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kochubei_valeria
Community Member

Profile Visibility Settings

As you know freelancers on Upwork can set their profile visibility as Private, Upwork Users Only, or Public. Some new and established freelancers who are looking for jobs on Upwork have told us that they often have more success landing jobs when their profiles are set as Public. This is not surprising as many clients use search engines to find freelancers.

 

I'm working with the product team to get feedback about profile visibility. We would like to learn more about your experience. Have any of you, our Community members, ever tried switching your profile visibility from Public to Upwork Users Only or vise versa and if so, have you noticed any changes in invites? And if you prefer to have your visibility set as Upwork Users Only over Public while actively looking for jobs, do you mind sharing why?

 

Screenshot_1.png

~ Valeria
Upwork
6 REPLIES 6
gilbert-phyllis
Community Member

I switched my profile to UW Users Only quite some time ago--don't recall exactly when, but it was when I leared the difference between that and Public. I was not able to discern whether or not it made a difference because I don't know how to control for other factors including UW's algorithm that governs search results.

I keep it set to UW Users Only because I don't want or need random members of the public to see it. I have my profile here, a profile on LinkedIn, a FB page and a website for my professional practice. That's enough.

Valeria,

 

It is really difficult to tell.  I have been considering changing to Upwork-only users if only to keep my profile within Upwork confines. 

 

The problem with Google searches is that Google hits on everything. You can end up being classified as an expert video editor, because you might have edited a video text or a paralegal because you have edited a legal paper. 

 

Sometimes Google will use part of a freelancer's overview in a search and you won't find that freelancer anywhere near the top of the page if you click on it - if at all.  


Nichola L wrote:

Valeria,

 

It is really difficult to tell.  I have been considering changing to Upwork-only users if only to keep my profile within Upwork confines. 

 

The problem with Google searches is that Google hits on everything. You can end up being classified as an expert video editor, because you might have edited a video text or a paralegal because you have edited a legal paper. 

 

Sometimes Google will use part of a freelancer's overview in a search and you won't find that freelancer anywhere near the top of the page if you click on it - if at all.  


And sometimes a person's entire overview shows up on a myriad of categories for Upwork freelancers. Smiley Indifferent

 

ETA: But to stay on topic, I should add that I've never switched my profile visibility from public.

Thank you so much for your input, Phyllis and Nichola! I really appreciate it.

 

One more question. Setting their profile as Public also allows the freelancer to set up their Search Engine Privacy. You can choose to be shown to clients searching for your full name. Do you see that as beneficial for your business?

 

Screenshot from April24201931AM.png

~ Valeria
Upwork

I seem to remember I had my full name in the oDesk days. I couldn't say if it helped me to get clients or not. I think it should be a question of choice. I suppose from Upwork's POV,  full names might not be such a good idea as it would be tempting to fish freelancers from LinkedIn or Facebook.

 

That said, we often get a glimpse of full names in any case on the forum and when browsing freelancers. I don't really mind one way or the other. But people ought to be given the choice as to whether or not they share their full names.   

You can choose to be shown to clients searching for your full name. Do you see that as beneficial for your business?

 

Most definitely.  Being able to easily find my books, papers, conference talks etc will only add to my credibility.  

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