What is a LinkedIn X-ray search?
An X-ray search looks at LinkedIn from the outside. Instead of LinkedIn's own search, which limits
what a free account sees and how many profiles it shows, you ask a search engine for pages on
linkedin.com that contain the words you want: site:linkedin.com/in "Head of Marketing" "SaaS"
"London". Google and Bing index millions of public LinkedIn profiles, so the results are real
people, found by title, company, location and keywords.
How to build a LinkedIn X-ray search
- Pick what you want: people (
/in/pages), company pages (/company/) or public posts (/posts/). - Add job titles. With "Include common variations" on, "Head of Marketing" also searches "VP Marketing" and "Marketing Director", because people write the same job many ways.
- Narrow it with companies, locations and an industry word. Each field is an OR list: any of the companies, any of the cities.
- Choose the engine and open the search. Try the same string on Bing as well: the two index different profiles.
LinkedIn boolean search operators
The same handful of operators works in Google and Bing for X-ray searches, and most of them also in LinkedIn's own search box.
| Operator | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
site:linkedin.com/in | Only public profile pages (search engines) | site:linkedin.com/in CMO |
"exact phrase" | The words together, in that order | "Head of Growth" |
OR | Either term. Capital letters | "CMO" OR "Chief Marketing Officer" |
( ) | Groups an OR list so it combines with the rest | ("London" OR "Berlin") |
-word | Leaves out pages with the word (LinkedIn's own search uses NOT) | -recruiter |
intitle: | The word must be in the page title, which on a profile holds the name and headline (search engines) | intitle:"Head of Sales" |
AND | Both terms. Search engines assume it between words; LinkedIn accepts it written out | marketing AND fintech |
LinkedIn X-ray search examples
Marketing leaders at SaaS companies in London:
site:linkedin.com/in ("Head of Marketing" OR "VP Marketing" OR "Marketing Director") "SaaS" "London"
Founders of fintech startups in Berlin:
site:linkedin.com/in ("Founder" OR "Co-Founder") fintech "Berlin" -investor
Partnerships people at a specific company:
site:linkedin.com/in ("Head of Partnerships" OR "Partnerships Manager") "Acme"
Marketing agencies' company pages in Toronto:
site:linkedin.com/company "marketing agency" "Toronto"
What an X-ray search cannot do
- It only sees public, indexed profiles. People who hide their profile from search engines will not appear.
- The headline can be out of date. A search engine shows the profile as it was when it was last crawled. Open the profile before you write to anyone.
- It is a search, not a contact list. It gives you names and profile links, not emails or phone numbers, and it is no reason to send automated connection requests: LinkedIn limits those and its terms forbid automation.
Frequently asked questions
What is LinkedIn X-ray search?
Searching LinkedIn through Google, Bing or another search engine with the site: operator, for example site:linkedin.com/in "Head of Marketing" "London". It finds public profiles by title, company and location without LinkedIn's own search limits.
Can I search LinkedIn without an account?
Yes, through a search engine: X-ray searches return public profiles, and many open without logging in. LinkedIn may ask you to sign in to see a full profile.
Is X-ray searching allowed?
It is an ordinary web search over pages LinkedIn makes public to search engines; this tool does not access LinkedIn at all. What you do with the results is a separate question: LinkedIn's terms forbid scraping and automated messaging.
Why do some results show people who changed jobs?
Search engines show a profile as it was when they last crawled it, which can be months ago. Always open the profile and check the current role before reaching out.
Google or Bing for LinkedIn X-ray searches?
Both, one after the other. They index different sets of LinkedIn profiles, and Bing often returns profiles Google does not. The search string is the same.