LinkedIn - Extreme Makeover Edition

So I read Guy's post about remaking your LinkedIn profile for better search results.

It's funny, because I never think about LinkedIn and search engine results at the same time because, well it never occured to me.

Why would anyone search the Internet specifically for me and find LinkedIn?

Now if you use LinkedIn and search for keywords in my profile and find me, then that makes perfect sense.

So back to Guy's post. Someone at Linked In helped Guy redo his LinkedIn profile to make it more exciting and search worthy. Here are the things suggested and how I fare based upon those suggestions.

1) Suggestion One - "Add your voice. Generally, your profile is boring".
What the heck does "your voice" mean? The suggestion box is over Guy's name. Do they mean "create a better identity of yourself through your entire profile?" That "voice" business everyone talks about these days.. sheesh.

2) Suggestion Two - Write recommendations, ask questions.
Regarding recommendations, guilty. I have not written enough and need to write more.
Regarding questions, I cannot from my account. I have written to customer care.

3) Suggestion Three - (connections) Connect with old colleagues.
Done that. Have a bunch of contacts. Next.

4) Suggestion Four - Get a vanity URL.
Done that. Has my name.

5) Suggestion Five - Add substance.. this is your elevator pitch.
Mine is five paragraphs. Hope its a tall building.

6) Suggestion Six - Add specialties.. (people search on this).
Done. Have about 20-30. As many as I could squeeze in.

7) Suggestion Seven - (experience) Explain what Garage does and what you do there.
Done.

8) Suggestion Eight - (previous employer) Explain what you did there.
Done.

9) Suggestion Nine - Add board and advisory positions.
Good idea.

10) Suggestion Ten - (education) Add more context
Did that. Added some more about what I did at university.

11) Suggestion Eleven - Get more recommendations.
Ask others to write them for you. I need to do this too.

12) Suggestion Twelve - Additional Information (add websites, etc.)
I have my three and other stuff added.

13) Suggestion Thirteen - Customize why you want to be reached.
Did that already.

Okay, most of what the LinkedIn experts suggested, I had done already before reading this article. So I checked my search results.

Google - 8 pages of results so far and no mention of me on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn - I show up, but about 10 spots down.

Disappointing - I am officially nobody. :) Not really, but I go back to where I started; I don't think about an application (LinkedIn, Squidoo, Plaxo, etc.) increasing my Google (or other) search engine visibility. I know, I know, it sounds ... out of touch, non-technical, whatever.

But this makes sense when I compare it to any Web 2.0/social networking platform. Lots of work does not equate into a higher profile. That takes interaction with people.