LinkedIn X-ray search builder: find profiles through Google and Bing

Why it matters: LinkedIn limits how many profiles a free account can search and view, and Recruiter seats are expensive. Google and Bing still index public LinkedIn profile pages, so an X-ray search can list people by job title, current company and location without a LinkedIn seat. This builder writes the string, counts it against Google’s limit and opens it in one tap.

Add a job title or a skill to start.

What is a LinkedIn X-ray search?

It is a Google or Bing search that starts with site:linkedin.com/in, which limits results to LinkedIn profile pages. Everything after that narrows the list: job titles in brackets joined by OR, a current employer, a city, and words to leave out with a minus sign. You read the results in the search engine and open the profiles that fit.

Does LinkedIn X-ray still work in 2026?

Yes, but it finds less than it used to. Since early 2024 LinkedIn shows search engines little more than a member’s name, current job and location; the headline, About and Experience sections mostly stopped reaching Google, as PCRecruiter reported. Search by job title and current company and you will still get useful lists. Searching by skills often misses people, because those words no longer reach the index. Our guide explains what changed in 2024.

How does the builder put the string together?

Why does Google ignore part of my search?

Google reads only the first 32 words of a query, as Google Guide explains. Every word counts, including OR and the words inside quotes, so long title lists push words past the limit and Google silently drops them. The counter under your string warns you when you go over. Bing reads differently and often surfaces people Google misses, so run the string in both.

How do you get better X-ray results?

• Lead with title and current company. Those are the fields Google still sees on most profiles.
• Use the title chips to add the variants people really use. A nurse may write RN, Staff Nurse or Charge Nurse.
• Add nearby towns to the city field. Profiles show the city a person chose, not the metro area.
• Use a country address for markets outside the US, such as uk.linkedin.com or ca.linkedin.com.
• Searching for recruiters? Take “recruiter” out of the leave out box. The builder skips it automatically if it matches one of your titles.

Frequently asked questions

Is X-ray searching LinkedIn allowed?

You are running a normal search on Google or Bing and reading results they have already indexed, which is ordinary sourcing practice. What LinkedIn forbids is scraping its site with bots. This builder does not visit LinkedIn at all.

Why do some profiles not show up?

Members can hide their profile from search engines in their LinkedIn settings, Google does not index every page, and most profile detail no longer reaches Google at all. For full searches, use LinkedIn’s own search or the Sales Navigator search builder.

How is this different from the Boolean search builder?

This page is built only for LinkedIn through Google and Bing, with country addresses, title variants and a posts mode. The Boolean search string builder also writes strings for LinkedIn’s own search, GitHub, Stack Overflow and design portfolios, and can pull keywords from a job description. For the full background, read our Boolean search guide.

Do you store my searches?

Your last search is kept on your own device so it is there when you come back. Nothing is sent to Work Insiders.

Found your people? Check your first message with the LinkedIn outreach checker, find their email with a contact data tool, compare sourcing tools that search more than LinkedIn, or browse all our free tools.