LinkedIn Profile Tips: 10 Simple Changes That Can Make Your Profile Better

Your LinkedIn profile doesn't need to look impressive to everyone.

It needs to make sense to the right people.

A recruiter should be able to understand what you do.

A potential client should be able to see what you can help with.

And someone who finds you through a post or search should have a reason to keep looking.

That's what a good LinkedIn profile does.

It doesn't try to tell your entire professional story in one visit. It gives people enough of the right information to understand who you are, what you do, and whether you're worth knowing.

If your profile hasn't been updated in a while, start here.

1. Start With Your Profile Photo

This sounds obvious, but your profile photo is one of the first things people notice.

You don't need a professional photoshoot. You do need a clear, recent image where your face is easy to see and you still look like yourself.

If all you have is a casual photograph, tools such as PFPMaker can help you clean the background and create a more polished version. Instainker can also generate professional headshot options for your LinkedIn profile.

Try this prompt:

“Turn this casual photo into a polished LinkedIn headshot. Keep my face, age, skin texture and natural features accurate. Use soft front lighting, a clean background and professional clothing suitable for [your industry]. Frame it from the chest up. Do not change my identity or make the image look over-edited.”

LinkedIn is not a resume page, so your headshot does not have to look identical to everyone else's. You can use a memorable colour, a subtle prop linked to your work, or a distinctive but professional setting - provided your face remains the focus.

Before uploading it, check:

Is it recent?

Is your face clear at thumbnail size?

Does it look recognisably like you?

Is there one tasteful detail that makes it memorable?

Your photo will not explain your expertise, but it should make the right person pause and feel there is a real, credible human behind the profile.

2. Don't Waste Your LinkedIn Headline

Your headline appears next to your name in places beyond your profile.

People can see it in search results, comments, connection requests and messages.

So don't use the space only to repeat your job title.

Instead of:

Marketing Manager at ABC Company

you might say:

Marketing Manager at ABC | B2B Growth | Content & Brand Strategy

Or, if you're trying to attract clients:

B2B Marketing Consultant | Demand Generation | Helping SaaS Teams Build Predictable Pipelines

Your headline should tell people what you do and, ideally, what you want to be known for.

If you're looking for help writing one, Instainker's LinkedIn headline generator can give you relevant starting points based on your role and goals. Edit the strongest option so it still sounds like you.

3. Treat Your About Section Like an Introduction

Your About section is where you get to sound like yourself—but the opening still has to earn attention.

Start with at least one of these:

A hooking factor: a meaningful number, a recognized brand, a surprising statement or a specific location that creates relevance.

A story opening: a personal moment or a clear “from this to that” journey that explains why you do this work.

For example:

“I started my career writing captions for a five-person team. Today, I build content systems for B2B companies across three markets.”

Or:

“After reviewing 200 LinkedIn profiles, I noticed the same problem: capable people were describing their work in language nobody would remember.”

Once the opening earns attention, explain what you do, who you work with, the problems you solve and where you are heading. Keep it conversational and specific—not a list of adjectives.

A useful About section can cover:

What you do What kind of work do you actually handle?

Who you work with Companies? Founders? Candidates? Clients? A particular industry?

What you're good at Which problems do people come to you to solve?

Where you're heading What kinds of opportunities or conversations are you interested in?

You don't have to answer these like an interview.

Write it like you're explaining your work to an intelligent stranger.

4. Make Your Experience Section About More Than Responsibilities

This is one of the easiest sections to improve.

A lot of LinkedIn profiles turn their Experience section into a copy of their job description.

Responsible for social media management. Managed campaigns. Worked with clients. Prepared reports.

Technically accurate.

Not particularly memorable.

Try adding context and outcomes where you can.

Instead of:

Managed social media campaigns for the company.

Try:

Managed LinkedIn and Instagram content, testing different formats and topics to improve reach and engagement.

Even better if you have a real result:

Increased LinkedIn post reach by 40% over three months through a shift toward founder-led content.

You don't need a number for every bullet.

Just make it clear what you actually did, rather than copying the responsibilities from your offer letter.

5. Choose Skills You Actually Want to Be Known For

LinkedIn lets you add a long list of skills.

That doesn't mean you should add every skill you've ever touched.

If your profile says:

Marketing | Sales | Excel | Canva | Leadership | SEO | Recruitment | Finance | Public Speaking | Strategy | Data Analysis | Communication...

I'm not sure what you're actually trying to tell me.

Pick skills that support the professional direction you're building.

If you're a B2B marketer, for example, skills such as:

• B2B Marketing
• Demand Generation
• Content Strategy
• Brand Strategy
• Marketing Analytics

may tell a clearer story than a huge collection of unrelated abilities.

Your profile should have a direction.

6. Add Featured Content

The Featured section is useful because it lets you show some of the things you say you're good at.

