Ideas, Strings & Use Circumstances

For those who’ve ever felt overwhelmed by LinkedIn’s search outcomes or annoyed that your perfect consumer or connection appears buried underneath irrelevant profiles, you’re not alone. As a Fractional CMO, LinkedIn is a key channel I exploit to determine companions, have interaction decision-makers, and nurture alternatives.

And whereas I don’t speak about it in my ebook Maximizing LinkedIn for Enterprise Progress as a result of I contemplate it extra of a sophisticated technique, Boolean search is among the most underrated instruments out there for slicing by the noise.

Throughout my time as a Fractional CMO and frequent consumer of LinkedIn since I joined in 2004, I’ve generated a stable technique using Boolean search. Beneath, I’ll stroll you thru not simply find out how to use Boolean search on LinkedIn, however find out how to apply it strategically—whether or not you’re producing leads, qualifying prospects, or constructing a stronger skilled community.

To begin, let’s take a better take a look at what precisely Boolean search is, and the way it may be leveraged on LinkedIn.

What Is LinkedIn Boolean Search?

A Boolean search is any sort of search that makes use of search phrases akin to “and,” “or,” and “not” to additional refine searches and cater to go looking engine specificity. Boolean search comes from George Boole, a mathematician from the nineteenth century. Boole developed a system of logic, and Boolean search makes use of that logic to slim or broaden your search.

Boolean operators are utilized by LinkedIn. LinkedIn incorporates Boolean logic into its search bar and fields, permitting customers to focus on their seek for extra exact outcomes. These outcomes can then be used to tailor your individual constant type of Boolean search.

LinkedIn gives the Boolean operators recognized above, in addition to citation marks and query marks. Through the use of every of the Boolean operators, in addition to “” (citation marks), () (parentheses), and query marks, you may refine your search considerably, and create extra advanced searches to seek out the folks with whom and corporations with which you might be most keen on networking.

Whereas LinkedIn does allow you to use key phrases with operators linked to Boole, it’s not the default setting present in LinkedIn searches. As a substitute, LinkedIn defaults to connections. No matter your exact search phrases when not utilizing a robust device like Boolean search, LinkedIn will prioritize mutual connections.

Why Boolean Search Issues Extra Than Ever

The surface-level LinkedIn search course of is problematic for some, as a result of it can all the time prioritize current networks. Parenthetical searches, as one instance, will help bypass the deal with networking, and focus extra on a whole profile in search logic.

The advantages of Boolean searches embrace:

• Larger precision. By fine-tuning your search, you discover extra exact outcomes.
• Time financial savings. Boolean search limits the period of time you spend combing by irrelevant outcomes.
• Extra related connections. LinkedIn prioritizes current connections, so Boolean search will help bypass current connections for extra related ones.
• Helps personalize outreach with cleaner lead lists. Tailoring your search will help you develop higher lead lists resulting in stronger conversion charges.

As a Fractional CMO, I put on many alternative hats. Amongst them is LinkedIn Recruiter; I’ve used Boolean search to restrict my search queries to folks working in a particular discipline, who bear a particular job title. This permits me to make use of LinkedIn as a powerful networking device, moderately than a easy business-oriented social media website.

Additional Studying: 15 Greatest LinkedIn Automation Instruments for Lead Gen and Extra

The Core LinkedIn Boolean Search Operators (With Examples)

We’ve gone over the fundamentals of Boolean search operators, and find out how to use them in search fields, however let’s take a a lot nearer take a look at how one can successfully use Boolean search as a advertising and marketing supervisor or somebody trying to make use of LinkedIn as a extremely efficient advertising and marketing device.

AND – Mix Phrases for Specificity

“And” is a Boolean time period you should use to mix firm names and job titles, as an illustration, or job titles and core tasks. AND is used to mix phrases for shut specificity. A Boolean question utilizing AND will be sure that all search outcomes embrace each phrases.

