Shorten LinkedIn URL and Boost Your Brand

Janis Kolomenskis
Jul 11
11 min read

First impressions are everything, and believe it or not, your LinkedIn URL is often the very first thing a recruiter or potential client sees. A default URL, that jumble of random numbers and letters, just looks a bit clumsy and is impossible to remember. The good news? You can shorten your LinkedIn URL in a couple of minutes and create a polished, memorable link that seriously boosts your professional brand.

Why a Custom LinkedIn URL Is Your Digital Handshake

Think of your custom URL as your digital business card. It’s a tiny detail, but it speaks volumes about your professionalism and how much you care about the small stuff. When you share a clean, personalised link, you instantly come across as more credible and switched-on. A messy, default URL, on the other hand, can subtly chip away at that polished image you’ve worked so hard to build.

This isn't just about looking good; it's about crafting a professional identity that's easy to share and remember.

Boosts Credibility: Let's be honest, a custom URL like looks way more trustworthy on a CV or in an email signature than .
Enhances Brand Consistency: It helps you align your digital presence, making it a breeze for people to find and recognise you across different platforms.
Improves Shareability: A short, clean link is simple to remember, type, and even share verbally at a networking event or on physical materials like business cards.

Your custom URL transforms your profile from just another page into a distinct, professional destination. It’s a simple change that signals you are serious about managing your career and online brand.

Here’s a great example of the kind of professional profile page your custom URL will point to.

See how clean and professional this is? That sharp, custom URL is the perfect gateway to a profile that means business.

Stand Out in a Crowded Field

This kind of strategic branding is especially vital in busy professional communities. Take Latvia, for instance. There are over 120,900 LinkedIn users there, with the biggest chunk being early to mid-career professionals between 25 and 34. In a competitive space like that, a custom URL is a simple but effective way to differentiate yourself and stand out from the crowd.

Optimising your profile is a huge part of moving your career forward. If you're actively on the hunt for your next big thing, you should definitely check out our guide on LinkedIn job search mastery to land your dream role.

How to Customise Your LinkedIn URL Step-by-Step

Ready to ditch that clunky, auto-generated URL and create something you’re actually proud to share? I thought so! It's one of those small tweaks that makes a massive difference to your professional brand. Let's walk through the exact, click-by-click process to shorten your LinkedIn URL and make it clean, professional, and memorable.

First things first, head over to your own LinkedIn profile page. Got it? Okay, now glance towards the top right-hand corner of your screen. You should spot an option labelled ‘Edit public profile & URL’. Go on and give that a click. This is your command centre for customising how you appear to the outside world.

Once you land on the public profile settings page, your eyes should again drift to the top right. Here, you'll see a section showing your current, and probably quite long, URL. Right next to it is a little pencil icon—that's the edit button you're after. Click that pencil, and you're ready to start crafting your new, improved URL.

This is your moment to create a link that truly represents your professional brand!

Navigating the Customisation Process

Alright, you're in the editing field. This is where the magic happens. The part you can change comes right after .

Keep in mind, LinkedIn has a few rules: your custom URL must be between 3 and 100 characters and can only contain letters or numbers. No spaces, symbols, or special characters are allowed.

My personal tip? Start simple. Try your first and last name. If is already taken, don't sweat it. This happens all the time, and there are plenty of professional-sounding ways around it.

Your custom URL is a core part of your professional brand. While a great URL points to your profile, a polished profile completes the picture. Ensure you’re also optimising other areas, and you can learn exactly how to add work experience to LinkedIn like a career strategist in our detailed guide.

What to Do If Your Name Is Taken

So, your name is a popular one. It’s a frequent challenge, but a little creativity goes a long way. Let's look at a few smart alternatives to secure a great link:

Add Your Middle Initial: A simple is clean, professional, and often available.
Incorporate a Keyword: Are you a marketer? Something like immediately signals your expertise. A developer might use .
Use Your Location: For professionals with a strong regional focus, adding a city can work wonders. Think .

After you’ve typed in your new URL, just hit the Save button. And that’s it! Your profile now has a sleek, shareable link. You've just successfully shortened your LinkedIn URL and seriously elevated your professional presence online. It’s a small change that makes a huge impact.

Right, so you've learned how to change your LinkedIn URL, but the million-dollar question is: what should you actually change it to? This isn't just about tidying things up; it's a genuine branding opportunity. Think of your custom URL as a powerful little tool for carving out a memorable professional identity.