If you say you're a writer, feature something you've written.

If you're a consultant, feature a useful case study, presentation or article.

If you're a designer, show your work.

If you're a founder, you could feature a product announcement, interview or important company post.

Think of it as evidence.

Your About section says:

“This is what I do.”

Your Featured section can say:

“Here's what that looks like.”

Here are 10 things you can add to Featured to build credibility quickly:

1. A media feature or press mention.

2. A workshop, webinar or speaking appearance.

3. A case study showing the problem, your work and the outcome.

4. A portfolio, project page or work sample.

5. A testimonial or client success story.

6. A lead magnet, guide, checklist or useful resource you created.

7. A podcast or interview featuring your perspective.

8. A product launch, company milestone or important announcement.

9. A high-value post you want people to keep finding, even after it leaves your latest-post feed.

10. A clear services page, booking link or contact page for people ready to work with you.

Choose three to five strong items rather than filling the section with everything you have ever made.

7. Make Your Profile Match Your Goal

This is where many LinkedIn profiles go wrong.

The profile itself may be perfectly fine.

It just isn't built for what the person currently wants.

Someone looking for a job might want to emphasize:

Role + skills + experience + industry

Someone trying to attract consulting clients might care more about:

Problem solved + expertise + type of client + proof

Someone building a personal brand might want:

Point of view + expertise + topics they talk about

So before changing your profile, ask yourself:

What do I actually want LinkedIn to help me with right now?

A job?

Clients?

Speaking opportunities?

Recruiters?

Networking?

Partnerships?

Your answer should influence the way you position yourself.

8. Use the Words Your Audience Uses

This is partly about being understandable and partly about being discoverable.

If your headline says:

“Helping brands become impossible to ignore”

but the people hiring for your target role search for:

“Brand Marketing Manager”

there's a discoverability gap.

A memorable one-liner can make your headline distinctive, but it should not replace the keywords tied to your current or target role.

For example:

Helping B2B brands become impossible to ignore | Brand Marketing Manager | Content Strategy | Demand Generation

The first phrase makes you memorable. The role and skill keywords help the right people find you.

Use the language your industry, clients and recruiters actually use. You can be creative without becoming unclear.

9. Get Recommendations That Say Something Useful

A recommendation that says:

“Great person to work with. Highly recommended!”

is nice.

It doesn't tell a potential client or employer much.

A stronger recommendation explains what you did well.

For example:

“She came into the project when our content process was all over the place. Within a month, we had a clear calendar, a consistent publishing process and much better visibility into what was working.”

That's evidence.

If you're asking someone for a recommendation, make it easy for them.

You can ask:

“Would you be comfortable writing a short recommendation about the work we did together, particularly around X?”

You're more likely to get something specific than if you simply say, “Can you recommend me on LinkedIn?”

10. Look at Your Profile Like a Stranger

This is probably the most useful LinkedIn profile tip on the list.

Open your profile.

Forget what you know about yourself.

Now imagine you're a recruiter, potential client or founder who has never met you.

Read only:

Name → Photo → Headline → About → Experience

What do you understand?

Can you tell what this person does?

Can you tell who they work with?

Can you tell what they're good at?

Can you tell why you might want to contact them?

If you're still unsure after reading the profile, that's the problem to fix.

Not the font.

Not another buzzword.

The positioning.

What About a LinkedIn Profile Optimizer?

You can make these changes manually, but sometimes it's difficult to see what's wrong with your own profile.

That's where a LinkedIn Profile Optimizer can help.

Instainker's LinkedIn Profile Optimizer looks at key sections of your profile, including your headline, About and Experience, and gives you specific suggestions for improvement.

It also provides a before-and-after comparison, so you can see what changed rather than simply being told that your profile needs work.

You can use it as a second pair of eyes.

But don't treat an optimization score as the goal.

A profile isn't good because a tool gave it a high score.

It's good when the right person understands you quickly.

A Quick LinkedIn Profile Checklist

Before you finish, go through these questions:

Profile photo: Is it clear and recent?

Headline: Can someone understand what I do without opening my profile?

About: Does it sound like me, or could it belong to anyone in my industry?

Experience: Does it show what I actually did, not just my responsibilities?

Skills: Do they support the professional direction I'm building?

Featured: Have I shown any actual work or proof?

Keywords: Am I using the terms my audience actually searches for?

Custom URL: Is my LinkedIn URL personalized, clean and relevant to my name or professional identity?

Recommendations: Do they tell people anything useful about working with me?

Overall: Does the profile match what I currently want from LinkedIn?

You don't need to fix everything in one afternoon.

Start with the parts people see first: your photo, headline and About section.

Then work down the profile.

A good LinkedIn profile isn't the one with the most information.

It's the one where the important information is easy to find.