I’m often asked, “If I need nouns, how do I know what nouns to use?” Related: 3 Quick Tips For Keyword Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile Your personal brand is crucial, but how do you know what keywords to use? Here is a simple list of great keyword sources for your personal brand.
1. Your Brain
I’m not being cheeky by saying that. I think we often overlook our own common sense because the online tools are so convenient. Sit down with a blank paper and come up with as many industry specific nouns as you can. Don’t judge what happens, now is the time to get as big a list as possible. Later, we’ll hone it down.2. Job Descriptions
I always tell people job boards are good for at least one thing… finding job descriptions to mine for keywords. Companies will often (not always) include the keywords they look for when screening resumes in the descriptions. Find 5-10 related job descriptions (doesn’t matter what location) and pick out the nouns that seem to be recurring. Add them to your list.3. Occupational Outlook Handbook
The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a book every year called the, “Occupational Outlook Handbook,” which you can download for FREE. It lists out job descriptions for each category of job. Find your job description and mine for nouns to add to your list.4. Your Top 10
Now that you have a long list of words, and you have a sense of how popular those words are it’s time to cross off the ones that wont work and keep the ones that will. I like to have a top 10 list. Ten is an easy number to manage and to keep in mind while writing your profiles. Good luck and please let me know how your keyword research is going in the comments below! This post was originally published at an earlier date.Photo Credit: ShutterstockRead moreShow less
