LinkedIn Advanced Search Tactics 101

Key Takeaways

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• LinkedIn Advanced Search unlocks powerful filters and Boolean logic to target the right people, companies, and content.
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• Free and Premium accounts have limited search access, while Sales Navigator and Recruiter offer the full advanced toolkit.
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• Using Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT, quotes, parentheses) refines results and saves hours of manual searching.
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• Advanced filters go beyond people — covering companies, jobs, groups, events, posts, services, and more.
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• A structured 5-step setup ensures your searches are goal-driven, repeatable, and lead to meaningful outreach.
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• Pair LinkedIn searches with Google “site:linkedin.com” tricks to expand results and bypass platform limits.

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As a social network dedicated to professionals, LinkedIn offers a treasure trove of business contacts. With more than 20 million open jobs and 30 million companies flooding the platform, how do sales people, job seekers and recruiters find exactly who they’re looking for?

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Want to find open Marketing Manager positions at tech companies with less than 50 employees in the greater San Francisco area? Use LinkedIn advanced search.

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Want to create a list of all Senior Clothing Buyers at outdoor sporting retailers in New England? Use LinkedIn advanced search.

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What is LinkedIn Advanced Search

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LinkedIn Advanced Search refers to the suite of enhanced search filters and search capabilities that go well beyond what LinkedIn’s free and basic premium plans offer.

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These advanced features are available to users on Sales Navigator (all tiers) and LinkedIn Recruiter (Lite and full versions).

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Free LinkedIn accounts and lower-tier Premium plans (e.g. Premium Career or Premium Business) have access to more limited filtering, fewer saved searching tools, and tighter reach in terms of degree of connections.

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For example, with a free account you can use basic filters such as location, current company, past companies, school, industries, etc., and you’re restricted to seeing mostly 1st and 2nd-degree connections (while 3rd-degree may be partially visible depending on settings).

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You also won’t get features like unlimited profile views, many saved searches, or extensive InMail credits.

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In contrast, Sales Navigator users (Core, Advanced, and Advanced Plus) and Recruiter users get access to many more filters (often 30-50+), more degrees of network reach, the ability to perform and save complex Boolean queries, save unlimited or many searches, more powerful insights into leads/accounts, make use of InMail to message outside your network, and visibility into who has viewed your profile over longer time windows.

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Basic Search vs. Advanced Search

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Here are the top four differences between basic search and advanced search:

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1. Total Candidates/Prospects: LinkedIn Basic Search only allows you to look up 1st degree connections and 2nd degree connections (people connected to your 1st degree connections). Advanced search allows for 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree connections, making your pool of members far wider.
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2. Saved Searches: You cannot save searches on LinkedIn Basic Search, whereas you can save unlimited searches in Recruiter and Sales Navigator.
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3. More Filters: Advanced Search opens up over a dozen more filters that are more practical than basic search for building lists.
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4. Commercial Use Limit: Free members are only allotted a small amount of total profile views per day, whereas certain premium plans are nearly unlimited.

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LinkedIn’s Basic Filters

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LinkedIn’s basic search is a great tool for general searches on the platform. Allowing you to refine and combine various search filters, LinkedIn members can browse by the following criteria:

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• Connections (1st degree, 2nd degree, 3rd degree)
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• Connections of other colleagues...
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• Location
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• Current companies
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• Past companies
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• Industries
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• Profile language
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• School
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• Services

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However, while these categories can be helpful to users, they don’t begin to scratch the surface of LinkedIn’s extensive search capabilities.

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With robust data about the members, jobs, and companies on its site, LinkedIn’s Advanced Search capabilities to identify leads, refine results, and compile lists goes much deeper than the default search settings.

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What Are LinkedIn Premium Search Filters?

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LinkedIn Premium Search Plans

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Below are the differences between Sales Navigator and LinkedIn recruiter.

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LinkedIn Sales Navigator Advanced Search Filters

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LinkedIn Sales Navigator is the best premium plan for anyone trying to generate sales leads or partnerships.

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Here are the top Sales Navigator filters:

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• Title
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• Industry
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• Company Headcount
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• Seniority Level
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• Geography
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• Keywords
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• Function

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LinkedIn Recruiter Advanced Search

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LinkedIn Recruiter is the ideal premium plan for anyone trying to reach out to candidates for jobs.

