How to master the LinkedIn search feature?

You may have already noticed, but in a LinkedIn search , the results are often of variable quality. The reason? The search algorithm isn’t very efficient.

LinkedIn is a gold mine. But there are a few tricks you need to know to take advantage of its full potential. Especially when it comes to search. Specifically, the social network wants you to pay for its LinkedIn Sales Navigator offer.

Giving you access to results with much greater granularity. An offer we can only recommend, despite its high price (€79/month ex. VAT)🥲

Yet LinkedIn search is the lead base on which you create your campaigns, and you need quality results. Here are a few best practices for getting better results.

1) Don’t use the keyword on a LinkedIn search

Do not use the keyword in the LinkedIn search engine. Do not use the keyword. Don’t use the keyword… Seriously. Don’t use the keyword! There‘ s no reason to use the keyword 🙃

Let’s say you’re looking for people to fill the “Marketing” position. Use the “Title” filter to find the word “Marketing” or “Marketer”.

And if you want to target people in marketing?

Use the “Industry”filter to find the word “Marketing and advertising” 👀

The only reason you can use the keyword (and even then) is to search for a person directly by name. Otherwise, there are other filters. So if you search for the keyword “fitness” you’ll get :

• Results with the title containing “fitness”. In general, this is what we’re looking for.
• Also profiles in B2B companies with the word “fitness”: at a pinch, that could be interesting.
• Or profiles in which one of the skills is fitness: at a pinch, but still.
• Also, profiles whose previous company contains the word “fitness”: already less relevant.
• Then profiles whose main interest is fitness.
• And finally, profiles in which the word “fitness” appears right on their LinkedIn profile!

➡️ For example, if I search for the word “fitness”, from the 20ᵉ page I get this result:

Chances are, it’s not what you’re looking for! 🔍

2) Use the title to qualify your prospect

Of course, there are other alternatives to the keyword. Most of the time, if we’re looking to prospect, what we’re interested in is 👇🏻 :

• What the person does.
• The business sector.
• The company.
• The size of the company.
• Why not seniority?
• Or geographical location.
• If he’s a decision-maker.

Company size, seniority and decision-maker status are only available in the LinkedIn Sales Navigator search. They are therefore of no interest to us here.🤓

On the other hand, the title is much more useful for qualifying prospects. In my opinion, it’s even the best qualification tool in LinkedIn advanced search.

It often replaces the keyword, which provides search results that are too random. And it becomes particularly powerful when Boolean operators are used.🎯

3) Using Boolean operators in a LinkedIn search

For some, Boolean operators remain black magic. For sure: they’re frighteningly efficient. And yet, they’re not that difficult to use.

The Boolean operator lets you combine different elements or specify what you want in a keyword search field. The keyword itself, but also the “Title”, “First name”, “Last name”, “School” and “Company” fields thanks to a linking word or special character.🤪

Here are the Boolean operators for use cases 👇🏻 :

Use quotation marks

If you’re looking for an exact phrase. For example, “Avocat à la cour” in the title field. If you don’t use quotation marks, you may get results with only “lawyer” or worse, only “court”.

By adding quotation marks, LinkedIn will only return people whose title exclusively contains “Court Lawyer”. If you had to pick just one, it would be this one.🤩

Try “NOT” exclusions

For me, this is one of the most powerful, as it will allow you to exclude low-quality results in your search. Another example: you’re looking for marketing leads generation. You type “Marketing” in the title field.

When you go through the search (see next point), you’ll find “Freelance Marketing”. But they may not be your target 🫠

So by specifying “Marketing NOT Freelance”, the profile search containing “Freelance” in their title will be suppressed. You can, of course, add as many “NOTs” as you like to refine your search.

If you were using ProspectIn, these search filters are also available in our new Waalaxy tool .🤗

Discover “OR” and “AND” inclusions

I associate them because they go together. Once you understand how “NOT” works, it’s pretty much the same thing. These operators allow you to associate elements.🤯

Are you looking for profiles with a “Prépa” and a “Paris Dauphine” university degree? Take the “School” field (the one without the proposals with checkboxes in the advanced filters) and add: “Prépa AND Paris Dauphine”.

➡️ Another example: you’re looking for people who work for “Orange” or “Free” or “Bouygues Telecom”. In the “Company” field (the one in the proposals with checkboxes in the advanced filters) add: “Orange OR Free OR Bouygues Telecom”.

And the brackets

It’s like in mathematics (a distant memory perhaps). Parentheses are used to make combinations with Boolean operators.

➡️ For example, the query :

(marketing NOT freelance) OR (chief marketing officer OR CMO) → “marketing” and not “freelance” or “chief marketing officer” or “CMO”.

4) Do not exceed LinkedIn search of 1000 results

In case you didn’t know, LinkedIn doesn’t give you access to more than 1,000 results from a standard search. Even if there are millions of them! That would be too easy 🥲

In fact, it’s a godsend to better qualify your leads: take advantage of it to reduce the size of your searches and get better granularity in your campaigns.

