Almost every search engine uses keywords to find the best results for you. LinkedIn is no exception.

But many recruiters using the LinkedIn platform are not sure how to use keywords and what the impact can be to your search results of the slightest change to a keyword.

This example demonstrates how a minor difference in your keyword can have major impact on your search results:

Results for back-end engineer (with dash):

Results for backend engineer (without dash):

Just one little dash can multiply your search results with X25.

And this example is no exception.

Different ways of writing a keyword impact your daily searches on LinkedIn:

• Using a dash or not (back end or back-end)
• Using an abbreviation or a spelled out word (JS or JavaScript)
• Using a word with many synonyms (Engineer can also be developer, coder or programmer)

These are just a few examples of how your keywords of choice can impact your search results.

LinkedIn is not a star at recognizing these different ways of writing so if you choose to use LinkedIn, read through this blog to find out how to use keywords in the right way. 

You can also choose to use a talent search engine like HeroHunt.ai that does take into account all the different ways of writing and possible synonyms of keywords.

Here’s an example:

If you do choose to work with LinkedIn, below are some things to take into account from a keywords perspective.

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