LinkedIn Social Selling Index (SSI): How to Check & Improve Your Score

Quick Answer: What is LinkedIn SSI?

LinkedIn Social Selling Index (SSI) is a score from 0-100 that measures how effectively you use LinkedIn for sales and networking. Check your score free at linkedin.com/sales/ssi.

What's a Good SSI Score?

According to LinkedIn, sales professionals with high SSI scores create 45% more opportunities and are 51% more likely to hit quota.

The 4 SSI Pillars (25 Points Each)

Your SSI score is calculated from four components, each worth up to 25 points:

1. Establish Your Professional Brand (25 pts)

How complete and compelling is your LinkedIn profile?

What LinkedIn measures:

• Profile completeness (photo, headline, summary, experience)
• Quality of recommendations received
• Content you publish and engagement it receives
• How often others view your profile

Quick wins:

• Add a professional headshot (profiles with photos get 21x more views)
• Write a headline that includes your value proposition, not just job title
• Complete your summary with keywords your prospects search for
• Request 3-5 recommendations from clients or colleagues

2. Find the Right People (25 pts)

How effectively do you use LinkedIn to identify prospects?

What LinkedIn measures:

• Use of LinkedIn's search features
• Saved searches for target prospects
• Connection requests sent to relevant people
• Profile views of decision-makers

Quick wins:

• Spend 15 minutes daily using LinkedIn search to find prospects
• Save searches for your ideal customer profile
• Connect with 5-10 relevant people per week
• Use our Boolean Search Generator to create targeted searches

3. Engage with Insights (25 pts)

Are you sharing valuable content and participating in discussions?

What LinkedIn measures:

• Content you share and post
• Comments you leave on others' posts
• Engagement your content receives
• Consistency of activity

Quick wins:

• Share 3-5 relevant articles or insights weekly
• Comment meaningfully on 10+ posts from prospects
• Publish original content demonstrating expertise
• Engage with content from target accounts

4. Build Relationships (25 pts)

Are you nurturing connections into real relationships?

What LinkedIn measures:

• Response rate to messages
• Connection acceptance rate
• Ongoing conversations with connections
• InMail usage and response rates

Quick wins:

• Send personalized connection requests (mention why you're connecting)
• Respond to messages within 24 hours
• Congratulate connections on job changes and achievements
• Avoid generic sales pitches in first messages

For strategies on establishing your brand effectively, see our guide on how to market yourself on LinkedIn.

How to check your LinkedIn SSI

Accessing your score

Direct URL, Visit linkedin.com/sales/ssi to view your current SSI score

Dashboard breakdown, See scores for each of the four pillars

Comparative data, Compare your SSI to your industry and network averages

Historical tracking, Monitor score changes over time

Benchmark metrics, Understand how you rank against peers

Understanding the data

Overall score, Your total SSI out of 100 points

Individual pillar scores, Performance in each of the four areas

Industry comparison, Your score vs. average in your industry

Network comparison, Your performance vs. your LinkedIn connections

Trend analysis, Score movement over weeks and months

The four SSI pillars in detail

Pillar 1: Establish your professional brand

Profile completeness, All sections filled with complete information

Professional photo, High-quality, professional headshot

Compelling headline, Clear value proposition beyond just job title

Detailed summary, Story highlighting expertise and unique value

Rich experience, Detailed work history with accomplishments

Skills and endorsements, Relevant skills with peer validation

Recommendations, Quality testimonials from colleagues and clients

Content creation, Publishing articles and posts demonstrating expertise

For detailed strategies on establishing your brand, see how to market yourself on LinkedIn.

Improvement strategies:

• Complete every profile section to 100%
• Update headline to include target keywords and value statement
• Write summary focusing on how you help clients/customers
• Add media samples showcasing your work
• Publish regular content demonstrating thought leadership
• Request recommendations from satisfied clients

Pillar 2: Find the right people

Advanced search usage, Leveraging LinkedIn's search features effectively

Sales Navigator, Using LinkedIn's premium prospecting tool

Saved searches, Creating and monitoring targeted prospect searches

Lead lists, Building and organizing prospect databases

Boolean search, Using advanced search operators for precise results (use our Boolean Search Generator to create optimized queries)

Filter utilization, Narrowing prospects by industry, location, seniority

Company research, Identifying decision-makers at target organizations

Improvement strategies:

• Use LinkedIn search daily to find prospects
• Save searches for target customer profiles
• Research companies and identify multiple contacts
• Connect with decision-makers in target accounts
• Join groups where prospects are active
• Follow companies and prospects to stay informed

Pillar 3: Engage with insights

Content discovery, Finding relevant industry content to share

Content sharing, Posting valuable articles and insights

Commentary, Adding perspective when sharing others' content

Original content, Creating posts and articles

Engagement quality, Meaningful comments, not just likes

Consistency, Regular content sharing and interaction

Relevance, Sharing content valuable to your target audience

Improvement strategies:

• Share 3-5 relevant articles or insights weekly
• Add thoughtful commentary to shared content
• Publish original posts demonstrating expertise
• Engage with content from prospects and customers
• Comment meaningfully on industry discussions
• Use LinkedIn's news feed to discover trending content

