A LinkedIn X-Ray search is an advanced search feature on LinkedIn that allows you to dig deeper into member profiles and uncover more detailed information about LinkedIn members beyond what is visible on their public profile. With an X-Ray search, you can filter your search results based on various criteria to find the exact members you are looking for.
How Does a LinkedIn X-Ray Search Work?
LinkedIn’s X-Ray search uses filters and advanced search operators to let you customize your search and reveal more insights about members. Here’s an overview of how it works:
- Access the X-Ray search bar – You can access the X-Ray search from the LinkedIn homepage by clicking on the search bar at the top.
- Use filters – X-Ray search provides various filters on the left side to narrow down your search by criteria like location, company, job title, industry, school, etc.
- Leverage advanced search operators – You can use advanced search operators like “title:”, “company:”, “school:”, etc. to search for specific information in profiles.
- View search results – Your filtered X-Ray search will display more targeted results based on the criteria you specified.
- Analyze search results – The results page provides additional insights like top companies, titles, schools, etc. represented in the results.
Using these features strategically allows you to dig deeper into member attributes and motivations when researching for sales prospects, recruiting, and more.
What Can You Uncover with a LinkedIn X-Ray Search?
Here are some of the key things you can uncover about LinkedIn members using an X-Ray search:
Work Experience
- Current and past companies worked at
- Roles and titles held
- Duration at each company
- Industries and areas of expertise
Education
- Degrees obtained
- Fields of study
- Schools attended
- Time periods enrolled
Skills
- Skills listed on profile
- Endorsements received from others
- Technical expertise
- Certifications earned
Personal Details
- Location
- Industry
- Age range
- Interests
- Groups joined
Network
- First degree connections
- Common connections
- Follower and following count
- Engagement and influence
Benefits of Using a LinkedIn X-Ray Search
Here are some of the key benefits of leveraging LinkedIn’s X-Ray search functionality:
- Target prospects precisely – The advanced filters let you narrow down your ideal customer profile.
- Identify recruitment targets – Uncover more insights on candidates beyond their resume for recruitment.
- Research competitors – Analyze competitor employees to understand their tech stack, skills, etc.
- Get social selling insights – Identify pain points and motivations to personalize your outreach.
- Conduct market research – Analyze trends, tooling, and traction in a niche.
- Find business partners – Discover consultants, agencies or specialists to partner with.
In summary, X-Ray search enables more focused, data-driven, and contextual searching to serve a variety of business goals.
LinkedIn X-Ray Search Use Cases
Here are some examples of how different teams can apply LinkedIn’s X-Ray search capabilities:
Sales Prospecting
- Find prospects by title and company size/industry.
- Identify decision-makers who influence buying.
- Discover trigger events like new jobs, promotions, etc.
- Qualify accounts by employee growth, funding events, etc.
Recruitment Sourcing
- Search for candidates by skills, titles, companies.
- Source passive candidates not actively job searching.
- Filter by schools attended to find qualified graduates.
- Identify candidates with niche skill combinations.
Competitive Intelligence
- Profile key employees at competitor companies.
- Analyze competitors’ tech stack from employee skills.
- Monitor leadership changes and new hires at competitors.
- Track traction and growth by number of employees.
Market Research
- Analyze job postings and hiring trends in a niche.
- Identify key influencers and groups within an industry.
- Study trajectory of emerging technologies and business models.
- Gauge market size and growth indicators.
Partnership Development
- Discover freelancers and agencies to partner with.
- Research a service provider’s clientele and portfolio.
- Identify influencers to collaborate with.
- Vet consultants by skills, credentials, and recommendations.
Tips for More Effective LinkedIn X-Ray Searching
Here are some pro tips to master X-Ray search on LinkedIn:
- Use double quotes for exact match searches – “Social Media Manager” vs Social Media Manager
- Exclude words or profiles using NOT or – operators – marketing NOT manager
- Combine filters instead of keywords to narrow your search.
- Experiment with different keyword variations and combinations.
- Browse through the search results manually to uncover hidden insights.
- Check out the “People Also Viewed” section for discovering similar profiles.
- Save frequently used searches to re-run and track changes over time.
Limitations of LinkedIn’s X-Ray Search
While LinkedIn X-Ray search is very powerful, it does have some limitations to be aware of:
- Not all profile fields are searchable (e.g. summary, recommendations).
- Requires a LinkedIn premium account to access some advanced features.
- Technical skills listed may not fully reflect a member’s actual capabilities.
- Does not index skills mentioned within a profile’s work experience.
- Relevant profiles may be omitted due to incomplete user profiles.
- The full 500M+ LinkedIn member base is not searchable.
- Results limited to only people, not content, groups, posts, ads, etc.
Conclusion
In summary, LinkedIn’s X-Ray search enables powerful targeting, filtering, and analysis of member profiles above and beyond basic keyword searching. It unlocks premium targeting capabilities for LinkedIn recruiting, sales prospecting, competitive research, partnerships and more. Mastering X-Ray search delivers unmatched precision, relevance and insights for your business needs.