Yes, a reverse email lookup on LinkedIn actually works – and can be very helpful, especially for generating and enriching B2B leads. You get another highly effective angle for your acquisition efforts and, at the same time, the chance to collect a lot of data that can be put to good use in lead nurturing. However, LinkedIn itself does not offer this feature. So you need some know-how or a reverse email lookup tool. In this article, we'll show you how account search by email works.
Why identify LinkedIn contacts from an email anyway?
You're probably familiar with this scenario: Prospective customers submit a quick inquiry, download something from your website, or subscribe to your newsletter, leaving behind little more than an email address (solely due to the GDPR compliance of your forms). If you then simply write to these people"cold," i.e., without further classification, a communication vacuum quickly arises. You lack important knowledge about the industry, the role, possible interests, and other (professional)backgrounds of these potential buyers or partners.
Such messages often seem arbitrary and therefore very rarely lead to success. Various studies and empirical values from proven marketing experts indicate that the response rates here are only between about 2 and 7 percent. An internal evaluation by the email marketing specialists at Woodpecker shows that you can quickly increase the response rate to around 17 percent with just a slightly more targeted approach. By precisely narrowing down the target group or integrating more in-depth information into campaigns, this figure can be increased even further.
LinkedIn can provide you with exactly this context. People naturally reveal a lot of information on this business network that helps you qualify and further process leads. This includes names, companies, positions, career history, skills, often even interests, and, of course, mutual contacts. This data allows you to target campaigns more precisely and take your communication and lead nurturing to a whole new level.
In addition, LinkedIn is by far the most important platform for business networking. Users are accustomed to receiving messages and are open to relevant offers. Combined with the enormous number of users on —more than 850 million worldwide — this presents very interesting opportunities.
Not to mention: Many people use a business email address for B2B inquiries—and this is often linked to their LinkedIn account. This allows you to find the right person even if you don't know their name or there are several similar profiles
How do I find LinkedIn profiles using email addresses?
There are several options for the so-called reverse lookup or reverse email lookup — i.e. finding LinkedIn people via email in this case. We'll now show you how to find out profiles behind an email (without a name).
Google search — the classic
If you want to find anything on the internet, you probably often use Google first, of course. The search engine indexes countless LinkedIn profiles and corresponding content that has been indirectly linked to email contact details.
To perform a reverse lookup, simply enter an email address along with the word "LinkedIn" in the search field. If the address appears somewhere on the web, Google can provide the corresponding profile URL. Clicking on the first relevant result is enough to identify the contact.
However, this method quickly reaches its limits. It only works for business email addresses that appear publicly on the internet or have been clearly indexed. The profile must also be sufficiently up-to-date for it to be correctly assigned.
Advantages:
• Easy to carry out
• No technical hurdles
Disadvantages:
• Works almost only with business email addresses
• Not reliable if the LinkedIn profile is not indexed
Outlook synchronization — for tech-savvy
In Microsoft Outlook, you can connect your email inbox directly to LinkedIn. This link allows Outlook to recognize when a saved email address matches a LinkedIn profile – and takes you directly there.
And this is how you go about it:
1. Connect your Outlook to your LinkedIn account via Settings.
2. Then create a lead's email contact in Outlook.
3. Outlook will immediately show you in the appropriate area whether an associated LinkedIn profile exists.
This feature is based on LinkedIn email addresses internally for profile recognition uses. If the respective person has stored in their LinkedIn account exactly the address that you received, Outlook can assign the data set.
However, this path is suitable rather not for large amounts of data. It takes a bit of time to set up, and you'll need to manually verify each contact.
Advantages:
• Very precise when it comes to private mail contacts
• Provides direct profile information, provided that the address is stored in the LinkedIn account
Disadvantages:
• Relatively complex to set up
• Not scalable
• Not suitable for large volumes of professional email addresses
ChatGPT — the new way
Since ChatGPT gained access to the internet, AI has evolved into even stronger competition for Google and Co. It is now possible to query all conceivable information from publicly accessible, up-to-date sources. You can also use the system to find a LinkedIn profile with an email address. All you need is the right prompt, which we will, of course, provide you with here.
Important: We are showing you the prompt here in German – simply to make the context as understandable as possible and to make it easier for you to get started. However, it is worth using it in English later, as experience has shown that AI models interpret search queries in English better.
"You will receive an email address as input. Your task is to collect and evaluate publicly available information about this address. Be sure to use only legally permissible sources and do not include any speculation."
Here is the email address: [enter email address]
1. Check data sources:
• Social networks: Search for profiles related to this email address on LinkedIn, Xing, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
• Business reference: If the address is business, identify the company, website, and potential contacts.