Pillar 4: Build relationships

Connection requests, Sending personalized invitations to prospects

Message engagement, Responding to and initiating conversations

Relationship nurturing, Ongoing communication with connections

InMail usage, Reaching out to prospects outside your network

Meeting requests, Converting online relationships to calls/meetings

Warm introductions, Leveraging mutual connections

Long-term engagement, Maintaining relationships beyond initial contact

Improvement strategies:

• Send 5-10 personalized connection requests weekly
• Engage with prospects' posts through comments
• Send personalized messages, not generic sales pitches
• Congratulate connections on job changes and achievements
• Request introductions through mutual connections
• Follow up consistently without being pushy

SSI score ranges and what they mean

Score interpretation

0-25 (Low), Minimal LinkedIn presence, not using platform effectively for sales

26-50 (Below average), Basic usage but missing key opportunities

51-75 (Above average), Active user with growing social selling effectiveness

76-100 (Top performer), LinkedIn power user maximizing platform for sales

Performance benchmarks

Industry leaders, Top performers typically have high SSI scores

Quota achievers, Salespeople hitting quota generally have strong SSI scores

Average sales professional, Most sales professionals fall in the moderate range

High performers, Consistently high SSI correlates with top sales results

Improving your LinkedIn SSI score

Quick wins (immediate impact)

Complete your profile, Fill every section to 100%

Professional photo, Add high-quality headshot if missing

Customize headline, Include keywords and value proposition

Add banner image, Professional cover photo

Enable Creator mode, Access additional content features

Request recommendations, Ask 3-5 connections for testimonials

Weekly habits (consistent improvement)

Daily search, Spend 15 minutes finding and researching prospects

Content sharing, Post or share 3-5 valuable pieces of content

Engagement, Comment meaningfully on 10-15 posts from prospects

Connection requests, Send 5-10 personalized invitations

Messaging, Initiate or respond to 5-10 conversations

Profile updates, Add recent accomplishments and projects

Monthly strategies (long-term growth)

Publish articles, Write 1-2 long-form posts demonstrating expertise

Network analysis, Review and optimize connections for target audience

Group participation, Join and engage in relevant professional groups

Company page interaction, Engage with target company content

Skill development, Add new relevant skills and seek endorsements

Analytics review, Track SSI trends and adjust strategy

SSI and sales performance correlation

Research findings

More sales opportunities, LinkedIn research shows high SSI users generate more opportunities vs. low SSI users

Higher quota achievement, Strong SSI correlation with quota achievement

Better sales outcomes, Top SSI performers consistently outsell peers

Faster sales cycles, Higher SSI associated with quicker deal closure

Larger deal sizes, Social selling leaders close bigger opportunities

Sales team applications

Hiring indicator, SSI scores can inform sales candidate evaluation

Training focus, Identify skill gaps through pillar-specific scores

Performance tracking, Monitor SSI as leading indicator of sales success

Team benchmarks, Compare individual scores to team and industry averages

Coaching opportunities, Low scores in specific pillars guide development

Common SSI mistakes to avoid

Profile errors

Incomplete information, Missing sections reduce credibility and findability

Generic headline, Job title only misses opportunity to communicate value

No profile photo, Dramatically reduces profile views and engagement

Empty summary, Missing chance to tell your story and attract prospects

Outdated experience, Stale information suggests inactive professional

Engagement mistakes

Only self-promotion, Sharing only your content alienates audience

No personalization, Generic connection requests get ignored

Sporadic activity, Inconsistent engagement hurts algorithm visibility

Irrelevant content, Sharing off-topic posts confuses your brand

Neglecting comments, Not responding to engagement on your posts

Relationship errors

Immediate sales pitches, Selling in first message destroys relationships

No follow-up, Connecting without nurturing relationships

One-sided communication, Only talking, never listening or engaging

Mass messaging, Generic messages to all connections

Ignoring InMail, Not responding to prospect communications

Tools and resources for SSI improvement

LinkedIn native features

Sales Navigator, Premium prospecting and lead management tool

LinkedIn Learning, Training courses on social selling

Creator mode, Enhanced content creation and distribution features

Analytics dashboard, Profile views and engagement tracking

Mobile app, Maintaining engagement while mobile

Third-party tools

Social selling platforms, Tools augmenting LinkedIn capabilities

Content curation, Services helping find relevant content to share

Automation tools, Scheduling and workflow management (use carefully)

Analytics extensions, Additional insights into profile and content performance

CRM integrations, Connecting LinkedIn activity to sales pipeline

LinkedIn SSI with SocialRails

Optimize your LinkedIn presence for higher SSI:

Content scheduling, Plan and publish consistent LinkedIn content

Engagement tracking, Monitor your LinkedIn interaction and reach

Multi-platform strategy, Coordinate LinkedIn with other social channels

Performance analytics, Track which content drives LinkedIn engagement

Team coordination, Manage company page and employee advocacy

Ready to improve your LinkedIn Social Selling Index and drive more sales results? Start with SocialRails to streamline your LinkedIn content strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions