Having a strong presence on LinkedIn is crucial for companies looking to build their brand, attract talent, and drive business opportunities. A key part of your LinkedIn presence is your company page, which allows current and prospective employees, partners, and customers to learn about your business. To maximize the impact of your company LinkedIn page, you need to know your unique company handle or vanity URL. Here’s how to find your LinkedIn company handle.
What is a LinkedIn company handle?
On LinkedIn, each member has a unique handle that appears in their profile URL. For example, LinkedIn’s handle is “company/linkedin” so their company page URL is www.linkedin.com/company/linkedin. This handle allows LinkedIn users to easily find and direct others to a company’s page.
For companies, having a customized handle makes your page easier to find and share. It also looks more professional than a generic URL with a series of numbers and letters. Handles must be unique on LinkedIn. Once you claim your handle, no other company can use it.
How to find your LinkedIn company handle
There are a few ways to find your company’s LinkedIn handle:
- Go to your Company Page and look at the URL. Your handle will appear after “company/” in the address bar.
- Go to your personal LinkedIn profile. In the “Experience” section, click on your current company. This will take you to the Company Page where you can view the handle in the URL.
- From the LinkedIn homepage, enter your company name in the main search bar. Click on your company from the results to navigate to the page and identify the handle.
If you don’t see a customized handle, your company may not have claimed one yet. Keep reading to learn how to create a unique handle for your company.
How to claim or change your LinkedIn company handle
To claim a customized handle or update an existing one, you need administrator access to your LinkedIn company page. Here are the steps:
- From your Company Page, click “Admin Tools” and select “Edit Company Page URL.”
- Enter up to 50 characters for your new handle. You can use letters, numbers, and dashes.
- Click “Check Availability” to see if your desired handle is available.
- If available, click “Claim URL” to secure your new company handle.
It’s smart to claim your name, brand name, or abbreviation as your handle before someone else does. You can change your handle in the future, but you will lose any existing followers and shares associated with the old URL.
Best practices for customizing your handle
When creating or updating your LinkedIn handle, keep these best practices in mind:
- Use your company name or acronym if available, like “company/microsoft.” This makes your page easy to find.
- Keep it short and memorable. “company/software” is better than “company/reallylongsoftwaresolutionsllc.”
- Use hyphens (-) instead of underscores (_) to improve readability.
- Avoid repeating words or numbers like “software-software” or “ABC-123.”
- Steer clear of trademarked terms owned by other companies.
Using your LinkedIn handle
Once claimed, your handle will appear in all LinkedIn page URLs and profile links directing followers to your company page. Promote your handle in these places to maximize your reach:
- Your website and blog
- Email signatures
- Business cards
- Marketing materials like brochures or ads
- Social media profiles
- Employee email and LinkedIn profiles
You can also add social follow buttons with your handle to your website to make it easy for site visitors to follow your company.
Handle selection examples
To illustrate how companies select handles, here are some recognizable brands and their LinkedIn URL formats:
Company | LinkedIn Handle |
---|---|
Microsoft | company/microsoft |
Alphabet (Google) | company/alphabet |
Amazon | company/amazon |
Meta (Facebook) | company/meta |
Starbucks | company/starbucks |
As you can see, large enterprises tend to use a variation of their company name, choosing something short and recognizable. This trend also applies for small businesses, nonprofits, schools, and other organizations using LinkedIn.
Benefits of customizing your LinkedIn handle
Taking the time to create and utilize a customized LinkedIn handle provides many advantages, including:
- Increased findability – A branded handle makes you easier to locate in LinkedIn search.
- Memorable branding – Handles that represent your name create an instant connection with your brand.
- Professional appearance – Custom handles look more polished and serious than generic URLs.
- Consistency across platforms – Using the same handle aligns your brand identity on LinkedIn as well as other social networks.
- Competitive advantage – Claiming your name prevents competitors from using it.
- Shareability – A customized URL is typically shorter and simpler to share with others.
Conclusion
Your LinkedIn company handle serves as a critical identifier and locator for your brand’s page. Take the time to create a unique handle that represents your business and aligns with your broader brand image. A customized URL creates a more professional LinkedIn presence and makes it easier for your audiences to find and engage with your company. Promote your new handle across websites, employee profiles, marketing materials and more to maximize the benefits.