LinkedIn is a professional social networking platform that allows users to create profiles showcasing their work experiences, skills, education, accomplishments, and more. One of the key components of every LinkedIn profile is the public profile URL, also known as the custom URL or vanity URL.
What is a public profile URL?
A public profile URL is the custom web address for your LinkedIn profile page. By default, LinkedIn assigns each member a unique URL that includes a series of numbers, such as www.linkedin.com/in/529489521. However, LinkedIn allows you to create a customized public profile URL that is more memorable, professional, and easy to share, such as www.linkedin.com/in/john-smith.
Your customized public profile URL appears in the address bar when people visit your LinkedIn profile. It also serves as a clickable link that you can easily include in your email signature, resume, business cards, and anywhere else you want to drive people to your LinkedIn presence. Whereas the default numeric URL assigned by LinkedIn is obscure and forgettable, a customized URL makes your profile stand out and gives you a unique brand on the platform.
Why create a customized public profile URL?
Here are some of the key benefits of creating a customized public profile URL on LinkedIn:
- Makes your profile more memorable and recognizable
- Looks more professional to include on resumes and business cards
- Easy to communicate verbally (“LinkedIn dot com slash John Smith”)
- Improves your personal SEO and brand building
- Clean and simple for people to find your profile
- Allows you to maintain branding consistency with other platforms like Twitter or Facebook that use vanity URLs
In short, a customized public profile URL makes your LinkedIn presence more accessible, professional, and impactful. The customizable URL helps your profile stand out from the crowd on a platform with over 800 million members.
How to create a customized public profile URL on LinkedIn
Creating a unique public profile URL on LinkedIn is easy and only takes a few steps:
- Go to your LinkedIn profile page and click on the “Edit public profile & URL” button located just below your profile photo and name.
- On the next screen, click the pencil icon next to your default public profile URL.
- Type your desired custom URL following this format: www.linkedin.com/in/yourname
- Click the “Save” button.
LinkedIn will check if your desired URL is available and provide prompts if the name is taken. Some tips for creating a unique LinkedIn public profile URL:
- Use your real name or a combination of your first and last names
- Separate words with hyphens instead of spaces or periods
- Make it as simple and memorable as possible
- Consider adding industry keywords if you have a common name
- Get creative if your first choices aren’t available by trying variations
How to change or claim your existing customized URL
If you wish to change or modify your existing customized public profile URL on LinkedIn, follow these steps:
- Go to your profile and click “Edit public profile & URL”.
- Click the pencil icon next to your current custom URL.
- Type in your new desired URL and click “Save”.
Keep in mind you can only change your custom URL once every 90 days. So choose wisely!
If someone has already created a customized URL with your name, you can claim it by selecting the “Claim this URL” option on the URL editing page. LinkedIn will send the current owner a notification asking them to release the URL for you to claim. This allows you to gain access to a URL that fits your personal brand, even if someone else created it first.
Tips for having an impactful public profile URL
To maximize the effectiveness of your LinkedIn public profile URL, keep these tips in mind:
- Include your full name to make it easy for people to recognize you and search for your profile
- Pick a URL that aligns with your personal brand and professional identity
- Use consistent branding across multiple platforms like Twitter and Facebook
- Make it short and memorable for verbal communications
- Add keywords relevant to your industry or occupation
- Display your custom URL prominently on resumes, websites, and other materials
- Promote your URL frequently when networking online and offline
- Set up a forwarding page at your domain to redirect to your LinkedIn URL
Can you have more than one public profile URL?
No, each LinkedIn member can only have one customized public profile URL associated with their account at a time. However, as mentioned previously, you can change your URL once every 90 days if you want to update it or optimize it for search. But multiple simultaneous public profile URLs are not possible on LinkedIn.
What happens to your old URL when you change it?
When you change your customized public profile URL on LinkedIn, your old vanity URL does not get deleted. LinkedIn keeps your previous custom URL associated with your account, but in an inactive state. If you wanted to switch back to a past username, you could reactivate and claim that URL again through the profile editing process.
Even if a custom URL is inactive on your profile, no one else can claim that name as their own URL on LinkedIn. The previously used links will redirect to your new custom URL or your default profile URL if you revert back to the system-assigned address.
Can you delete or deactivate your public profile URL?
LinkedIn does not allow members to completely delete or deactivate their custom public profile URLs altogether. The only option is to change it to a new URL. However, if you wish to revert to the default numeric profile URL assigned by LinkedIn, you can override your custom vanity URL and replace it with the system URL through the profile editing process.
Should you get a personalized URL on LinkedIn?
Here are some things to consider when deciding if a custom public profile URL is right for you on LinkedIn:
Pros of a customized URL:
- More professional for networking and job searching
- Memorable and brandable
- Easy to promote yourself
- Creates consistency with other social platforms
- Clean and simple link to share
Cons of a customized URL:
- Another aspect of your profile to maintain
- Preferred name may already be taken
- Less anonymous
Overall, most LinkedIn experts recommend creating a customized public profile URL to advance your personal branding, improve discoverability, and make it simpler for new connections to find you.
Conclusion
A customized public profile URL is a key element of any strong LinkedIn presence. Turn your forgettable default URL into a professional branded link that showcases your identity. A customized vanity URL is easier to share, remember, and makes your profile stand out. Follow the simple steps to create or update your public profile URL and leverage it to expand your network and advance your career.