Instance: "content material strategist" AND SaaS

OR – Broaden to Associated Phrases

Whereas “and” limits search, “Or” expands it. Utilizing the Boolean question OR, you may enhance the quantity of outcomes you obtain. Somebody seeking to embrace logical operators to seek out a big pool of potential connections could, as an illustration, search “advertising and marketing managers OR media strategists.”

Instance: "VP of Advertising and marketing" OR "Head of Advertising and marketing" OR CMO

NOT – Exclude Irrelevant Outcomes

NOT is invaluable for excluding outcomes you may contemplate irrelevant throughout your search. This can be a useful gizmo for extremely particular key phrase searches which will have many associated search phrases, as could be the case in firm hierarchies and even inside sure niches.

Instance: "software program engineer" NOT intern

Citation Marks – Actual Phrases

Citation marks assist search engines like google determine exact phrases inside a given textual content or on a web page. Somebody in search of a extremely particular job title could use a phrase in citation marks to weed out comparable however not similar titles.

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Instance: "buyer success supervisor"

Parentheses – Nest and Prioritize Logic

Parentheses prioritize the order wherein a search is carried out. This superior Boolean question can be utilized to go looking a number of phrases, whereas on the identical time prioritizing a particular search time period or phrase.

• Instance: ("digital advertising and marketing" OR "progress advertising and marketing") AND ("B2B" OR SaaS)

Sensible Use Circumstances for LinkedIn Boolean Search

A LinkedIn Boolean search can be utilized for a lot of completely different functions, from many alternative angles. Whether or not you might be an government officer seeking to comb by job experiences to seek out your subsequent golden goose, or a marketer looking for a precise key phrase, I’ve compiled among the commonest methods to take advantage of a Boolean search.

For Shopper Prospecting

A LinkedIn Boolean search will help clearly determine executives, or discover goal industries and corporations. Through the use of firm names instantly, or utilizing the entire parts on a Boolean question, LinkedIn customers can restrict their search to extremely particular phrases. Shopper prospecting could be troublesome, however utilizing these phrases will help you extra rapidly and precisely pull up related search outcomes.

Instance: "CMO" AND ("fintech" OR "blockchain") AND San Francisco

For Partnership and Networking Outreach

A LinkedIn Boolean search also can assist determine founders, company homeowners, and collaborators. This can be a invaluable solution to seek for entrepreneurs, and even influencers on a job search. A fundamental Boolean search template will help you goal particular folks or manufacturers inside a given area of interest.

Instance: ("co-founder" OR "managing director") AND ("advertising and marketing company" OR "digital consultancy")

Additional Studying: The Prime 11 LinkedIn Instruments to Develop Your Enterprise in 2025

For Recruiting or Staff Constructing

Complicated search strings could be immensely invaluable for efficient recruiting and staff constructing. Utilizing Boolean search filters, you may seek for fractional expertise or specialist contractors to affix your staff. A recruiter search can use all Boolean phrases.

Instance: "freelance" AND "demand technology"

Additional Studying: LinkedIn Lead Era: 20 Methods That Work in 2025

For Aggressive Analysis

Whereas a job search is an actual risk with Boolean search phrases, you can too make the most of a Boolean question to seek out present or former workers of your rivals. These searches will help you additional refine your individual strategies and advertising and marketing efforts.

Instance: "advertising and marketing analyst" AND "HubSpot"

Gross sales Navigator vs. Common LinkedIn Boolean Search

Boolean search is supported on each Gross sales Navigator and thru customary LinkedIn searches. Each comply with the identical fundamental pointers supplied by LinkedIn, perform equally within the LinkedIn search engine.

That being stated, Boolean searches could act otherwise in Gross sales Navigator; as a result of Gross sales Navigator is a specialised type of LinkedIn, it completes a discipline search versus a full profile search. What does this imply? In the end, it signifies that your Boolean search on Gross sales Navigator will ship a broader pool of outcomes than an ordinary LinkedIn Boolean search.

This doesn’t imply that Boolean searches are much less helpful on Gross sales Navigator, nonetheless. Customers should still successfully refine their search utilizing superior Boolean search phrases. It does imply that some further refining could also be obligatory, together with specifying the placement of most popular search (i.e. a profile search or a discipline search).

