Your LinkedIn URL is often one of the first signals of your professional identity before someone clicks your profile. If it’s still a string of random numbers and characters, it can feel unfinished, even if the rest of your profile is strong.
Customizing your LinkedIn URL makes your profile easier to find, share, and trust. But there’s one detail most guides miss: when you change your URL, your old one isn’t guaranteed to redirect to your new link. That means every place you’ve shared it may need to be updated.
This guide covers how to create a custom LinkedIn URL on desktop and mobile, what rules LinkedIn enforces, and how to avoid broken links. We’ll also show you how to turn your LinkedIn profile into a trackable, branded URL using Bitly so you can measure where your profile traffic comes from.
Note: The brands and examples discussed below were found during our online research for this article.
Key takeaways
- Changing your LinkedIn URL from a random string of characters to your name takes under two minutes and makes your profile easier to recognize, share, and take seriously.
- LinkedIn allows up to five URL changes within 180 days, but your old URL doesn’t automatically redirect. Every place you’ve shared it needs to be updated manually.
- If your preferred URL is taken, a simple naming framework (first-last, first-middle-last, initials, or a professional qualifier) helps you land on a strong alternative without overthinking it.
- A branded short link on a custom domain gives you a stable, on-brand way to share your LinkedIn account across channels, even if your LinkedIn URL changes again.
- Creating a distinct Bitly Link for each placement, like your email signature, resume, website bio, or social profile, turns passive sharing into measurable insight about which channels drive profile traffic.
What is a custom LinkedIn URL and why does it matter?
A custom LinkedIn URL is a personalized version of your LinkedIn public profile link. Instead of a default string of characters like:
www.linkedin.com/in/jane-smith-934b7x
You can create a clean, name-based link like:
www.linkedin.com/in/janesmith
If you’re using a default LinkedIn profile link, you’re missing an opportunity to strengthen your personal brand. A name-based URL is easier to recognize, easier to share, and more likely to be trusted at a glance.
Switching to a custom URL is also a simple way to get more views on LinkedIn as you pursue your career goals. When someone searches your name on Google, a clean, readable URL is more likely to stand out. With more than 1 billion members on LinkedIn, small details like this can help you stay visible.
A custom URL also makes your profile easier to use across channels. It fits cleanly in your email signature, on resumes, and on business cards, so people can find you quickly without second-guessing the link.
How to create a custom LinkedIn URL on desktop
Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating a custom LinkedIn URL on your desktop. The process takes about two minutes.
- Click on your profile picture in the top-right corner and choose “View profile.”
- Select “Edit public profile & URL” on the right side of the page.
- Under “Edit your custom URL,” click the pencil icon next to your current public profile URL.
- Enter your preferred custom URL. LinkedIn recommends using the same first and last name you use on resumes and other professional documents.
- Click “Save.”
After saving, copy your new public profile URL so you can update it in your email signature, resume, and other materials right away.
Because LinkedIn URLs are first-come, first-served, you may not get your first choice. Once you claim a custom URL, it stays reserved for up to 180 days if you lose or terminate your account.
How to update your LinkedIn URL on mobile
You can also update your LinkedIn public profile URL from your mobile device. Here’s how to make this change in the mobile app.
- Tap on your photo in the top right corner to open your profile.
- Tap the pencil icon to edit your profile.
- Scroll to “Contact info” and tap the edit icon.
- Enter your custom LinkedIn profile URL and tap “Save.”
After saving, verify that the new URL is live by opening your profile in a web browser. Note that mobile updates may take a few minutes to appear.
LinkedIn custom URL rules: What works, what doesn’t
When creating your personalized URL, you’ll need to follow LinkedIn’s formatting rules. Under LinkedIn’s current requirements, only lowercase letters and numbers are allowed. Spaces, symbols, or other special characters aren’t supported.
The URL must also fall within LinkedIn’s character range, which is currently 3 to 100 characters. Because this can change, check the LinkedIn Help Center for the most up-to-date guidelines.
