LinkedIn Articles: A neglected SEO strategy

LinkedIn Articles — and for that matter, its twin sister, LinkedIn Newsletters — are often treated like the forgotten stepchild of the platform. Too many creators on LinkedIn are addicted to the dopamine rush of constantly posting for likes when LinkedIn Articles offer much more long-term and solid results through SEO.

By dopamine rush, I mean:

• The sexy carousel posts with colorful graphics and designs
• The narrative posts with the capturing hook in the beginning, a thorough description of pain points in the middle, and the solution offered at the end.
• The contrived controversial posts just to drive engagement
• The colorful and fancy Canva designs that look like professional art projects

Don't get me wrong. These all provide value and contribute to making LinkedIn the engaging creative space that it has become and continues to grow into. But the LinkedIn algorithm, after all, is a social media algorithm.

The pitfalls of the LinkedIn algorithm

And I think we all know what that means. It's fickle. It's unpredictable. And, despite what all the social media-hacking ninjas and gurus proclaim, nobody knows or is really sure how the heck it works!

I mean does anyone even know what happened with that recent algorithm update where everybody experienced a severe decline in their reach and engagement some weeks ago?

More than that I genuinely believe it messes with your mental and emotional health. Despite its elevated professional image, LinkedIn still remains a social media platform. This means the obsession with vanity metrics might end up making you lose your way.

You might end up being frustrated with linked for so many reasons:

1. The algorithm can be hard to keep up with
2. You might be distracted/discouraged by the drama. For example, people whining about you posting selfies.
3. It seems too competitive too often
4. You wonder about who you're actually posting for: other creatives or actual clients?
5. High engagement and likes don't lead to sales.

LinkedIn before and above anything else is a B2B platform. You're here, at the end of the day, to make the money. The cheddar. The dough. The dineros. You get my point.

But the dopamine rush of likes, impressions, comments, and shares too often throws too many of us off course or off the money trail. In short, too many creators are seeking to make people like them as a goal in and of itself.

LinkedIn Articles: Getting off the carousel and onto the Ferris wheel

I like to compare the difference between LinkedIn Articles and LinkedIn posts to a carousel versus a Ferris wheel. The carousel is the more colorful and quicker ride with a much narrower circuit.

It goes so fast around such a narrow circuit. You might end up dizzy and sick. The short thrill may not even be exciting enough to feel that it was really worth it.

The Ferris wheel on the other hand is way bigger and slower and provides you with a much broader horizon or perspective. So which one of the two would you prefer?

The short and quick carousel ride that leaves you dizzy and sick after a short thrill? Or the longer carousel ride where you get a chance to slow down and enjoy a beautiful and vast view that will remain with you for years to come?

We all know the answer to that question. And can anyone guess which is the carousel and which is the Ferris wheel? Of course, the Ferris wheel would be LinkedIn Articles.

What makes LinkedIn Articles so great for SEO?

LinkedIn has what is called high Domain Authority (or DA). This means that it has several million backlinks. Backlinks refer to links to your website that are featured on other websites.

Backlinks are the currency of the Internet. The more backlinks a website has, the more prestige and authority it has in the eyes of the Google Search Engine.

More importantly, the higher the DA, the more likely a blog or article on this site is to rank on the Google Search Engine. Can you guess what LinkedIn's DA is? Well, LinkedIn ranks in the top 5 of websites with the highest DA. Its DA is 98/100!

The other contenders are:

• Wikipedia
• Facebook
• X (formerly known as Twitter)
• and YouTube.

With FB, X, and LinkedIn, simply posting on these accounts and having a profile with your actual name means that you benefit from SEO.

This means someone Googling just your name might lead you to one of your social media profiles on these platforms. Also, if you write well enough about a topic on these platforms, you may also end up ranking.

Many people have even ended up accidentally ranking in this way as a matter of fact.

Only LinkedIn Articles allow SEO-optimized blogging

However, it is only with LinkedIn that you can actually optimize your blog for SEO. LinkedIn Articles and Newsletters come with all the bells and whistles you associated with a blog on a your own private website:

• It allows you to write a long-form blog with a title, headings, and subheadings
• It allows you to include a meta description: that is, a preview of your article that can be read on the Google SERPs (or Search Engine Results Pages) without clicking.
• It allows you to rank for competitive topics without your own website

Of course, this does not mean that LinkedIn is an alternative to your own website. Every professional should have their own website. After all, we don't really own LinkedIn and have no control over the backend that a private website would allow.

However, websites can be really tricky. Ninety percent of websites on the Internet do not rank or bring any traffic. There are so many millions of websites, the only way to become relevant is by having a big enough blog that is SEO-optimized.

This means:

1. You should have a blog with at least thirty articles
2. The blogs should be based on answering questions that your potential customers have
3. You have to strike a balance between what customers are looking for and what you offer as a product or service in your blog
4. You should use topics that are easy to rank for (i.e., you don't need backlinks)

Search engine optimization always begins with what customers want or customer intent. A blog article begins at the finishing line of customer intent and travels backward from there.

What does that mean? It means months of research, hard work, and writing. Having your own website is ideal. But it takes time and a well-thought-out strategy.

When and why to use LinkedIn Articles for SEO

So when does it make sense to use LinkedIn Articles for SEO? It depends on a number of factors. It mostly it is a good option for those without websites or those who are trying to go for thought leadership positions.

Let's quickly go over circumstances where it makes sense to use LinkedIn Articles for SEO.

1. You don't have your own website
2. Your website is relatively new and articles there will take too long to rank
3. You want to make an impact quickly

Let's say you re a personal coach with a book to promote. How do you promote your book through a LinkedIn Article:

1. You would do the keyword research around personal coaching to see what people are interested in
2. Then come up with a LinkedIn Article that ties what people are interested in your book

If you relied on your intuition instead of SEO, then you would post an article with the name of the book. And absolutely no one would read your article. Because no one is searching for the name of a book that they do not know exists.

So this is the essence of SEO. Always work backward from where the customer/user starts to lead them to where you want. What is the user looking for on Google? How does what you offer help them with that?

How I use LinkedIn Articles for SEO

I use LinkedIn Articles for SEO to rank against my competitors in the niche of academic editing. It is a crowded industry. There are over 22 online editing companies providing the same services I do.

But LinkedIn Articles help even out the playing field. For example, the most popular topic or keyword associated with academic editing is "best proofreading services." We find these things out by using keyword research tools like Ahrefs and SemRush.

This means this is what students and academics are searching for when they're trying to find proofreading and editing services to sign up for.

I've written about three of these articles. And they are now ranking above some of the biggest names in the industry on the first page of Google. In a few months after all the dust has settled, they may end up being in the top 3 - 5 Google search results.

You can check them out here: The top 13 proofreading services in 2024; Choosing the best proofreading services in 2024. These two articles for the past three weeks have been ranking between Spots 4 and 12.

This, while my rivals pay several thousand dollars in sponsored ads to feature spots above or below them. Imagine the amount of money you save from just being able to write an article that can rank.

Are you ready to hop on the Ferris Wheel?

So, what about you? Do you have a LinkedIn video, post, or idea that you think can be converted into an article that can rank? Maybe you have a book to sell or services to promote?

I'm a developmental editor. I edit and repurpose content to produce LinkedIn Articles or Blogs for your website that rank. Let's talk to see how I can help. Click on the pic above for a free discovery call.