Your URL is like your digital business card. It needs to be clean, professional, and instantly recognisable. Honestly, the best and most straightforward approach is almost always your first and last name. A URL like is the absolute gold standard for clarity and professionalism.

This isn't just a hunch, either. The impact of this small tweak is bigger than you might think, affecting not just the length but also how many people find you.

As you can see, a custom URL isn't just shorter—profiles with one get a serious boost in views. It's a simple change with real results.

What If My Name Is Already Taken?

Okay, so what happens if you have a common name and is already gone? Don't panic! This is where you can get a little creative while still keeping it professional. The key is to avoid random numbers or cringey old nicknames. Seriously, isn't doing you any favours.

Instead, try one of these proven formulas:

Add a middle initial: or . It's a classic for a reason.
Include your profession or speciality: or . This is brilliant because it tells people what you do before they even click.
Tack on your location: . This is perfect if your work is geographically focused or you're a big name in your local scene.

The ultimate goal is a link that feels like a natural part of your professional brand. It should be easy to say out loud, simple to type, and immediately scream "you".

Choosing the right format really comes down to your career goals. If you're a recruiter, for example, adding "recruiter" or "talent" is a fantastic move. If you're in that field, you might want to check out our guide on how to craft a killer LinkedIn job posting to really pull in the best people.

Custom LinkedIn URL Format Comparison

To make it even clearer, here's a quick breakdown of how different URL formats stack up.

Pros	Cons	Best For
The gold standard. Clean, professional, and easy to remember.	Often already taken for common names.	Everyone, if available. It's the ideal choice.
A great, professional-looking alternative if your name is taken.	Can be slightly less memorable than just the name.	Professionals with common names who want to maintain a classic feel.
Instantly communicates your expertise and helps with keyword recognition.	Might feel limiting if you change careers or industries.	Specialists, freelancers, and consultants who want to brand around their skill.
Excellent for local networking and building a regional reputation.	Less effective if you work remotely or are targeting a global audience.	Real estate agents, local business owners, and community-focused professionals.

Ultimately, picking the right one helps frame how people see you professionally from their very first interaction.

The Big Mistakes to Sidestep

A poorly chosen URL can unfortunately do more harm than good. It can make you look unprofessional or just plain confusing.

Be sure to steer clear of these common blunders:

Using old-school nicknames or inside jokes ().
Adding your birth year or other random numbers ().
Making it way too long with a bunch of hyphens ().

By being strategic and choosing a clean, memorable URL, you're doing more than just making your profile easier to share. You're building a stronger, more polished digital footprint one character at a time.

Using Third-Party Shorteners for Advanced Tracking

While customising your URL directly on LinkedIn is a fantastic first step, it’s really just the beginning for serious networkers and marketers. Let's be honest, knowing you've tidied up your link is great, but what if you could know exactly who's clicking it, from where, and when?

This is where third-party URL shorteners become your secret weapon! Tools like Bitly or Rebrandly do so much more than just shrink a link. They wrap your LinkedIn profile URL in a powerful, trackable package, giving you rich analytics to actually measure your impact. It’s the difference between shouting into the void and having a real, measurable conversation with your audience.

This data is absolute gold. Are people from a specific company checking you out after a big meeting? Is that post you shared getting traction in a completely new country? These are the insights that let you stop guessing and start building a real strategy.

Why Branded Short Links Are a Game-Changer

Using a generic short link is fine, but a branded short link is a massive leap forward. Instead of a random jumble of letters and numbers like , you can create something clean that screams you. Imagine sharing or . It looks professional and inspires confidence.

Believe it or not, research shows that branded links can boost click-through rates by up to 39% compared to their generic counterparts. It’s simple, really: people are far more likely to click on a link they recognise and trust.

Every time you share it, you're reinforcing your brand identity. It's a small touch that has a big impact, signalling that you're polished, professional, and serious about your online presence.

For instance, in a market like Latvia, professionals who shorten a LinkedIn URL aren't just doing it for looks. They're tapping into serious advantages for tracking engagement. Dedicated platforms offer detailed dashboards where you can see click data, including the browsers, operating systems, and even the geographic origin of your profile visitors. You can discover more insights about advanced URL analytics on facelift-bbt.com to see how powerful this can be.

Unlocking Deeper Engagement Analytics

The true magic of these tools is the granular analytics they unlock. This is what turns your networking from a shot in the dark into a data-driven strategy.

