LinkedIn X-Ray Search Tool
Find profiles on Google with a LinkedIn x-ray search. Free, no signup.
How to do a LinkedIn x-ray search in 3 steps
About a minute, no account and no LinkedIn login: Google does the searching.
1. Fill in who you're looking for
Choose profiles, company pages or posts, then add titles, companies, places and keywords. Commas mean OR inside a field, and every field must match.
2. Pick the countries you sell to
Leave All countries on to search every LinkedIn host, or tick your markets to get only profiles Google files under them, such as uk.linkedin.com.
3. Run it on Google and open the matches
Copy the query, or press Run on Google to open it in a new tab. Open the profiles that fit and save their URLs.
LinkedIn x-ray search syntax
An x-ray search asks Google for LinkedIn pages that contain your words. Its syntax looks like LinkedIn's boolean, with two differences that matter.
| What you want | In a Google x-ray | In LinkedIn's search bar |
|---|---|---|
| Only LinkedIn profiles | site:linkedin.com/in | Not needed |
| An exact phrase | "Head of Sales" | "Head of Sales" |
| Either term | (CRO OR "VP Sales") | (CRO OR "VP Sales") |
| Both terms | CRO London | CRO AND London |
| Leave a word out | -recruiter | NOT recruiter |
Recruiters named it: the search looks inside LinkedIn from the outside. It works because Google indexes public profile pages, About sections included, and anyone can search that index without a LinkedIn account. A LinkedIn xray search, with or without the hyphen, is the same thing.
Google has no NOT, so a LinkedIn string pasted into Google pulls recruiters in when it means to leave them out. Use a minus sign with no space after it, and drop AND.
Need the version for LinkedIn itself? The LinkedIn boolean search builder writes it for the search bar and Sales Navigator.
LinkedIn x-ray search examples
Six queries to paste into Google as they are. Swap in your own titles and places.
| Who you want | Google query |
|---|---|
| Sales leaders in London | site:linkedin.com/in ("VP Sales" OR CRO) "London" -jobs |
| Java developers in Germany | site:de.linkedin.com/in ("Java developer" OR "backend engineer") |
| Fintech founders | site:linkedin.com/in (founder OR "co-founder") fintech -jobs |
| Nurses in Manchester | site:uk.linkedin.com/in ("registered nurse" OR RN) "Manchester" |
| Logistics companies in Rotterdam | site:linkedin.com/company logistics "Rotterdam" |
| Posts about cold outreach | site:linkedin.com/posts "cold outreach" |
Company pages and posts use the same syntax with a different path: /company/ or /posts/ in place of /in/. The builder switches it when you change what you're searching for.
LinkedIn x-ray search by country
Google files LinkedIn profiles under country hosts such as uk.linkedin.com. The host you name decides which profiles come back.
- Every country
site:linkedin.com/in
The bare domain covers www and every country host. Use it when you want the whole world.
- Your markets
site:uk.linkedin.com/in
Only profiles Google files under the UK. Join several hosts with OR to cover a region, as the builder does.
- Avoid
site:www.linkedin.com/in
Covers www only and drops every profile filed under a country host. Many copied x-ray strings still use it.
Which host a profile lands on depends on its language settings and how Google found it, so you can't predict it from outside. A country host is the closest thing Google has to a location filter for LinkedIn.
X-ray search vs LinkedIn search vs Recruiter
Use x-ray to map a market for free, LinkedIn's search for live data, and Recruiter when hiring is your daily job.
- Free, no login
X-ray on Google
Best when the commercial use limit has stopped your searches, or you want words buried in the About section. Results can be weeks old.
- Live data
LinkedIn's own search
Best for current job titles, profiles hidden from search engines, and filters such as current company and location.
- Paid seat
LinkedIn Recruiter
Adds pipelines, InMail and notes shared with a team on top of search. It pays off when you hire every week.
Weighing x-ray against a paid seat? LinkedIn Recruiter pricing shows what each Recruiter plan costs.
Already on Recruiter? Replygrow takes a Recruiter search URL as a campaign source, as LinkedIn Recruiter export shows.
Why your LinkedIn x-ray search finds nothing
Find what you see, then the fix.
You used AND or NOT
Google has no NOT and needs no AND. Drop AND, and write -recruiter where you meant NOT recruiter.
Profiles from abroad are missing
The query says site:www.linkedin.com/in. Use the bare site:linkedin.com/in, or name the country hosts.
Too few results
Every field must match. Remove the least important one, or add more titles to the title field.
Someone you know isn't there
Their profile may be hidden from search engines, or Google hasn't indexed it yet. Search LinkedIn for them by name.
Google asks if you're a robot
Google checks for automated traffic when searches come fast. Wait a few minutes, then search at a steadier pace.
A job title looks out of date
Google shows its last copy of the page. Open the profile on LinkedIn to see the current one.
How to search LinkedIn by name for free
Search Google for the name with an x-ray query. It finds the person's public profile and its URL, with no LinkedIn login.
Switch the builder to Find one person's profile URL, type the full name and add the company. Write the name exactly as it appears on their profile, and add the company rather than the job title. Employers are spelled the same way everywhere, and titles aren't.
For Jane Doe at Stripe, the builder writes site:linkedin.com/in "Jane Doe" Stripe. The quotes keep first and last name together, so Google skips every Jane who isn't a Doe. Typed into Google by hand, the same query works too.
No match? Drop the company, since they may have moved on, or try a short form of the first name. Some members hide their profile from search engines, and then only LinkedIn's own search finds them.
The builder writes the Google query and you run it. Replygrow holds no profile index and never sees the name you type, so nothing is looked up for you.
Does LinkedIn x-ray search count against your search limit?
No. Google doesn't apply LinkedIn's search caps, but opening the profiles you find still counts on LinkedIn.
| Limit | What LinkedIn publishes |
|---|---|
| Monthly searches, free account | Not published by LinkedInUnpublished |
| Results per search, free account | 1,000Sources disagree |
| Profile views per day | Not published by LinkedInUnpublished |
Searching Google doesn't spend your LinkedIn searches. Each profile you open does count toward the daily profile-view limit, so open them at a steady pace through the day. LinkedIn search limits explains each cap.
Frequently asked questions
1) What is LinkedIn x-ray search?
2) What is the difference between x-ray and boolean search?
3) Is LinkedIn x-ray search legal?
4) Does LinkedIn x-ray search still work?
5) Is this x-ray search tool free?
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