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Here are the most popular LinkedIn Recruiter filters:

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• Job Titles
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• Locations
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• Industry
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• Skills
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• Employment Type
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• Education
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• Expected Salary
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• Keyword

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Types of LinkedIn Filters Explained

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LinkedIn offers advanced search filters across multiple “entities” or content types. Depending on what you want to achieve — finding leads, recruiting, job hunting, joining a community, or content research — you’ll choose different filter types.

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Below are the major filter categories & examples of when each is useful.

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People

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• Connections degree (1st, 2nd, 3rd)
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• Location
  
  

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• Current company / Past company
  
  

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• Industry
  
  

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• Seniority / Job title
  
  

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• Schools / education background
  
  

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• Profile language
  
  

• Keywords (skills, titles, etc.)
  

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Use-cases:

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• If you’re a salesperson looking for decision-makers in a target company or industry (e.g. “VP of Marketing at SaaS companies in Delhi / Mumbai”).
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• If you are recruiting, you might want people with specific years of experience, education, past companies (competitor firms).
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• If you are trying to network, you might filter by location + mutual connections to find people you can be introduced to.
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• If you provide professional services (e.g. coaching, consulting), you may want to find people who list those service offerings for partnership or collaboration.

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Companies

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• Company location (headquarters or offices)
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• Industry / sector
  
  

• Size / number of employees
  
  

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• Keywords in company name or description
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• Whether the company is currently hiring / job listings available
  
  

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Use-cases:

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• Market research: e.g. mapping industries in a city, identifying competitors.
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• Lead generation: targeting companies of a specific size + industry that may need your product/service.
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• Recruiting: finding companies where your ideal candidates likely are working.
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• Partnership / vendor outreach: identifying companies in your niche or ecosystem.

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Jobs

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• Date posted (recent vs older)

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• Job type (full-time, part-time, contract, remote / onsite etc.)
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• Experience level required

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• Company name

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• “Easy Apply” vs regular applications

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Use-cases:

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• Job-seekers searching for roles matching their skill level and preferences (location, remote, etc.).
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• Recruiters or hiring managers checking what jobs a competitor has posted.
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• Product / tool vendors watching what types of roles are being created in certain industries to anticipate demand.

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Groups

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Use-cases:

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• Want to join communities to network or share content (e.g., a digital marketing group, startup founders group).
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• Doing market research or listening to discussions in your industry.
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• If you want to find potential niche forums to promote content or events.
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• Recruiting or lead generation: sourcing people who are active in specific groups (indicating interest in a topic).

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Courses

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Use-cases:

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• If you are upskilling or re-skilling and want to find suitable learning offerings.
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• If you are a content creator / educator, to see what courses already exist in your topic, for differentiation.
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• For HR / L&D to recommend courses to employees.
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• For research: mapping demand or gaps in educational content.

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Events

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Use-cases:

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• To discover events or conferences you might attend for networking.
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• To promote your own event by researching similar ones.
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• For content planning: see what topics are trending in your field or region via events.
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• If you're a speaker, to find event organizers or events accepting speakers.

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Boolean Search Commands

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Boolean search commands give you the power to add incredible customization to your queries. Best used within the keyword filter, Boolean commands allow you to include, combine, exclude, or remove specific words related to your search.

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• NOT - Adding “NOT” after a search term will exclude the term immediately following it from your search results. For example, “
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• OR
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• AND
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• Parenthesis ()
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• Quotation Marks “”

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For example, this boolean would isolate prospects that have software somewhere in profile, and that have raised funding, but are NOT in the healthcare space:

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((SaaS OR Software) AND (Funded)) NOT Healthcare

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Quotations should only be used when you want the exact order of two-word keywords, such as “Ad Spend”.

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Exclusions

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Since LinkedIn’s search filters are based off how prospects name themselves, job titles can be misleading or vague. Exclusions can help clean up lists significantly for this reason.

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For example, the following titles that are highlighted red would exclude anyone with “Assistant” or “Vice” in their title.

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Beyond LinkedIn: Boolean Tricks With Google

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Sometimes LinkedIn’s own search can feel restrictive — especially on free accounts. That’s where Google Boolean search hacks come in handy:

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• Search only LinkedIn profiles:
  site:linkedin.com/in "Product Manager" "New York" → pulls LinkedIn profiles of product managers in New York.
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• Filter by job title keywords:
  site:linkedin.com/in ("VP of Marketing" OR "CMO") SaaS → finds senior marketers in SaaS directly through Google.
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• Company-based searches:
  site:linkedin.com/in "data engineer" "Google" → narrows down profiles of data engineers at Google.