Short, name-based URLs work best. They’re more likely to meet LinkedIn’s requirements, easier for professional contacts to remember and type, and they also fit neatly on printed materials like business cards.
If LinkedIn rejects your custom URL, check for spaces, hyphens, periods, or other special characters. If the format is correct but the URL still isn’t accepted, it’s likely already taken, and you’ll need to choose an alternative.
What to do when your preferred URL is already taken
LinkedIn URLs are claimed on an availability basis. If you have a common name, there’s a good chance your preferred URL is already in use. The good news is that there are several clean, professional ways to create a strong variation.
Start with your first and last name, such as “/johnsmith.” If that’s taken, try adding your middle name or middle initial, like “/johnmsmith” or “johnmichaelsmith.”
If those options aren’t available, use a shorter variation with your first or last initial, such as ”/jsmith” or “/johns.” You can also add a relevant detail like your location or job title, for example, “johnsmithnyc” or “johnsmithdesigner.”
As you choose a custom public profile URL, prioritize readability. Someone should be able to recognize it as yours and type it from memory. It should also stay consistent with how your name appears on other platforms and your website.
Avoid adding random numbers to the end of your URL. This can make your link look like a default instead of a deliberate, professional choice.
Before you share: A quick pre-publish checklist
Before you start sharing your updated URL during your job search or outreach, take a few minutes to update the places where your LinkedIn profile already appears. Use this checklist to make sure everything is aligned.
- Confirm the new URL is live. Open your profile in a web browser (not the LinkedIn app) and check the address bar to make sure it displays the updated URL.
- Add your new URL to your resume so it’s ready for job applications.
- Update your email signature.
- Add your link to your website’s contact or “About” page.
- Update any printed materials that include your LinkedIn URL, such as business cards or conference one-pagers.
It’s important to note that your old URL won’t automatically redirect to your new one. If you’ve shared your old URL in emails, social media profiles, or job applications, those links may no longer point to the right place.
One way to solve this is by using a LinkedIn link shortener to create a branded short link for your profile. When your profile URL changes, you can update the destination and keep using the same short link everywhere.
Turn your LinkedIn URL into a branded short link you can control
If you’re looking to expand your professional network and find new opportunities, you can grow your brand with short links for your LinkedIn profile. A branded short link is a compact URL that redirects to your profile while giving you more control over how it’s shared.
Instead of using a full profile URL like linkedin.com/in/janesmith, you can share a short link like jsmith.co/linkedin. This link lives on your own custom domain and is managed in Bitly. If you want to test the workflow first, you can also start with a bit.ly link and upgrade later.
If you change your LinkedIn URL in the future, you won’t need to update every place you’ve shared it. You can keep using the same short link and update the destination in one place.
Bitly research shows that branded short links can increase click-through rates (CTRs) by up to 39% compared to long or generic URLs. It’s a small change that reinforces credibility and makes your links easier to recognize, especially in spaces like cold emails or recruiter messages where every detail matters.
Track LinkedIn profile clicks like a campaign
With Bitly Analytics, you can track how people are finding your LinkedIn profile and which placements drive the most engagement.
To do this, create a distinct short link for each placement. For example, use one link for your email signature, another for your resume, and a third for your website. Then review Bitly Analytics to see which sources are generating the most engagement.
In Bitly Analytics, you can track clicks by link, along with when those clicks happen, which devices visitors are using, and where they’re located at the city and country level (available metrics may vary depending on your Bitly plan). For deeper insight, you can connect your links to LinkedIn Campaign Manager or Google Analytics. To maintain consistent attribution in Google Analytics, add UTM parameters before shortening your links.
Add a LinkedIn QR Code for events, badges, and print
In-person events like conferences and trade shows are valuable networking opportunities. With a QR Code, you can share your LinkedIn profile with new contacts in seconds.
You can place QR Codes on business cards, presentation slides, or even your conference badge. Other attendees can scan the code with their mobile device to go directly to your LinkedIn profile to connect.
Creating a QR Code with Bitly is simple. Paste your LinkedIn URL or branded short link into the QR Code generator, customize the design to match your brand, and download it in your preferred file format. You can also track scan activity in Bitly Analytics.
