Search User

Action Overview

The Search User action finds individual LinkedIn users by name. It is most often used to retrieve the Public ID and Provider ID of a profile, which are required for follow-up actions such as Retrieve User Profile or Send Invitation.

This enables sales, marketing, and recruiting teams to seamlessly enrich CRM records, personalize outreach, and build stronger engagement strategies.

Use Cases

• CRM Data Enrichment: Automatically look up LinkedIn IDs for contacts in your CRM to enable deeper profile retrieval.
• Sales Enablement: Identify LinkedIn profiles for prospects to improve outreach personalization.

Inputs and Required Data

• First Name (required) – The person’s first name.
  • Example: John
• Last Name (required) – The person’s last name.
  • Example: Doe
• Company (Recommended) – The company name associated with the user.
  • Example: Acme Corp
• Keywords (optional) – Terms to narrow or refine search results, such as industry or specialization.
  Example: Marketing, SaaS, Healthcare
• Account Type (required) – Your LinkedIn account type. Select Classic, Sales Navigator or Recruiter if you have those subscriptions.

Response

The Search User action returns the following variables:

• Full Name – Complete name of the user
• Public ID – Unique LinkedIn profile identifier
• Provider ID – Internal LinkedIn identifier for API use
• Profile URL – Direct URL to the user’s profile
• Profile Picture URL – URL to the user’s profile photo
• Location – User’s listed location
• Headline – Professional headline displayed on LinkedIn
• Network Distance – Degree of connection (Self, 1st, 2nd, 3rd)

Obtaining Inputs

Inputs are usually mapped dynamically from CRM fields. Ensure names are accurate and formatted correctly for best results.

Workflow Integration

1. Trigger the Action – Add the Search User action to a workflow (e.g., when a contact is created or pipeline stage change).
2. Map Input Fields – Pass First Name, Last Name, and Company into the action.
3. Retrieve Output Data – Use the Update Contact Action to store the returned profile IDs and details for enrichment or to initiate next actions such as Retrieve User Profile or Send Invitation.

Related Actions

• Retrieve User Profile – Fetch complete professional information after identifying a profile.
• Send Invitation – Automate a connection request once the correct profile is found.

Common Errors and Troubleshooting

No Results Found

• Cause: Input details do not match a LinkedIn profile, the LinkedIn profile does not exist or have enough data points to identify an individual.
• Solution: Verify accurate information - First Name, Last Name, and Company fields

Invalid Input

• Cause: Required fields missing or incorrectly formatted
• Solution: Ensure First and Last Name are always provided

Error: "No Matching Profiles Found"

• Indicates no profiles met the criteria

Error: "Invalid API Request"

• Check all required inputs are correctly formatted

Best Practices

• Always use full and accurate names to improve match quality
• Include Company when available to narrow search results
• Include Industry in the Keywords field as a fallback if the company name is not returning results.
• Avoid triggering too many searches in a short period (respect LinkedIn’s rate limits)
• Combine Search User with Retrieve User Profile for immediate enrichment

Advanced Tips

• Refine Searches – If multiple results are likely, consider using Search People with additional filters (job title, keywords).
• Add Fallbacks – Include multiple Search User steps in the same workflow. If one search fails, fall back to another with a different parameter. For example:
  • Search with Company name
  • If no match, search with Industry keyword
  • If still no match, run a broader fallback and or people search
• Chain Automations – Automatically trigger profile retrieval and CRM enrichment workflows after capturing IDs.

FAQs