Why You Need a LinkedIn Vanity URL

Do you have a LinkedIn vanity URL? The reason I ask is because it’s very easy to do and it can make a difference to your profile and presence on LinkedIn. Its all in the details and this little tweak has some benefits that I will explain below. When you become a member of LinkedIn you are assigned a username with a bunch of numbers. If your name is Barack Obama it may look like this:

www.linkedin.com/pub/barack-obama/55/a98/967

President Barack Obama, however, has changed his vanity URL to the following:

www.linkedin.com/in/barackobama

So What’s the Big Deal?

Well, its clearly better looking to have a name rather than a bunch of numbers. It’s easy to quote like on a business card or email signature. It means you are more likely to be found in search results and, it just looks more professional.

How Do I Change it?

It’s very easy, all you need to do is the following:

1) Click on edit your profile as indicated below

2) Click on “Customize your public profile URL”

3) Enter your new URL and click on “Set Custom URL” to finish the process

I’ve also put together a quick video to explain the process:

What Happens if my Name is Taken?

There is the possibility that someone else with the same name as you has already claimed your name and that means, you will have to choose a variation. You can include a middle name initial or shorten your name if appropriate e.g. from Elizabeth to Liz. In some cases you may find that there aren’t many options so you may want to add some keywords to your name like I’ve done. My name wasn’t available so I added social media to the end.

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