X-Ray searching is the technique of using Google to search within LinkedIn. Since Google indexes LinkedIn profiles, you can use advanced operators to find exactly who you're looking for - for free.
The Basic Formula
The base query is simple:
site:linkedin.com/in/ "Job Title" "Location"
This searches only on LinkedIn profile pages (the /in/ part filters out company pages, posts, etc.).
Concrete Examples
// Find COOs in France
site:linkedin.com/in/ "COO" "France"
// B2B SaaS CTOs in Paris
site:linkedin.com/in/ "CTO" "SaaS" "Paris"
// Heads of Sales in tech companies
site:linkedin.com/in/ "Head of Sales" ("tech" OR "software" OR "SaaS")
Boolean Operators
- OR - Multiple alternatives:
"CEO" OR "Founder" OR "Co-founder" - - - Exclude:
"Sales" -"junior" -"intern" - " " - Exact phrase:
"Vice President of Sales" - ( ) - Grouping:
("CEO" OR "CTO") "startup"
Advanced Filters
By Company
// Current employees of a company
site:linkedin.com/in/ "Stripe" "COO"
// Former employees
site:linkedin.com/in/ "Ex-Google" OR "Former Google" "France"
By School
// Alumni from top schools
site:linkedin.com/in/ "Harvard" "CEO" "US"
site:linkedin.com/in/ ("Stanford" OR "MIT" OR "Harvard") "Head of"
Exporting Results
Google doesn't allow direct export. Here are solutions:
- Manually - Copy URLs one by one (tedious)
- Chrome Extension - "Instant Data Scraper" extracts Google results
- PhantomBuster - "Google Search Export" automates everything
- Apify - "Google Search Results Scraper" for high volume
Google Limit: Google shows max ~300 results per search. For more, segment your searches (by city, sector, etc.).
X-Ray vs Sales Navigator
| X-Ray Google | Sales Navigator | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | ~$100/month |
| Limit | ~300 results/search | 2500 results/search |
| Filters | Free text (flexible) | Structured filters (precise) |
| Private profiles | Not visible | Partially visible |
Complete Workflow
- Define your ICP - Job title, sector, company size, location
- Build the X-Ray query - With boolean operators
- Scrape the results - Instant Data Scraper or PhantomBuster
- Clean the CSV - Extract clean LinkedIn URLs
- Enrich - Clay or PhantomBuster for name, email, company
- Outreach - Import into your sequence tool