Less than 30 minutes after posting the below video, I was ranking as a 2nd result on Google. 24 hours later I have 4 listings on the front page of this search result.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS_hSN-PKaE

SEO is the acronym for “search engine optimization”. It is a process of improving the visibility of a document when certain keyword phrases are searches for using a search engine. Documents that are optimized properly for the right keyword phrases have a greater chance of appearing in the top search results. Documents in the top results are the first viewed and often receive a high volume of traffic.

A LinkedIn profile is nothing more than a resume populated with keywords that describer  an individual’s employment background, skills, and experience. LinkedIn users search the social network’s database to find professionals based on keywords that accurately identify an individual’s qualifications.  Connections are made via this business-oriented social network for a wide range of purposes to include job opportunities, business relationship building, company research and so much more.

A fully completed profile can help a individual effectively network with others who are looking to establish direct business connections. In addition to landing career opportunities, LinkedIn can provide the benefits of building strong relationships with potential mentors, customers, and individuals with whom you can share intellectual capital with.

Items that should be included in your LinkedIn profile:

• Schools you attended
  - Full school name as well as abbreviations (University of Georgia/UGA)
• Companies you were employed by
  - Parent company, subsidiaries, mergers and acquisitions of defunct companies
• Job related skills you posses
  - Industry keywords, software, tools and acronyms (enterprise java beans/EJB)
• Associations you are a member of
  - Any relevant business associations including fraternity, sorority and civic community groups
• Elevator Pitch
  - Write your elevator pitch in the summary of your profile
  - Announce the solutions that your background and experience solves
• Recommendations
  - Request endorsements from managers, colleagues and clients (these are like product reviews)
  - Writing recommendations for others increases your exposure by being on someone else’s profile
• Public Profile URL
  - Change the LinkedIn default assigned value to something closer to your identity (www.linkedin.com/in/otiscollier)

It is important that special attention is given towards the specific keywords that are used in a profile. Users should carefully examine their background and use industry specific keywords that describe their work experience.  A great rule of practice is to write out a list of all the keywords that will show up on the user’s profile before it is created. This list will often serve as a memory jogger for keywords not initially thought of. Finally, users should conduct searches for individuals like themselves to observe what others are using on their profiles to be found.