You may have encountered an error saying “invalid LinkedIn URL” when trying to access someone’s LinkedIn profile or embed a LinkedIn post on your website. This usually happens because the LinkedIn URL you are trying to use is not valid or properly formatted. In this article, we will explore some common reasons why you may get the “invalid LinkedIn URL” error and how to fix it.
Common Causes of Invalid LinkedIn URL Error
Here are some common causes of the “invalid LinkedIn URL” error:
- Typos in the URL – Any minor typos or mistakes when typing the LinkedIn URL can cause an invalid URL error. Double check the URL is exactly right.
- Old or broken URLs – LinkedIn profile URLs can break or become invalid over time as users update their profiles. Old bookmarks or cached URLs may no longer work.
- Wrong URL format – There are a few different LinkedIn URL formats like profile vs company pages. Using the wrong URL format will result in an error.
- Privacy settings – Users can change their profile privacy settings like hiding their last name. This can break some older LinkedIn URL formats.
- Removed profiles – If a user removed their LinkedIn profile completely, any URLs to their old profile will no longer work.
Checking for issues like typos, old URLs, wrong formats, and removed profiles can help identify and fix many invalid LinkedIn URL errors.
Troubleshooting Invalid LinkedIn URLs
If you encounter the invalid LinkedIn URL error, here are some troubleshooting steps to try:
Double check the URL
Carefully look at the LinkedIn URL that is resulting in the error. Check for any typos or minor mistakes that may be breaking the URL:
- Make sure your URL starts with https://www.linkedin.com/
- Look for any misplaced or missing characters in the username or profile ID section
- Check for extra spaces before or after the URL
- Make sure you’re using lowercase letters if the username contains them
Fixing simple typos like extra spaces, capitalization, or missing letters can often resolve invalid URL errors.
Try navigating directly to the profile
One quick way to test if a LinkedIn URL is valid is to try navigating directly to the profile page in your browser.
For example, if the URL you want to use is https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsmith try pasting that full URL directly into your browser address bar.
If the profile page loads correctly, then the URL itself is valid. If you get an error trying to navigate to it, then there is likely an issue with the URL itself.
Look for an updated profile URL
Often invalid LinkedIn URLs are caused by users changing their profile details over time. The old URL then breaks.
Try searching for the person’s name on LinkedIn to find their updated profile page, then use the new URL from their current profile.
You can also try searching for cached versions of their old profile URL on Google to see if you can find a working updated URL.
Double check URL format
LinkedIn uses a few different URL formats and structures. Using the wrong URL format can result in invalid URL errors:
- Profile URLs start with https://www.linkedin.com/in/
- Company Pages start with https://www.linkedin.com/company/
- School URLs start with https://www.linkedin.com/school/
Make sure you are using the appropriate LinkedIn URL format for the type of page you want to link to.
Check LinkedIn public profile settings
Users can customize their public profile settings on LinkedIn, including:
- Hiding their last name from their profile URL
- Disabling public access to their LinkedIn profile
If the user adjusted their public profile settings like these, it can essentially break the original public URL to their profile resulting in invalid URL errors.
Contact the user and ask them to double check their public profile visibility settings. Often the simple fix is for them to adjust the settings back to show their last name and enable public access again.
Look for a valid contact URL
Each LinkedIn user has a unique public profile URL that follows this format:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/firstname-lastname-1234567890
However, users can customize this public profile URL by:
- Removing their last name
- Adding a custom username
Their customized public profile URL will then look something like:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/customusername
If you only have an old profile URL that includes their name, try finding their valid public contact URL, which they can customize. This customized public URL is less likely to ever go invalid.
Remove any URL tracking parameters
Sometimes invalid LinkedIn errors can happen when people add extra tracking parameters to the URL, like:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsmith?trk=profile-badge
Try removing any extra tracking or UTM parameters after the core profile URL to see if that fixes the invalid URL issue.
Use LinkedIn’s Share Profile links
A reliable way to get a valid LinkedIn URL to share is to use the Share Profile option on LinkedIn itself.
On a user’s profile, click on the “More” button and choose “Share profile” to generate a shareable profile link you can use.
This dynamically generates a valid public profile URL that you can share or embed without errors.
Best Practices for Avoiding Invalid LinkedIn URLs
Here are some tips to avoid broken LinkedIn URLs that result in invalid URL errors:
Always get fresh profile URLs
When possible, get the most up-to-date version of a user’s customized public profile URL, such as from their contact info or About section. Avoid relying on old profile URLs that you may have saved or cached.
Use LinkedIn’s share features
Take advantage of LinkedIn’s built-in share and embed features to dynamically generate valid URLs, rather than trying to construct profile URLs manually.
Link to company pages where possible
Company LinkedIn pages rarely go invalid. Linking to a company page URL can often avoid broken profile URLs if the employee leaves.
Avoid using IDs in URLs
LinkedIn IDs for profiles and pages can change over time. It’s safer to use name-based profile URLs without the numeric ID included.
Store the canonical URL
When saving LinkedIn URLs for future use, make sure you are storing the full canonical URL without any added parameters or tracking codes.
Update stored URLs periodically
Check back on saved LinkedIn URLs every so often and update them if the original one has gone invalid. Don’t rely on old URLs indefinitely.
Troubleshooting Embedded LinkedIn Content Errors
You may also encounter invalid LinkedIn URL errors when trying to embed LinkedIn content like posts, images, or badges on a website.
Here are some troubleshooting tips for resolving errors with embedded LinkedIn content:
Use embed URLs directly from LinkedIn
Rather than trying to construct embed codes manually, use the share and embed features on LinkedIn posts to get the embed code. This generates a proper embed URL that will avoid errors.
Check for incorrect embed formats
Make sure your embed code exactly matches the formats that LinkedIn specifies. Any minor errors in the embed format can lead to invalid URL errors.
Update old embed codes
Just like profile URLs, old embed codes for LinkedIn content can expire or stop working over time. Updating to the latest embed URLs directly from LinkedIn should fix invalid URL issues.
Check content visibility settings
If the original LinkedIn content was deleted or changed to only be visible to certain audiences, any public embeds of that content will stop working. Contact the owner of the LinkedIn content to check if its visibility settings changed.
Use an embed URL shortener as a backup
Tools like Rebrandly can shorten LinkedIn embed URLs into a more stable redirect URL. This can help if you need a URL that will continue working even if the original embed URL goes invalid in the future.
Conclusion
Invalid LinkedIn URL errors commonly occur due to typos, old URLs, wrong formats, removed profiles, or expired embed codes. The best way to avoid these invalid URL issues is using fresh URLs directly from LinkedIn, proper URL formats, and periodic URL updates.
Troubleshoot invalid LinkedIn URLs by double checking for typos, trying to navigate directly to the profile, looking for an updated profile URL, checking URL formats, removing extra parameters, or generating a new embed code. With a few simple checks and tips, you can quickly fix invalid LinkedIn URL errors and ensure reliable access to LinkedIn content.