Looking to automate your LinkedIn outreach, but worried about getting your account restricted—or just wasting time on pointless busywork? You’re not alone. Whether you’re in sales, recruiting, or just want to get your name out there, automating profile visits and endorsements can save you hours. But do it wrong, and you’ll get flagged by LinkedIn’s bots—fast.
This guide is for anyone who wants to use automation tools like Expandi to make LinkedIn work for them, not the other way around. I’ll walk you through setting up safe automations for profile visits and endorsements, what actually works (and what’s a waste), and how to avoid the rookie mistakes that get people banned.
Why Automate LinkedIn Profile Visits and Endorsements?
Before we dive in, here’s the big picture: LinkedIn shows who’s viewed your profile. When you visit profiles, people notice—and some will check you out (or even message you). Endorsing someone’s skills can be a conversation starter, too. Done right, automation can:
- Get you on more people’s radar—without spamming them.
- Warm up cold prospects before you connect.
- Give you a reason to reach out (e.g., “Hey, I visited your profile and noticed…”).
But let’s be honest: The days of blasting thousands of profiles a week are over. LinkedIn’s detection has gotten a lot smarter, so you need to be careful.
Step 1: Set Up Your LinkedIn and Expandi Accounts
If you haven’t already, you’ll need:
- A LinkedIn account with a real photo, completed profile, and some recent activity. Fake or empty profiles get flagged fast.
- An Expandi account. There’s a free trial, but you’ll need a paid plan for ongoing use.
Pro tip: Don’t use automation on a brand new LinkedIn profile. Let it “age” for a few weeks with normal, human activity first.
Connecting Expandi to LinkedIn:
- Log in to Expandi.
- Go to “My account” and look for “LinkedIn accounts.”
- Add your LinkedIn credentials. Expandi uses a cloud-based browser, so you don’t need to keep your computer running.
Expandi will ask for a verification code from your email or phone, just like a normal LinkedIn login. This is normal.
Step 2: Understand the Risks (and How to Stay Safe)
Let’s get something straight: LinkedIn doesn’t love automation tools, and they’re always updating their detection. Here’s how to avoid trouble:
- Stay under LinkedIn’s daily limits. For profile visits, keep it under 100 per day to start. For endorsements, 5–10 per day is plenty.
- Avoid patterns. Don’t visit or endorse the same type of profile over and over. Mix it up.
- Don’t run automations 24/7. Set working hours (e.g., 9am–5pm, weekdays only).
- Use “human” delays. Expandi lets you randomize delays between actions. Use it.
- Monitor your LinkedIn inbox. If you get a warning from LinkedIn, stop all automation immediately.
What happens if you ignore this? At best, you’ll get a warning. At worst, your account gets restricted or banned. Not worth it.
Step 3: Build Your Target List
Automation is only as smart as your targeting. Don’t just visit random profiles—think about who you actually want to connect with.
- Use LinkedIn’s search filters: location, industry, job title, etc.
- Save your search results as a CSV, or use LinkedIn Sales Navigator for more advanced lists.
- Clean up your list. Remove people you already know or who aren’t relevant.
Pro tip: The more personalized your list, the better your results (and the less likely you’ll look like a bot).
Step 4: Set Up Profile Visit Campaigns in Expandi
Here’s how to automate profile visits, safely:
- In Expandi, go to “Campaigns” and choose “Profile Visits.”
- Upload your target list (CSV or LinkedIn search URL).
- Set your daily visit limit. Start low (30–50/day) and ramp up slowly.
- Set working hours. Don’t run visits at 2am—nobody believes you’re networking then.
- Enable random delays between visits (30–120 seconds is good).
- Launch the campaign.
That’s it. Expandi will start visiting profiles as if you’re doing it yourself.
Does this actually work? For getting profile views and some curiosity, yes. But don’t expect everyone to visit you back or send a message. Still, it’s a low-effort way to get noticed.
Step 5: Set Up Endorsement Campaigns
Endorsing skills is a little trickier—do it wrong, and you look like a spammer.
- In Expandi, create a new “Endorse Skills” campaign.
- Upload your list of 2nd or 3rd-degree connections. (You can only endorse people you’re connected with.)
- Choose which skills to endorse. Keep it relevant—don’t randomly endorse “C++” for someone in HR.
- Set a very low daily limit (5–10/day max).
- Use random delays and working hours.
- (Optional) Add a follow-up message, but keep it natural. “Hey, I noticed your work in XYZ—happy to endorse your skills!” Don’t pitch anything, or you’ll get ignored.
Does this work? Sometimes. Endorsements can be a nice touch, but don’t expect miracles. It’s a soft opener, not a magic bullet.
Step 6: Track Results and Adjust
Automation isn’t “set and forget.” You need to watch what’s happening and adapt.
- Check your LinkedIn dashboard for profile views and messages.
- Review your Expandi campaign stats.
- If you get a LinkedIn warning or see a drop in engagement, pause or slow down.
- Tweak your target list and messaging based on what’s working.
What to ignore: “Growth hacking” gurus who promise 10,000 leads overnight. Real connections take time—automation just helps you scale the boring parts.
Pro Tips for Staying Safe (and Sane)
- Don’t use multiple automation tools at once. LinkedIn will notice.
- Don’t automate everything. Use automation for first touches, then take over with real conversations.
- Don’t endorse skills you don’t understand. It’s obvious and looks silly.
- Rotate your LinkedIn activity. Like, comment, and post manually now and then.
- Less is more. A few targeted visits beat hundreds of random ones every time.
What Doesn’t Work (and What to Avoid)
- Mass-blasting thousands of profiles. This used to work. Now it gets you banned.
- Automated connection requests with spammy pitches. People ignore or report these.
- Fake profiles. LinkedIn is cracking down, and you’ll lose your account.
- Aggressive follow-ups. Annoying, and not worth the risk.
Keep It Simple (and Don’t Get Greedy)
Automating LinkedIn profile visits and endorsements with Expandi can save you a lot of time, if you do it right. Don’t try to game the system. Start slow, watch your results, and always act like a human—because that’s who people want to connect with.
Keep things simple, iterate as you go, and remember: The goal isn’t to hit huge numbers. It’s to make real connections, faster, without burning your account.