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This method is particularly useful when you’ve hit your LinkedIn commercial use limit or want to access profiles without logging in.

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Limitations of Boolean Search on LinkedIn

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Not all LinkedIn account types give the same Boolean freedom:

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• Free & Basic Premium (Career/Business):
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  • Boolean works in the main search bar.
  • Limited filters (e.g., location, company, industry).
  • Quickly hit commercial search/viewing limits.
  • Saved searches not available (or very restricted).

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• Sales Navigator:
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  • Boolean works across almost all fields (title, keywords, company).
  • Advanced filters (company size, seniority, function, years in role, etc.).
  • Save multiple complex Boolean queries with alerts.
  • Still some quirks: LinkedIn sometimes ignores operators if the string is too long.

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• Recruiter / Recruiter Lite:
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  • Most powerful Boolean functionality.
  • Works across nearly every field (title, skills, keywords, past roles).
  • Saved searches and unlimited alerts.
  • Designed specifically for sourcing talent, but equally powerful for competitive research.

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👉 Pro Tip: Keep your Boolean queries simple and test them step by step. Overly complex strings can cause LinkedIn to return incomplete or irrelevant results. Start broad, then narrow with additional operators.

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Your Advanced Search Setup in 5 Steps

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LinkedIn’s Advanced Search can feel overwhelming at first — dozens of filters, Boolean logic, and multiple account types. To simplify, here’s a proven 5-step framework to set up your searches like a pro and start generating quality leads, faster.

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Step 1: Define Your Goal

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Before diving into filters, clarify why you’re searching.

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• Sales: Identify decision-makers at target accounts.
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• Recruitment: Find candidates with specific skills or experience.
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• Networking / Partnerships: Locate professionals in your niche or community.
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• Content / Research: Track trending posts, groups, or events.

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📌 Pro tip: Write your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) or candidate persona first — it will guide your filter choices.

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Step 2: Choose the Right Search Tool

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• Free LinkedIn / Premium Business: Best for broad networking and general prospecting.
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• Sales Navigator: Designed for B2B sales; offers 30+ advanced filters, saved searches, alerts, and CRM integrations.
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• Recruiter / Recruiter Lite: Tailored for talent sourcing, with deep Boolean and candidate-specific filters.

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📌 Pro tip: If you’re doing lead gen at scale, skip free search limits and invest in Sales Navigator — it pays for itself quickly.

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Step 3: Apply Core Filters

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Start with the most impactful filters for your use case:

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• People search: Location, industry, seniority, job title.
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• Company search: Size, headquarters location, hiring status.
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• Content search: Keywords, hashtags, posts in the last 30 days.
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• Events / Groups: Niche communities and virtual networking hubs.

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📌 Pro tip: Layer filters with Boolean operators — e.g., ("Marketing Manager" OR "Head of Marketing") AND SaaS.

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Step 4: Save & Automate Your Searches

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• Use Saved Searches in Sales Navigator or Recruiter to avoid starting from scratch.
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• Turn on alerts so LinkedIn notifies you when new profiles, companies, or jobs match your criteria.
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• Create multiple saved searches for different segments (e.g., Founders in Fintech vs. Heads of HR in Manufacturing).

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📌 Pro tip: Treat saved searches like a living list — refresh and refine regularly as industries shift.

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Step 5: Organize & Take Action

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• Export or tag leads inside Sales Navigator for easy tracking.
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• Send personalized connection requests or InMails based on what you learn in their profile.
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• Engage with prospects by liking/commenting on their recent posts before reaching out.
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• For recruiters: save candidates to projects or pipelines for structured follow-up.

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📌 Pro tip: Don’t just collect names — move from research to outreach quickly, while your search results are fresh and relevant.

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With this 5-step setup, you’ll move beyond “random searching” and turn LinkedIn into a structured, repeatable engine for leads, hires, or partnerships.

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Conclusion

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Mastering LinkedIn Advanced Search is one of the fastest ways to zero in on high-quality B2B prospects. But finding the right leads is only half the battle—what truly matters is turning those prospects into booked meetings and real opportunities.

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That’s where Cleverly comes in. We’ve helped 10,000+ clients generate leads and book meetings with companies like Amazon, Google, Uber, PayPal, and Slack, all through proven LinkedIn outreach strategies.

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With pricing starting at just $397/month, our done-for-you LinkedIn lead generation services handle everything from targeting to messaging—so you can focus on closing deals.

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Ready to fill your pipeline with qualified B2B leads? Book your free strategy call with Cleverly today.

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