The aim of Gross sales Navigator is to cater particularly to gross sales. Because of this search is designed to prioritize gross sales and sales-related leads. Through the use of Boolean search strings, you can also make use of all Boolean operators, together with citation marks and parentheses.

Constructing Your Boolean Search Technique

To construct your means to make use of Boolean search successfully, begin by mapping out your method and intentions. To successfully map out your LinkedIn Boolean search technique, start with:

• Roles to incorporate. Which roles do you wish to deal with in your search?
• Titles to keep away from. Which titles are irrelevant in your outcomes?
• Key phrases associated to trade, instruments, or outcomes. Which key phrases will most successfully yield outcomes which might be related to your present targets and intentions?

Semantically associated phrases will also be used to extend related search outcomes. A LinkedIn Boolean search doesn’t should solely include phrases that instantly relate to your meant outcomes. You can even use semantically associated phrases to incorporate in your advanced search strings.

Quite than working strictly from creativity, discover widespread phrases in precise LinkedIn profiles. Your Boolean search template ought to have search filters which might be often present in current profiles.

As you proceed your recruiter search, or basic advertising and marketing search, save and check your searches. Once you discover a search string that works for you, maintain onto it!

Professional Ideas and Superior Methods

Set off phases could be extraordinarily helpful to incorporate in your Boolean search string. Together with set off phrases like “hiring” in your advanced search queries will help you develop a slim search with which to seek out outcomes.

Instance: ("hiring" OR "constructing staff") AND "VP of Gross sales"

Boolean strings could be a good way to seek out your perfect buyer profile, or listing of leads for X-ray searches on Google. An X-ray search is a search that can be utilized by an entry degree LinkedIn consumer and seniority degree consumer alike, because it merely makes use of Boolean search phrases to go looking a website by Google moderately than instantly on the LinkedIn website.

Instance: website:linkedin.com/in "demand technology" AND "San Francisco"

As you go, ensure you create and preserve a library of your best-performing strings. Prospecting campaigns, logical connectors, and even networking efforts can all profit from exact directions and the inflexible language of a Boolean search.

Additional Studying: 15 Killer LinkedIn Headline Examples to Encourage Your Private Branding

Widespread Errors to Keep away from

As a result of programming languages are very important in creating Boolean searches, there are a number of essential errors to keep away from. Certainly one of them is forgetting capitalization in your phrases. The phrases AND, OR, and NOT should be all uppercase letters to successfully kind by search outcomes.

If you end up producing advanced queries, ensure that your parentheses are closed. Unfinished or open parentheses will render your advanced question ineffective. In case your superior filters don’t appear to be yielding outcomes, verify for any lacking parentheses.

String building does have a studying curve. As you develop your most popular Boolean string examples and construct a question method, attempt to strike a center floor between too slim and too broad in your string building.

After getting developed your most popular Boolean string examples, attempt to frequently refine your method and check out alternates. Even alternate spellings can yield completely different outcomes, to ensure you don’t fail to check and reiterate in response to the outcomes you obtain.

Conclusion

LinkedIn Boolean search is excess of a easy technical trick. This search technique gives a strategic benefit to those that use it. Whether or not you have an interest in uncovering hidden expertise, attempting to attach with hard-to-reach decision-makers, otherwise you merely wish to clear up your search outcomes, Boolean logic offers you larger management over the way you navigate LinkedIn.

The extra intentional you might be together with your LinkedIn search phrases, the extra focused and efficient your outreach will truly grow to be. The key phrase discipline of a given LinkedIn search is a spot to shine or falter, and Boolean phrases will help you shine and discover exactly what you might be in search of.

As somebody who makes use of LinkedIn day by day to develop my private model and generate leads, I can confidently say that Boolean search is a must have talent. For those who take the time to experiment, save your finest strings, and construct them right into a constant prospecting routine, you might be amazed at what you may uncover!

Additional Studying: Prime 10 Methods Get Extra Connections on LinkedIn