Most of us have a LinkedIn account, but let's be honest, how many really know what to do with it after we've filled out all of our information. It's just one of those sites that sits collecting dust (and spam messages) for long periods of time, right?

Wrong!

LinkedIn can be a great tool for people in our industry so let's get you started on 9 tips to a better LinkedIn profile. These tips will help you be found among the masses, increase your profile views and overall LinkedIn experience.

1. Use your full (real name).

2. List your business (past businesses or jobs go here too, but are not nearly as important as listing the current business you are operating.

3. Connect with previous and current customers and request a recommendation. Many folks will be glad to give you some positive feedback.

4. When listing your website(s) make sure you personalize the listing. Doing this makes the link more clickable.

5. Tweet, Tweet! Go ahead and link up your Twitter account (be careful that you don't feed all Tweets to your LinkedIn account though, this can get spammy).

6. Go ahead and customize your personal LinkedIn URL. This gives your LinkedIn a more custom feel; especially when displaying the URL other places: Business cards, website etc...

7. Summarize who you are professionally. This is where you get to brag about... YOU! Make it intriguing so people want to keep scrolling.

8. What do you specialize in? Make sure you list that. These are basically keywords that will lead seekers to your profile. Use this wisely though. Only use a handful of specialty keywords that really pertain to your business.

9. Do you have a blog? Link it up, feed your blog to your LinkedIn. This gives your blog more visibility and spices up your LinkedIn account.

Being successful on LinkedIn means logging in often, utilizing the Q&A section, building your connections and engaging your audience.