I am not very active on LinkedIn, but I do use it to share articles, read articles, and see who is looking at my profile. While checking out LinkedIn this morning, I saw that a prospective buyer for one of my domain names had viewed my profile, and it gave me an idea for my “for sale” landing pages: add a link to my LinkedIn profile.
When a logged in LinkedIn user clicks on a profile, the person whose profile was clicked can see that their profile was viewed by that person (unless they are a premium member who blocks this feature). If a prospect would visit one of my landing pages and clicks on my LinkedIn profile link, this will allow me to get an idea of who is poking around my domain name for sale landing pages. This information may be more helpful than the IP and other anonymous tracking information that Google Analytics and StatCounter share.
There are two reasons why this might be beneficial. First off, this is a passive tactic, and many users may not realize they will be tracked by LinkedIn (or may not care). They may click the profile link out of habit before realizing that they will be tracked – I’ve accidentally done this while doing my own research. The second reason is that if a domain owner has a complete and professional profile on LinkedIn, a prospective buyer may be more reassured about buying the domain name that is for sale. As much as buying domain names is second nature for me now, many end user buyers don’t regularly spend thousands of dollars on domain name purchases, and the process can be a bit scary for some.
I don’t think I would contact the LinkedIn user about buying a domain name because it might be difficult to know which domain name is being looked at, and that is pretty spooky for a user who didn’t make personal contact about the domain name. However, it is a good way to glean insight and potentially narrow down identifying prospects who might try to inquire about a domain name anonymously.
I have not added my LinkedIn profile to my “for sale” landing pages, but it is something I am considering. I don’t see how it could hurt anything, but it certainly could help me understand who is interested in buying one of my domain names.
Hi Elliot,
I think that is a great idea actually and indeed increases trust in my opinion. It would for me for sure.
Regards, Lennard
Not a bad idea, DNS also has a login via Facebook, this is a similar idea. I wonder if LinkedIn has any gadgets or badges for posting your profile page? Or simply use a text link?
Yes, and I like that they have it.
My idea is a bit more passive and does not require the prospect to make an offer.
I really wish that LinkedIn would allow two accounts for those of us who domain part-time and have a regular full-time job. I’ve had people track me down on LI using whois data and are confused when they see my regular job info. I like your idea Elliot but for many of us it might not be possible to implement due to the above.
Perhaps you could have a separate corporate account for your domain business?
We give users the option to link to their social pages from the customized landers they create for each domain. The links will show in the top right, here’s an example that includes LinkedIn: http://companyrecruiter.com/
Awesome idea Elliot.