To ensure your Bitly Code is easy to scan:
- Use high-contrast colors, such as a dark code on a light background
- Include a white space border around the code so scanners can read it clearly
- Add a short URL beneath the code as a fallback
- Test the QR Code on both iOS and Android devices before using it at an event
A note on privacy: What becomes public when you share your URL
When you create a custom LinkedIn URL, your profile becomes easier to find. This means people can view it even if they’re not connected to you. For job seekers, that visibility can be a benefit, but it’s still important to make sure you’re comfortable with what’s publicly accessible.
Before sharing your URL, review your LinkedIn visibility settings. You can control who sees details like your profile photo, headline, work summary, and work experience. If you’re unsure how to update these settings, visit the LinkedIn Help Center.
Make every LinkedIn connection count with Bitly
A custom LinkedIn URL is a simple upgrade that makes your profile easier to find, share, and present more professionally. But the real impact comes from how you use it. When you treat your LinkedIn link as a living asset, you can control how it appears across channels, avoid broken links, and understand what’s generating profile visits.
Bitly brings that control and measurement together in one place. You can create branded Bitly Links using your own custom domain, generate Bitly Codes for in-person sharing, and track performance in Bitly Analytics. This gives you a consistent, trackable link to your profile across every channel, so you can see what’s driving engagement and update your destination without starting from scratch.
Explore Bitly’s plans to set up branded links, track engagement, and get more from every LinkedIn connection.
FAQs
Can I change my LinkedIn URL more than once?
Yes. LinkedIn allows you to change your custom URL, but there is an important limit: you can make up to five changes within any 180-day period. Each time you change your URL, your previous one is released and may be claimed by another user. It’s not held for you.
This is why using a branded short link as the version you share everywhere is a smart continuity strategy. When your LinkedIn URL changes, you update the short link’s destination in Bitly and keep every shared link working without additional effort.
What happens to my old LinkedIn URL after I change it?
Your old LinkedIn URL doesn’t automatically redirect to your new one. Anyone who saved, bookmarked, or shared your previous URL may reach a dead end or a “profile not found” page. This is a detail many guides miss, and it’s why updating your assets immediately after a URL change matters.
If you’ve shared your LinkedIn URL in job applications, outreach emails, or social bios, those links may now be broken. Using a Bitly Link as your shared URL means you only need to update one destination instead of tracking down every instance of the old link.
Does having a custom LinkedIn URL help with SEO?
A clean, name-based LinkedIn URL is more readable and indexable than a default string of characters, which can improve how your profile appears in name-based search results on Google and other search engines. When someone searches your full name, a URL like linkedin.com/in/janesmith is more likely to be recognized as relevant than linkedin.com/in/jane-smith-934b7x.
That said, the SEO benefit is modest. It supports name-based discoverability, not broad keyword ranking. The bigger gains come from a complete, keyword-rich profile, consistent activity, and a professional URL that signals credibility to both search engines and people.
How do I share my LinkedIn profile without showing the full URL?
A branded short link on a custom domain replaces your full LinkedIn URL with a clean, recognizable link like yourname.co/linkedin. This is especially useful in outreach emails, InMail messages, and printed materials where a long URL can look cluttered or raise trust concerns.
Research shows that branded short links can improve click-through rates by up to 39% compared to long or generic URLs. You can set up a custom domain in Bitly, create a short link for your LinkedIn profile, and use that single link everywhere with full click analytics attached.
Can I create a QR Code for my LinkedIn profile that I can track?
Yes. A Dynamic QR Code created through Bitly links directly to your LinkedIn profile and includes scan analytics, so you can see how many people scanned it, which devices they used, and where scans occurred (city and country level). This makes it possible to measure offline engagement from events, conference badges, business cards, and print materials.
Because Bitly Codes are dynamic, you can also update the destination URL without reprinting the code. If your LinkedIn URL changes, your QR Code continues to work. For anyone attending in-person events regularly, a trackable LinkedIn QR Code turns every handshake into a measurable interaction.
