How to network on LinkedIn as an SEO specialist

Okay so I’m sure you hear all the time that you should “network”. 

But honestly what does that really mean?

From my experience, when I ask people what it means a lot of the time they can’t tell me.

“They say it’s just talking to someone”, or “attending a conference or event”

But I think like most things, it gets overcomplicated.

In this post I’m going to walk you through how I network and I’m gonna share the story of why it’s important.

Why should you network

So as an SEO professional I get messaged all the time on LinkedIn by recruiters who saw my profile, were intrigued by my expertise and wanted to offer me an opportunity to interview with them. 

In marketing we call this; inbound marketing where you are getting people to come to you.

Now imagine if I had to reach out to these recruiters via a job posting or email address it would take them forever to get back to me, or at all.

So essentially networking is a way to get in front of people who might be able to help you get a job without having to go through a lot of effort to do so.

OK so as a brand new person to the SEO field you might be thinking how do I get started with networking well it’s really simple:

Here’s three simple steps you can take to get started with networking.

Set up a LinkedIn profile

The first thing you want to do is set up a LinkedIn profile, at the time of this post, you can create a free account.

When you set up your account make sure to use an Email that is appropriate because recruiters are going to want to contact you. 

So if your contact information is not professional this may deter them from doing so.

So best practice is just use an email address with your first and last name in it.

Optimize your profile for a specific position you’re applying for

One thing that a lot of people don’t know about LinkedIn is that when recruiters are searching for candidates, you will show up in their search results based on the amount of keywords or relevant experience you have in your profile.

So when you are setting up your profile make sure to include in your headline, “about section” and “experience section” keywords that relate to the position that you are looking to apply for.

What I normally do is I just copy over everything from my resume, so that I have something to work with. 

If you need help writing a resume, refer to my SEO Specialist resume writing guide, and cover letter guide.

Message or send invites to people you want to connect with

It’s not rocket science, go on there and look up people that are SEOs in the field and send them invites to connect with them.

You can say something like:

 

Hey: Insert name

I am looking to grow my network, and I stumbled across your profile and saw that you are an SEO specialist. Would you be interested in connecting?

Regards,

Your name

 

That’s it, be personable and be sure to actually look at their profile and see if you share in anything in common any interests or goals that they may have.

If they don’t respond, move on.

People could not answer you for so many reasons; such as they are busy, they are not interested in networking with you, or they are not a good fit for you.

Don’t take it personal.

Just keep working towards your goal.

Once someone accepts your invite, then you can start networking with them.

If they make a post, engage with them.

Also you can follow SEO blogs, and talk with the SEOs that leave comments too.

Get your first SEO job

As you can see networking is very easy, once you have your profile set up, just keep sending out invites and posting.

If your skillset is good enough, the recruiters will definitely start reaching out to you.

If you are just getting started in SEO, you may want to read my SEO Specialist career guide for tips on how to learn SEO and get a job.

I also offer personal coaching, if you are interested, leave your name, and email in the contact form below, and I will follow up with more details.

For signing up, I also provide you with a free SEO resume, cover letter and project template that you can use to apply for your jobs.

Good luck on your SEO journey!

 


 


 

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Raj Clark is a 9 year SEO professional & career mentor. He is also the author of the books ABC's of SEO: Search Engine Optimization 101 and The Technical SEO Handbook He has worked with a wide range of clients in many industries including B2B, SaaS, Fintech, Home improvement, Medical, and E-Commerce. He started the company, Bounce Rank, as a way to help business owners grow their website traffic and to help people who want to get a job in the SEO career field.

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