Now that LinkedIn has given us new rankings relating to the number of people who view our profiles, lots of folks are asking me how to improve their numbers--and, of course,iStock_000049908928Small they want the solution to be fast and easy.

Before I give you the simple tweaks that will move the numbers in the short term, an even better strategy is to move the numbers over the long term--and start getting more views by the people who can help you achieve your business goals.

In a nutshell, your long-term strategy is to connect with your target audience and share great information, thereby nurturing the relationship and increasing your thought leadership status. Then, when they are ready to engage someone who has your expertise, you have earned your way onto their list--and hopefully it's a very short list! For a comprehensive process to accomplish this long-term strategy, check out my online LinkedIn course.


Easy Ways to Get More Eyes Looking at Your Profile

In the short term, here are eight simple ways to get more of the right people viewing your profile.

1.  Make frequent changes to your profile.  Your connections will usually be curious about what you changed or added, so this one--if you don't overuse it--works great.

2.  Share your thoughts in a group discussion that has lots of previous comments.  If there are lots of previous comments, then lots of folks will get notified when you make a comment--so make it a good one.

3.  Look at other people's profiles.  When people see you've looked at their profile, it's quite likely they'll take a look at yours if your Headline suggests you might be an interesting person to meet.

4.  Post your own status updates daily.  This doesn't take as much time as you think if you simply use the "Share" button on an interesting article you've read. Add a personal comment about the article, and you'll get even more action from your network.

5.  Share, "like" or comment on other people's status updates or published posts.  This isn't quite as powerful as posting your own status update, but the time commitment is a lot less. It only takes a second to click "like," and it's an easy way to stay top of mind with your network.

6.  Put more of your most important keywords in your profile--and put them in the right spots.  For help with this, download my Keywords: The Key to Being Found on LinkedIn worksheet.

7.  Endorse people.  Not everyone is a fan of this feature, but it does spark lots of engagement--which usually results in more profile views.

8.  Include your LinkedIn URL in your email signature, business cards, resume, and other social sites.  If you make it easy for people to find your profile, they're more likely to take a peek at it.

It's important to track your progress on LinkedIn, and the number of profile views is one of the simplest metrics to monitor. And when more people are looking at your profile, I'm confident your ROI will improve.

To learn about the other numbers you should be keeping an eye on, read "LinkedIn Metrics and ROI: The 10 Numbers You Need to Track."