LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 800 million members. It’s an invaluable tool for networking, finding jobs, connecting with clients, and researching companies and people. However, one major limitation of the free version of LinkedIn is that you only get limited searches per month. Once you hit that limit, you need to upgrade to one of LinkedIn’s paid plans to continue searching. This article will provide several methods to get unlimited LinkedIn searches without having to pay.
Use an Incognito or Private Browser Window
One simple trick is to use an incognito or private browsing window in your web browser. These modes don’t save cookies or browsing history. Open an incognito window in Chrome, a private window in Firefox, or InPrivate browsing in Edge. Then go to LinkedIn and do your searches. It will treat you as a new user each time and reset your monthly allotment of searches. This is an easy way to get a few extra searches in a month. Just remember to close the window when done to keep your main browser logged into your account.
Clear Cookies and Cache
Along the same lines, clearing your cookies and cache for LinkedIn will also reset your searches. In Chrome, go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Clear Browsing Data. Make sure cookies and cache are selected and clear data for the last hour. You can also selectively remove just LinkedIn cookies if you don’t want to clear your whole browsing history. Go to LinkedIn and refresh – it will again treat you as a new visitor.
For other browsers, the process is similar:
- Firefox – Preferences > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data > Clear Data
- Edge – Settings > Privacy, search and services > Clear browsing data
- Safari – Develop menu > Empty Caches
Clearing this data resets the search counter and buys you some more lookups. It’s easy to do and can be repeated whenever you need more searches.
Use Multiple Browsers
Most people regularly use more than one web browser these days. Firefox, Chrome, Edge, and Safari are the most common. Since LinkedIn tracks searches separately in each browser, you can leverage this to maximize your searches. Do some searches in Chrome, some in Firefox, etc until you’ve used up the allotment in each one. Switching between browsers gives you multiple sets of searches every month.
Search in Incognito and Regular Windows
Similarly, you can alternate between incognito/private windows and regular windows to double your searches. Do some searches logged into your account in a regular window. When you hit the limit, open an incognito window and do more searches logged out. Close it, and switch back to the regular window for logged in searches. Repeat as needed. The incognito and regular browser windows are treated as completely separate sessions.
Use Multiple Accounts
If you have multiple LinkedIn accounts, either for personal reasons or for managing business pages, you can log into each one to get more searches. Free LinkedIn members are allowed 3 accounts under their policies. So with 3 accounts you could triple your monthly allotment of searches. Simply log out and log into each different account when you want to do searches.
However, keep in mind that rapidly switching between accounts or doing searches from the same IP address may trigger LinkedIn’s bot detection and result in accounts being temporarily blocked. So use this method sparingly.
Use the Mobile App
The LinkedIn mobile app has a separate search quota than the desktop website. Install the LinkedIn app on your smartphone or tablet and do some searches from there. The mobile search limit will be reset independently from the browser version. So utilize both to get more mileage out of your allowed searches. The downside is that doing extensive searches on mobile may be awkward compared to on a desktop.
Change IP Address
LinkedIn’s search limits are based on IP address in addition to cookies and accounts. Each IP address gets an independent quota. The easiest way to change your public IP is to toggle your wifi on and off on your computer or mobile device. This will trigger your ISP to assign you a new IP. Go back to LinkedIn and you can do fresh searches from the new IP.
On a phone you can also switch from wifi to cellular data to change IP. On a computer, some other options are:
- Disconnect and reconnect from your wifi
- Reset your router to force a new public IP
- Use a VPN or proxy service
- Spoof your IP address manually (advanced)
The more often you can change your IP, the more searches you can squeeze in per month.
Coordinate with Coworkers
If you have coworkers or employees who also use LinkedIn, you can coordinate to share search duties. Have each person use up their monthly limit then pass the baton to the next person. Set up a spreadsheet to track everyone’s usage and remaining limits. As a team you can amass far more searches than any individual.
Just make sure anyone you share login credentials with accesses LinkedIn only from your company network. Logging in from an unknown IP address can cause account lockouts.
Use a Search Management App
Several apps and browser extensions exist specifically for managing LinkedIn searches. These tools automatically handle switching between accounts, clearing cookies, and changing IP addresses. Some examples are:
- LinkedIn Search Ninja
- RocketReach
- Dux-Soup
- Seamless.ai
- LinkedHelper
The apps simplify the entire search process so you don’t have to keep manually resetting and refreshing. Look for one with features like automated IP rotation, multiple sessions, and team collaboration. The initial setup takes some work but then it runs hands-free.
Use Premium Search Services
Some companies offer paid search services that provide access to unlimited LinkedIn lookups. They manage a pool of LinkedIn accounts and IP addresses that members can use to get limitless searches. The monthly fees are much lower than LinkedIn Premium accounts. Two popular services are:
- LeadQuizzes: Plans start at $67/month for individual use. Allows unlimited searches, messages, and profile views.
- Seamless.ai: Starts at $97/month for teams. Provides collaborative tools to manage large search projects.
While not free, these services save a ton of money versus buying individual Premium accounts. They are targeted for sales teams and recruiters who need high search volumes.
Use Boolean Search Operators
Carefully structuring your searches using Boolean operators like AND, OR, NOT can help filter results better. This allows you to get more relevant profiles while using fewer searches over time. Some helpful operators are:
- “Product manager” AND Chicago – Returns Chicago-based PMs
- Analyst OR Associate – Returns both analysts and associates
- Engineer NOT Software – Returns all engineers except software engineers
Group keywords logically to target the profiles you want without extraneous results wasting searches. Boolean searches take some practice but can really streamline your process.
Follow Companies to See Employees
Rather than searching for individual people at a company, follow the company page itself. This will allow you to browse all employees who have public profiles without using searches. Focus on following companies you’re interested in recruiting from or selling to, then scout their personnel freely.
Conclusion
The LinkedIn free tier search limits can be restrictive for active recruiters, salespeople, and networkers. But with a few tricks like using multiple browsers and accounts, third party tools, and strategic search techniques you can remove the barriers and get unlimited LinkedIn searches.
Be aware that aggressively circumventing LinkedIn’s limits may get your account temporarily blocked for suspicious activity. Use conservative numbers of searches per day and don’t overdo any one tactic. Spread your searches across different options. The free tier still serves casual users fine, but power users have many options to maximize their LinkedIn access.