What Is LinkedIn SSI (Social Selling Index)?

LinkedIn SSI (Social Selling Index) is a score from 0 to 100 that LinkedIn assigns to every user, measuring how effectively they leverage LinkedIn across four core pillars: establishing a professional brand, finding the right people, engaging with insights, and building relationships. Originally designed for sales professionals, SSI has become a useful benchmark for anyone looking to grow their LinkedIn presence and understand how their activity compares to peers in their industry.

What Are the Four Pillars of LinkedIn SSI?

Each pillar contributes up to 25 points to your total SSI score of 100:

1. Establish Your Professional Brand (0-25 points)

This pillar measures how complete and compelling your LinkedIn profile is, and whether you publish content regularly. The score increases when you:

• Complete all profile sections including headline, summary, experience, and skills
• Add a professional photo and background image
• Write and publish posts or articles on LinkedIn
• Receive endorsements for your skills
• Get profile views from people searching for your expertise

A complete profile with a clear headline, detailed summary, and regular posting activity can push this pillar close to 25.

2. Find the Right People (0-25 points)

This pillar evaluates how effectively you use LinkedIn's search and discovery tools to connect with relevant people. Actions that increase this score include:

• Using LinkedIn Search to find prospects, leads, or relevant professionals
• Viewing profiles of people in your target audience
• Using Sales Navigator features (if you have access)
• Connecting with people who match your professional goals

Even without Sales Navigator, regular use of LinkedIn's search to find and connect with relevant people improves this score.

3. Engage With Insights (0-25 points)

This pillar tracks how actively you participate in conversations and share valuable content. It improves when you:

• Like and comment on other people's posts
• Share content from your feed with your own commentary
• Respond to comments on your own posts
• Participate in LinkedIn Groups discussions
• Engage with trending content in your industry

Consistent daily engagement - even 10-15 minutes of thoughtful commenting - significantly boosts this pillar.

4. Build Relationships (0-25 points)

This pillar measures the strength and growth of your professional network. It increases when you:

• Send and accept connection requests
• Exchange messages with connections
• Build connections with senior-level professionals and decision-makers
• Maintain active relationships (not just collecting dormant connections)
• Connect with people outside your immediate team or company

The relationship pillar rewards quality connections with active LinkedIn users over large numbers of inactive connections.

How Do You Check Your LinkedIn SSI Score?

LinkedIn provides a free SSI dashboard at linkedin.com/sales/ssi. You do not need a Sales Navigator subscription to access it. The dashboard shows:

• Your overall SSI score out of 100
• Individual pillar scores showing where you are strong and where you can improve
• Industry comparison - how you rank vs people in your industry
• Network comparison - how you rank vs people in your LinkedIn network
• Score trend - how your SSI has changed over time

The score updates daily, so changes in your activity are reflected quickly.

Does SSI Actually Matter?

LinkedIn has published data suggesting that higher SSI scores correlate with better sales outcomes:

• SSI leaders (high scores) create 45% more opportunities than peers with lower SSI scores
• Professionals with higher SSI are 51% more likely to hit quota
• High SSI users get 5x more profile views
• Users with SSI scores above 70 tend to see 2-3x more profile views and higher connection acceptance rates

However, correlation is not causation. The behaviors that increase SSI - active posting, networking, and engagement - naturally lead to more visibility and opportunities regardless of the score itself.

The practical takeaway: Do not optimize specifically for SSI. Instead, focus on the underlying behaviors - publish consistently, engage with others, build genuine connections, and maintain a complete profile. Your SSI will improve as a side effect, and more importantly, your actual LinkedIn results will improve.

How to Improve Your LinkedIn SSI Score

If you want to improve each pillar:

Brand (Pillar 1): Complete every profile section. Add a headline that describes what you do and who you help (not just your job title). Write a summary that includes relevant keywords. Post at least 2-3 times per week.

Finding People (Pillar 2): Spend 5-10 minutes daily using LinkedIn search to find relevant people in your industry. View their profiles. Send connection requests with personalized notes.

Engagement (Pillar 3): Comment on 5-10 posts daily from people in your industry. Write substantive comments - not just "Great post!" - that add insight or ask questions. Share content with your own take.

Relationships (Pillar 4): Send 5-10 personalized connection requests per week. Reply to messages promptly. Reconnect with dormant connections by engaging with their content.

A consistent routine of 15-20 minutes of daily LinkedIn activity across all four pillars can raise most people's SSI from the average of 30 to above 60 within a few weeks. The score itself is less important than the habits it encourages - the same habits that drive real business results on LinkedIn.