How to add keywords to your LinkedIn profile — section by section

How LinkedIn search uses the keywords in your profile

When a recruiter or client searches LinkedIn, results are matched on the words in your profile and then ranked by relevance and connection. In recruiter tools, people also apply filters — job title, skills, location, industry, years of experience. That means a keyword can help you in two different ways:

• Matching: the word appears somewhere on your profile, so you show up at all. Headline, job titles and About carry the most weight.
• Filtering: the word appears in a structured field — your job title, your Skills list, your location — so you survive the filters recruiters apply.

The practical rule: put each priority keyword in at least two places — once in a structured field (title or Skills) and once in text (headline, About or Experience).

Step 1: Find the keywords worth adding

Step 2: Build a keyword map

A keyword map stops you stuffing one section and forgetting another. Here's an example for a B2B marketer targeting “Demand Generation Manager”:

Step 3: Add keywords section by section

1. Headline — the highest-weight field

Your primary keyword in the first 60 characters, then 2–3 secondaries and a proof point, up to 220 characters. On your profile, click the pencil icon next to your name to edit it.

2. Current job title (Experience → title field)

This is the field most recruiter filters use. If your internal title is unusual (“Growth Ninja”, “Associate II”), use the standard market title, optionally with the internal one: “Demand Generation Manager (Growth Lead)”. Keep it truthful — it should be recognisable to anyone who worked with you.

3. About section

You get 2,600 characters, but only the first ~250 show before “see more”. Use your primary keyword and 2–3 secondaries in the opening two lines, written as natural sentences — then expand with results, tools and the kind of work you want.

4. Experience descriptions

Each role can hold up to 2,000 characters. Write 3–5 bullets per role that pair a keyword with a result: “Launched ABM programme in HubSpot for 120 target accounts, generating $1.2M pipeline.” Keywords in context read better and count just as much.

5. Skills

Add up to 100 skills, but make sure your 5–10 core keywords are there and that you link skills to the relevant job or education entries. Skills are a structured field, so they help you pass recruiter filters. Remove outdated skills you don't want to be hired for.

6. Other places that count

• Location: recruiters filter by location heavily. Set the city you want to work in (or the metro area).
• Open to Work job titles: if you use it, add up to five target titles — they're another structured signal.
• Certifications, Education, Projects: use exact names (“Google Analytics Certification”, “PMP”).
• Custom URL: mainly helps Google, not LinkedIn search — use your name.
• Featured and posts: help you get discovered in content search and keep your profile active.

What to avoid when adding keywords

• Don't hide keywords in white text, long lists of hashtags or unrelated skills.
• Don't add titles you haven't held — recruiters check, and it costs trust in interviews.
• Don't rely on synonyms the market doesn't use. Search for the exact term recruiters write in job ads.

Step 4: Check whether your keywords work

Open your profile dashboard and look at search appearances: how often you appeared in search, and — depending on your account — who searched and which job titles they had. Make one change at a time, wait 2–3 weeks, and compare. If you never appear for your primary keyword, it's usually missing from your headline or current job title.

FAQ

Related guides