If you want a compelling reason about why you should start using LinkedIn today – here it is.

LinkedIn has high domain authority so you WILL be found in all online searches of your name (your profile is either the number one or number two Google result when people search for you online) whether you use LinkedIn once a day or once a year.

Think about that for a minute.

But first, let’s back up for a minute and let me explain a bit more about domain authority.

Domain authority is a ranking score that tells how likely a website is to rank in search result pages.

The higher the score, the greater the likelihood that a site will rank on Google.

LinkedIn has a lot of domain authority. It is among the top five Google-indexed sites along with Wikipedia, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Its domain authority score is 98/100.

If you are recommended by someone for a piece of work, a speaking opportunity, or a job, they will immediately go on Google and look you up.

Sometimes they will go right to your biography (if you have one) on your company’s website. But other times they skip that and go directly to LinkedIn instead.

Here’s why – LinkedIn tells a much more robust story about your professional background than your website bio.

And potential clients and employees want to learn all they can about you.

They also want to know who you know who they know and what you have in common. It makes them feel more comfortable about doing business with you.

Don’t be limited by a one-dimensional view of what LinkedIn used to be – a place where people went to find jobs.

Today LinkedIn is the most trusted social media platform for business professionals. It’s where people go to network, build relationships, learn and vet referrals.

I see people make the same LinkedIn mistakes all the time – like having multiple profiles, outdated contact information, not optimizing the headline, boastful/formal language in there about section, missing past jobs, no cover image or cover story, no recommendations, less than 500 connections – I could go on and on.

One important thing is to make sure that your public profile does not have high privacy settings on or Google may not be able to index it.

Confirm that your profile allows each section to be discovered by Google.

This is an easy change to make on your profile – just go to “Edit Public Profile Settings” and then toggle the button to the right to ensure it’s green for most of the sections.

This helps immensely with your discoverability and searchability on major search engines. There’s no reason to hide sections of your profile anymore.

If you want Google to find more about your LinkedIn presence, here’s another tip.

Right now, Google doesn’t index your individual posts but will index your articles. This is why publishing keyword-rich articles on LinkedIn’s Publisher platform is a valuable way to move toward a stronger Google ranking.

When you write these LinkedIn articles, insert keywords in the title, body, subheadings as well as images. In addition, include backlinks, which will help with SEO rankings.

If you are looking for content ideas for LinkedIn Publisher articles, consider repurposing content from your website or blog, and always include a call to action at the end of your articles.

You do need to manage your LinkedIn presence more effectively– it’s a major part of your professional brand today. Your clients go right to Google to learn about you.

It costs nothing to optimize your profile, build your network and start posting on LinkedIn – this is a big part of managing your personal brand in today’s digital world.

Did you realize LinkedIn was at the top of the Google searches of your name?

Will you spend more time on your LinkedIn profile as a result?