’re missing out on being found. Check this out: I did my third year of university abroad in Beijing almost 20 years ago. He had not been in contact with the 15 or so Americans who were there that year. Two of those 15 have found me on LinkedIn! And another high school friend I lost touch with found me this week on LinkedIn. They wouldn’t have found me if I hadn’t included my overseas high school and high school name in my profile. Companies are even more important in that there are potentially more colleagues who may be trying to find you or recruiters trying to network with you! You may be missing out!

5. Not having three LinkedIn recommendations

This is the same as not having your personal photo on your LinkedIn profile. Why? When you sign up for LinkedIn and first complete your profile, LinkedIn recommends that you write three LinkedIn Recommendations. You must do this for your LinkedIn profile to be 100% complete. LinkedIn job postings also require three LinkedIn recommendations. These recommendations can only work in your favor, so why not have at least three of them?

6. Too few connections

This is a topic of debate, but too many people have too few connections on their LinkedIn profile and therefore don’t find them. The idea is simple: when you do a search you will see results from your network. And vice versa. So the more connections you have, the more search results you will show up pure and simple.

7. Not listing three websites

LinkedIn gives you the ability to list three websites on your profile. Are you taking advantage of it? Do you have a Twitter profile or other social network profile that you want to advertise? Company website? A blog you like to read? Anything you want to associate with yourself should be included here. It will add to the search engine optimization of your own websites just because you include them here!

8. Do not claim your personal URL

When you sign up for LinkedIn, you’re provided with a public URL that you can then include in your email signature or anywhere else you’d like to direct people to your LinkedIn profile. You can customize this when you edit your profile. Claiming your name here is one of the first things you should have done on LinkedIn. If you have a common name, be sure to claim your LinkedIn URL before others!

9. No Keyword-Rich Brand Brief

Assuming someone finds you in a search result, likes your profile title, and isn’t scared off by your status update, the next most important part of your profile will be your summary. This is your chance to showcase your brand and make sure all the keywords you want to be associated with are here. You also want to write something compelling, just like you would in the executive summary of your resume. This is your stage to tell the world who you are and what you can do! Use it to your greatest advantage!

10. No job descriptions

Even if you’ve listed positions at companies you previously held, it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have job descriptions. Job descriptions give you the perfect opportunity to pepper his profile with keywords that will help him get found. Why aren’t you taking advantage of this?

Did I miss any that you would like to share? Let me know! And if you didn’t make any of the above mistakes, congratulations! Your LinkedIn profile is in good health!