Mediocre entrepreneurs network like crazy. The smarter ones don’t have to because they’ve established a stellar LinkedIn profile.

Have you ever wondered what these entrepreneurs do on LinkedIn to effortlessly acquire high-quality leads?

Instead of seeking clients and customers on their own, these entrepreneurs have successfully leveraged the power of LinkedIn to their advantage. People simply come to them. Their tactics are not to be dismissed, given that LinkedIn is currently the most effective channel for B2B (business-to-business) lead generation.

What LinkedIn sorcery are these entrepreneurs involved with?

Do you have to worry about adding certain keywords on your profile?

Let’s dig in below!

Improving Your Ranking in LinkedIn’s Search Page

Imagine this scenario. Someone, right this minute, is looking for entrepreneurs and companies like yours.

For you to appear in the first page of LinkedIn’s search results, put yourself in the search algorithm’s shoes.

LinkedIn’s search results are sorted by relevance. According to LinkedIn’s Resources page, improving your ranking in their search results is influenced by the following steps: completing your profile, adding relevant skills, increasing connections, and using standard job titles.

With these LinkedIn-recommended steps as a guide, it’s quite clear that boosting ranking on the search results page can be accomplished in two ways:

• completing each section of your profile with emphasis on skills
• connecting with people within the industry you’re targeting

Whether it’s that much-needed introduction to a potential investor or getting more customers, below is a 10-step guide to get 414 million people in Linkedin to noticed you (and possibly reach out!) by ranking higher in the search results.

Completing Your LinkedIn Profile

1. Nail your headline that’s displayed just right under your name.

Instead of writing “owner of X company”, use those 120 characters wisely. Say you’ve been helping small businesses with their social media woes through your app, why not write “entrepreneur helping small businesses get savvy with social media”? Don’t get too fancy with it. Use standard job titles and keywords.

2. Highlight your previous and current professional accomplishments in the Summary section.

Write in the first person and don’t be like the rest who write in the third person, only to come off like a spam bot. Writing in the first person conveys a more human connection which in turn helps you gain trust and credibility.

3. Personalize your LinkedIn URL.

When a recruiter looks for you online, personalizing your LinkedIn URL with your name ensures that your profile lands on the first page of search results.

4. Describe your existing job roles and responsibilities in detail.

Do not just write about your tasks but talk about how you were able to help the organization or company through your skills. For instance, if you’re a website designer, don’t just write “I designed websites using insert-name-of-software here”.

5. Show off your company’s work samples or business portfolio.

Got a case study or white paper? LinkedIn allows you to post presentations, videos, images, documents, and links to your Summary, Experience, and Education sections.

Using LinkedIn to Connect With the Right People

6. Make status updates or share content that is relevant to the network you’re targeting.

What you just ate for dinner doesn’t count. If you’re an entrepreneur targeting crowdfunding investors, share content on what’s the hottest on crowdfunding.

Take it from Bikini Luxe’s Candice Galek who leveraged LinkedIn recently to engage (and enrage!) her network. A 20 percent increase in her swimwear line’s sales in just two weeks is an added bonus!

7. Follow companies and connect with individuals that you’d like to do business with.

By doing so, you’ll get regular updates in your newsfeed from these folks. Who knows if they’re going to need your services and expertise in the future?

The takeaway here is to build your your ideal network on LinkedIn alongside your existing professional contacts. Unlike Facebook, don’t just limit your contacts to people you already know. If you’d like to go the extra mile, send in a short note with your invitation to connect. This increases your chance of getting noticed.

8. Don’t just join LinkedIn groups and spam them with links to your website. Participate by providing them with your expert insights.

When you share what you know about a certain topic by consistently participating in conversations, you’ll become the to-go person for that niche. This gives you the opportunity to grow your network and leads.

9. Publish ridiculously useful content!

When LinkedIn announced that users are now free to publish on the network through Pulse in 2014, several folks jumped in and noticed that it’s a great marketing tool.

Two years later, publishing content on LinkedIn remains one of the most effective ways to drive traffic to your site, build your email list, and make connections within your industry. To help you get started, HubSpot’s Carly Stec has you covered with this guide to LinkedIn Pulse.

10. Don’t play Mr. or Miss Mysterious.

Choose the Your name and headline (Recommended) option if you view other people’s profiles. By doing so, you’d be able to see who is exactly looking at your profile. What if it’s one of the recruiters from your dream company? It’s a good conversation starter if you’re going to send in a short note.

If you’re looking for expert help on how you can give your LinkedIn account a professional makeover, sign up for FG’s free newsletter for more insights on online networking for entrepreneurs today!