Here’s a taste of what you can typically track:

Total Clicks: The most straightforward metric, but essential for knowing how much attention your link is grabbing.
Geographic Data: Find out where in the world your clicks are coming from. This can help you spot emerging markets or hotspots of interest you never knew you had.
Referral Sources: See which channels are actually working! Is it your email signature, your Twitter bio, or that QR code on your business card that's driving the most traffic? Now you'll know.
Time-of-Day Clicks: Learn when your audience is most active. This is perfect for timing your posts and outreach for maximum visibility and engagement.

By digging into this information, you can finally stop guessing what works and start making decisions based on cold, hard facts. It’s an incredible way to measure the real-world impact of all your networking efforts, both online and off.

Alright, you've put in the work and crafted a brilliant, custom LinkedIn URL. High five! But here's the thing—a sharp-looking link doesn't do much good sitting on the shelf. It’s time to get it out there and let it work its magic for you.

Let's make sure your new, professional web address gets the spotlight it truly deserves.

Think of this as your go-to checklist for broadcasting your personal brand. I recommend running through this list and swapping out that old, clunky URL everywhere you can. The whole point is to build a consistent, professional identity that makes you instantly recognisable and easy to find, wherever people might come across you.

Weaving It into Your Digital World

Consistency is everything online. When a recruiter, a potential client, or a new connection looks you up, you want them to see the same polished and professional link every single time. It builds trust and shows you’ve got your act together.

Here are the absolute must-haves to update first:

Your CV or Resume: This one's a no-brainer. It's probably the very first place a hiring manager will see your link, so make that first impression count. Swap it out right now!
Your Email Signature: This is such a simple but powerful move. Every single email you send becomes a quiet promotion for your professional profile.
Other Social Media Bios: Got a profile on X (what used to be Twitter), Instagram, or maybe some industry-specific forums? Get your new link in those bios.
Personal Website or Portfolio: Make sure the link on your 'About' or 'Contact' page is pointing to your shiny new LinkedIn profile.

By updating these key spots, you're doing more than just sharing a link. You're actively curating your personal brand and sending a clear signal that you care about the details and take your professional image seriously.

Don't Forget the Real World

Your new URL isn't just for the digital realm! Because it’s short and sweet, it’s perfect for your physical materials, too. It’s actually memorable and easy for someone to type into their browser.

Here's where to put it next:

Business Cards: A clean, custom URL just looks so much more professional than a random string of numbers. It’s a small touch that makes a big difference when you’re networking.
Presentation Slides: I always add my link to the final "Thank You" or "Contact" slide in any presentation or webinar I give. It’s the perfect way to close things out.

Taking this comprehensive approach ensures that every single touchpoint—online or off—strengthens your professional brand. All that effort you put in to shorten your LinkedIn URL will really start to pay dividends.

And for any recruiters out there reading this, if you're looking to bring top talent to your company, check out our guide on real strategies that work for posting a job on LinkedIn.

Got a few questions still floating around? Don't worry, that's completely normal. When you're polishing up your professional brand, it's smart to iron out all the little details. Let's tackle some of the most frequent questions people ask when they're about to shorten their LinkedIn URL.

What if the URL I Want Is Already Taken?

This is a classic problem, especially if you have a common name. If your ideal is gone, it's time to get a little creative while staying professional.

My go-to recommendations are:

Add a middle initial:
Include a professional title or keyword:
Tack on your industry:

Whatever you do, steer clear of random numbers () or old university nicknames. Keep it clean and professional.

Can I Change My Custom URL Again Later?

You sure can! LinkedIn gives you some flexibility here, allowing you to change your public profile URL up to 5 times within a 180-day period.

But, here’s a word of caution from experience: the moment you change your URL, the old one dies. It won't redirect. That means you absolutely have to update it everywhere—on your CV, in your email signature, on your personal website, and anywhere else you've shared it. Otherwise, you're just sending valuable connections to a broken link.

A memorable URL is your digital handshake. It’s especially vital on a platform where user numbers can fluctuate. A clean, consistent link ensures you're always easy for people to find, no matter how the network evolves.

This consistency is even more crucial when you think about regional user base changes. For instance, LinkedIn's user base in Latvia saw some interesting shifts between 2022 and more recent counts. Learning more about LinkedIn user demographics in Latvia really highlights why a stable, professional online identity is so important.

Will Customising My URL Hurt My SEO?

Quite the opposite—it'll give it a fantastic boost! A custom URL featuring your name and maybe a key professional term is a gift to search engines like Google.

It helps solidify your digital identity, telling the search algorithm exactly who you are. This makes it much easier for the right people—think recruiters, potential clients, and new connections—to find your profile when they search for your name.

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