5) Find companies in your target sector

A slightly different approach, but a very effective one. Let’s say you want to sell a product to recruiters. You can search for “recruiters”. You’ll get a number of interesting results. But what if you want to sell to recruitment agencies? That’s even more complicated 🥹

It’s worth noting that in virtually every industry, there are websites that bring together companies in the sector.

In this case, you can search for “recruitment agencies” on Google. A little digging reveals “cabinet-recrutement.org”, a site listing over 400 recruitment agencies worldwide. You can even choose by industry! 🙌🏻

Once you’ve got this list, all you need to do is copy and paste it into the “Companies” filters to qualify your prospects and start prospecting!

This is just an example, but it’s applicable to almost any sector. You can also use the company search. This tip applies whether you’re looking to contact sales people or recruiters… ✨

6) Target by region to personalize your LinkedIn search

This tip is simple. Basic, but effective. When you get thousands of inaccessible results in a search returning well over 1000 results (typing “Marketing” for example), by filtering by geographic area, you can refine the search by region.

With Waalaxy, you can create dedicated, more personalized campaigns 👇🏻 :

• Marketers Lyon.
• Marketers Montpellier.
• Marketers Strasbourg.

All you have to do is add personalization to your campaign approach.

Out of category: groups

The chef’s tip! It’s not possible to filter by specific groups in LinkedIn’s Standard Search. Yet groups are an almost infinite, ultra-qualified source of prospects. People gather around topics and interests. Isn’t that great? 🤩

Search for groups that interest you. To continue with the examples: I do a Group search on the keyword “recruiters”. I get groups according to world regions, with more or less members. In this case, you can ask to join several of them (they won’t always accept you). Be careful, you can’t join as many as you want at once, nor can you have an unlimited number of pending requests(LinkedIn blocks you at around twenty).😔

Once you’ve joined, all you have to do is consult the list of members and export your group (if you use Waalaxy, of course). See how we achieved over 50% acceptance with groups.

Now you know how to do a good LinkedIn search 😉

Let’s recap: How to do an effective LinkedIn search?

You now have all the keys to successful LinkedIn searches! 🎯 By combining a well-mastered Boolean search with the many filters offered by the platform, including those available with LinkedIn Premium, you’ll be able to refine your results and gain in efficiency. 🤗

Whether you’re prospecting for new business or identifying key contacts in your sector, the key is to stay strategic and organized. Always ensure that your search practices respect LinkedIn’s privacy guidelines, particularly when leveraging advanced tools or reaching out to prospects. By applying these best practices, LinkedIn will become your best ally in achieving your goals. 🚀

Frequently asked questions

Don’t leave just yet, I’ve got more information that might interest you! 👀

Is it possible to extract e-mail addresses from LinkedIn?

Yes, it is possible, LinkedIn offers users the possibility to share their contact information (such as an e-mail address) in their profile, but this information is only visible if 👇🏻 :

• The person has made it public.
• You have a direct relationship with them.

If you have access to this data, you can manually check the profile and note the shared e-mail address.✨

But, if you’re targeting dozens or hundreds of prospects, it’s best to go through an automated tool like Email Finder Waalaxy.😎

🛠️ Once you’ve identified your prospects on LinkedIn, Email Finder Waalaxy cross-references public profile data with verified databases to find their business addresses.

📈 On average, the Email Finder finds over 35% of e-mail addresses on LinkedIn, making it an extremely powerful tool for enriching your prospecting databases. And that’s not all! It complies with RGPD laws. You can scrape without risk! 🤓

How to search for international contacts on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is an ideal global platform for connecting with professionals abroad. Here are a few simple tips for expanding your network beyond borders:

• Use location filters 📍 :
  In the LinkedIn search bar, after entering your keyword, click on “All filters”. Select the country or countries you’re interested in to limit your results to a specific region. For example, if you’re targeting Canada, you can specify Toronto or Vancouver for more precise targeting.
• Adapt your language 🗣️:
  When contacting international professionals, give preference to English or the local language. Use a courteous, professional tone, adapted to the country’s cultural norms (a small detail that makes a difference! 😉 ).
• Join international groups 🌐 :
  LinkedIn is packed with groups dedicated to international themes or industries. Joining these groups allows you to spot active contacts and access discussions relevant to your field.
• Target local businesses 🏢:
  Identify region-specific businesses or subsidiaries of international companies. Use the “Company” filters to focus on specific, relevant structures.

How can I identify active profiles on LinkedIn to optimize my prospecting?

Sending a message to someone who no longer uses LinkedIn is like talking to a wall. 😅 To avoid this, here’s how to spot active profiles and increase your chances of getting responses 👇🏻 :

1. Check the “Activity” section 📣: On every profile, LinkedIn displays a section dedicated to recent publications, comments or reactions. If the person interacts often, this shows that he or she is active on the platform.

2. Look at profile updates ✨ A recent photo, job title change or new description show that the user is engaged and regularly present.

3. Note visible badges 🏷️ : Badges like“Open to work” or “Open to business” indicate that the person is proactive and open to professional opportunities.

4. Follow LinkedIn notifications 🔔 : LinkedIn notifies you of work anniversaries, promotions or job changes. These events are a great opportunity to break the ice and start a conversation.

Now LinkedIn search has no secrets for you! 🚀