Level Up Your Lead Sourcing with LinkedIn X-Ray Search and MQLData.com
Finding the right people on LinkedIn can be tough—especially if you don't have premium access or you're limited by connection filters. What if there was another way of finding LinkedIn profiles, even those we can't usually see? This is exactly what the search interface X-Ray allows you to do. Getting it to work alongside a tool like MQLData.com makes everything faster, easier, and more accurate.
Let's understand how it works in the first place, especially if we are just commencing.
What Is LinkedIn X-Ray Search?
The term X-Ray Search is used to signify a method of conducting searches on general search engines and finding public LinkedIn profiles. Through this approach, which is also sometimes called Booleans, search operators are to be used in search engines rather than LinkedIn's search interface.
Here's how it works: You can go to Google and enter the special search string site:linkedin.com/in. This tells Google to look for only those pages that are LinkedIn profiles. You can then combine it with any key words like job titles, locations, or companies in order to find very specific people.
This method opens up a plethora of profiles which would not normally be available on LinkedIn, especially if they require being in your network or having a Premium account.
Why Use X-Ray Search Instead of LinkedIn Search?
There are numerous grounds persons prefer X-Ray Search:
● You can look up profiles even without first logging into LinkedIn.
● There are no daily limits or restrictions set against you.
● It allows you to see beyond first and second connection-level profiles.
● It allows you to apply heavy-duty Boolean logic to narrow an otherwise very broad search.
The advantage of the X-Ray search is indexed against the key limitations applied on LinkedIn searches by account type. Free users are only shown a few results and even less filtering options. X-Ray Search therefore removes those barriers and will give you greater control.
How to Create an Effective X-Ray Search Query
Let’s go through an example.
Imagine you’re trying to find product managers in Mumbai who work in SaaS companies.
Here’s what a sample search string might look like on Google:
site:linkedin.com/in intitle:"product manager" "Mumbai" (SaaS OR "software as a service") -intern
Let’s break this down:
● site:linkedin.com/in: This tells Google to only search LinkedIn profiles.
● intitle:"product manager": This focuses on profiles that include “product manager” in the headline.
● "Mumbai": This makes sure the profile is linked to Mumbai.
● (SaaS OR "software as a service"): This includes either term to capture more results.
● -intern: This removes any profiles that include the word “intern”.
You can adjust the query based on your needs. You can also use regional domains like site:in.linkedin.com/in to find profiles based in India or site:uk.linkedin.com/in for the UK.
Google also supports wildcards like * which can be useful when you're unsure about exact terms.
The Problem with Manual X-Ray Searches
Creating these searches manually can take time. If you don't know Boolean logic or how to put these searches together, it will take you more time to build the query than to find good leads.
You also need to keep testing and changing your searches, since the Google index keeps changing, and so do the results.
This is where tools such as MQLData.com really shine.
How MQLData.com Helps
X-Ray searches are extremely difficult if one does not have any experience writing Boolean search strings. It offers a user-friendly interface to remove the guesswork. Main features include:
● Boolean Builder: You simply input job title, location, keywords, and the tool will pop out the appropriate search string. So, no worries about syntax.
● Live Previews: Five free searches allow you to instantly see actual results. This helps refining your query without losing precious time.
● Premium Features: Paid users can save their search queries and search history with great productivity with unlimited queries.
MQLData.com smoothens the technical aspects with a guided experience.
Step-by-Step Guide to Using MQLData.com for X-Ray Search
This is how MQLData.com may be combined with X-Ray Search in order to identify some really valuable leads:
● Load MQLData.com and open the Boolean search builder.
● Enter the search criteria such as job title, industry, location, etc
● Preview your search string and amend it if you wish.
● Then search, and review the profiles that seem to suit your needs.
● On a premium plan, you can save your best searches to be rerun at a later date.
This workflow allows recruiters, sales teams, and business owners to spend less time searching and more time reaching out to whom matters.
Tips to Improve Your Search Results
Here are some helpful tips to make your searches even better:
● Use intitle: to focus on job titles.
● Use - to exclude terms you don’t want (like -intern or -student).
● Use parentheses and OR to include multiple similar terms (e.g., (HR OR "human resources")).
● Use wildcards like * if you want to leave part of the word open.
● Always check if the profile is public. X-Ray Search can only access information that’s publicly visible.
● Keep updating your searches from time to time. Google results change as pages get updated or removed.
Who Can Benefit from This?
An X-Ray Search with MQLData.com will find its application for the broad-based audience of people like
● Recruiters trying to reach candidates beyond their current network.
● Salespeople who put together fairly accurate lead lists for a good outreach strategy.
● Marketers are working on campaigns by building lists of contacts.
● Startup founders trying to find investors or team members
● Freelancers or consultants trying to find decision-makers.
In short, anybody needing to find people on LinkedIn but wanting to go beyond the internal search of LinkedIn.
Conclusion
LinkedIn is a powerful platform, but it has its limits—especially if you’re using a free account or need to go beyond your network. X-Ray Search gives you a way around these limits by using Google to find LinkedIn profiles more freely.
And when you add a tool like MQLData.com to the process, it becomes even simpler. You don’t need to know coding or Boolean search logic. The tool builds everything for you, shows results instantly, and helps you manage your search history over time.
Whether you’re hiring, selling, or just networking, LinkedIn X-Ray Search with MQLData.com can help you work smarter and faster.