• Domain queries: If the email contains a domain, find WHOIS information.
• Public registries and forums: Search B2B marketplaces, industry directories, forums, and similar platforms for mentions.
• Newsletter notes: Check whether the address is assigned to specific services.
2. Analysis & Enrichment:
• Check the validity of the email and determine the type (free or commercial).
• Provide names, usernames, or other identifiers.
• Evaluate online activity based on publicly visible information
• Identify geographical clues when available.
• Extract profile pictures or avatars from public sources.
• Name job or training data, provided that it is visible on platforms such as LinkedIn or Xing.
3. Framework conditions:
• Only use publicly available information.
• Do not generate scripts or technical instructions.
• Prioritize accuracy.
• Don't add guesses.
• Present results in a clearly structured manner and name sources. ”
We have tested this method several times and have been able to reliably determine whether or not there is a connection to LinkedIn. The quality of the results depends largely on whether the address in question appears publicly somewhere. However, this approach almost always provides significantly more context than a simple Google search.
Advantages:
• Very accurate results for professional email addresses
• Comprehensive database by querying further sources
• Quick evaluation without manual research
Disadvantages:
• Can take up to one minute per address
• Dependent on publicly available information
Reverse email lookup tool — LinkedIn backward search software
With the help of a special reverse email lookup tool, the entire reverse search process can be automated. Our system allows you to find a LinkedIn profile with an email address without having to do any manual research. You simply enter the address – the software does the rest.
Similar to ChatGPT, the application searches public sources and draws links to professional profiles. This allows you to confidently query identity, employer, position, phone numbers, social media presence, and other helpful details.In addition, the system displays relevant company data such as the domain, website, or general contact information.
This approach pays off especially for larger amounts of data. Integrated batch processing offers the opportunity to enrich several hundred or even thousands of data records within a short period of time. Processing around 1,000 email addresses takes about ten minutes. You can integrate the function directly into your existing software stack via an API. This is also possible via Zapier, Make, n8n or other visual Automation tools without programming knowledge.
Advantages:
• Very easy to use
• High accuracy
• Optimum scaling for large amounts of data
Disadvantages:
• Paid (but with a free plan and flexible pricing levels)
Conclusion
Finding a LinkedIn profile using an email address is possible in many cases and opens up valuable opportunities for more precise B2B communication. With additional information, you can improve your approach, prioritize leads effectively, and significantly increase your success rate in email campaigns. In addition, the LinkedIn account you uncover provides you with another potentially very productive point of contact for your lead management.
There are various ways to achieve this goal: Google search is suitable for a quick start, Outlook provides precise information on individual contacts, and a structured AI prompt via ChatGPT enables you to conduct a wide-ranging search.
However, the most effective method remains a specialized reverse email lookup tool that quickly and reliably enriches large amounts of data. This is exactly where our solution comes in. It helps you find a wealth of relevant information in a short amount of time—intuitively and with just a few clicks. This type of reverse search can make a decisive difference, especially if you regularly gain contacts via forms, downloads, or campaigns.
FAQ
Does a reverse email search work on LinkedIn?
There is no function directly within LinkedIn to find a profile with an email address. However, there are several workarounds to choose from: These include classic Google search, linking your Outlook account to LinkedIn, structured AI research, and the use of a specialized reverse lookup tool.
How can I search LinkedIn profiles with email address?
There are several methods:
• Google allows you to find many profiles that are linked to business email addresses.
• Outlook shows you directly when a saved contact belongs to an existing LinkedIn profile.
• With the help of an AI-based prompt, you can collect publicly available data in a structured way via ChatGPT.
• However, the most reliable and convenient way to search is via a special reverse email lookup tool such as the one from bakedwith.
Is there software for a backward email search on LinkedIn?
Yes, bakedwith offers you a solution that allows you to find multiple LinkedIn profiles with email addresses. Our tool specifically accesses public data, evaluates it quickly and reliably extracts relevant information such as names, positions, employers, social media accounts or company details. Automated batch processing and integration via API or Zapier, Make or n8n are no problem.
Posted by:
Jens ist Mitgründer von bakedwith, einer Boutique-Beratung für smarte Automatisierung und KI. Er unterstützt mittelständische Unternehmen und Konzerne dabei, Prozesse zu optimieren, manuelle Arbeit zu reduzieren und durch effiziente Workflows Wachstum zu erzielen. Zuvor war Jens Growth Lead bei OMR und begleitete als Freelancer zahlreiche Unternehmen bei der Optimierung ihrer CRM- und Automationssysteme. Seine Leidenschaft gilt der Verbindung von Wachstum und Effizienz – damit Teams sich auf das Wesentliche konzentrieren können.
