How to Request a Testimonial on LinkedIn (And Own the Proof)

Requesting a testimonial on LinkedIn takes about a minute: go to your profile, open the Recommendations section, click Ask for a recommendation, pick a first-degree connection, set how you worked together, and send a short personal note. That is the easy part, and it is the part every other article stops at. The harder question is what happens to that proof once it lands. A LinkedIn recommendation lives on a profile LinkedIn controls, in a format you cannot embed on your own site, in front of an audience that has to be logged in to see it. This guide covers the full request, the templates that get a yes, and the step almost nobody teaches: how to pull those recommendations off LinkedIn and onto a wall you own.

Key takeaways

• To request a recommendation, go to your profile, open the Recommendations section, click Ask for a recommendation, choose a first-degree connection, set the relationship, and send a short personalized note. You can also start from their profile through the More menu.
• A LinkedIn "recommendation" is the native profile feature: text only, on your profile, and you approve it before it shows. Company Page "testimonials" (the What We Do tab) are a separate, business-facing thing.
• Personalize every request. Name the project, name the skill you want highlighted, and offer three or four bullet points so the person can write it in five minutes.
• The catch: a recommendation sits on a profile LinkedIn controls. Prospects who are not on LinkedIn, or who never open your profile, never see it, and you cannot embed it on your website.
• The fix is to pull the proof off-platform: copy the text, get a quick thumbs-up to reuse it, add the person's name, title, and company, and display it on a wall you control.
• testimonials.ltd collects text and video proof through a no-login form and shows it in a Wall of Love widget you buy once and embed anywhere. Senja and Testimonial.to do a similar job but bill you every month for it.

Recommendation, testimonial, endorsement: know what you are asking for

LinkedIn has three overlapping features and people use the words interchangeably, which leads to vague requests and weak results. Sort them out before you ask.

A recommendation is the closest thing LinkedIn has to a testimonial. A first-degree connection writes a paragraph about working with you, it goes to you for approval, and once you accept it, it shows in the Recommendations section of your profile. This is what you want for real social proof.

An endorsement is the one-click skill tap ("someone endorsed you for Copywriting"). It is nearly worthless as proof because it carries no story and no context. Do not confuse a request for endorsements with a request for a recommendation.

Company Page testimonials are separate again. If you run a business Page, a super admin can add client or candidate testimonials to the What We Do tab. Those live on the Page, not on a personal profile, and are handled through the Page admin view rather than the recommendation flow below.

For the rest of this guide, "testimonial on LinkedIn" means a recommendation, because that is the version you can turn into marketing proof you own.

How to request a recommendation on LinkedIn (desktop and mobile)

There are two routes, and the destination is the same. LinkedIn moves its buttons around every so often, so treat the labels as a guide rather than gospel.

From your own profile (desktop):

1. Click the Me icon at the top of your homepage, then View profile.
2. Scroll to the Recommendations section. If you do not see it, add it through Add profile section under Recommended.
3. Click the Plus (+) icon in that section and choose Ask for a recommendation.
4. Search for and select the first-degree connection you want to ask.
5. Set the relationship (how you worked together) and your position at the time from the dropdowns, then click Next.
6. Replace the default text with a personalized message (see the templates below) and click Send.

From their profile: open the person's profile, click the More button (the three dots near their headline), and select Request a recommendation. You still set the relationship and write the note.

On the LinkedIn mobile app: tap your photo to open your profile, scroll to the Recommendations section, tap the Plus or the pencil, and choose Ask for a recommendation. The relationship and message steps are identical to desktop.

Two rules the interface enforces: you can only request recommendations from first-degree connections, and nothing goes public without you. When the person submits it, you get a notification and can accept it, ask for a change, or leave it hidden. Reviewing before it shows is a feature, not a formality: it is your one chance to keep a rambling or off-target recommendation off your profile.

What to write in the request (copy-paste templates)

The default LinkedIn message is a blank prompt, and a blank prompt gets ignored. The single biggest lever is making the ask specific and easy. Tell them what to highlight and hand them the raw material.

Here is a full request you can adapt for a client, which doubles as a sample for the "how to request a testimonial on LinkedIn" search itself:

Hi [Name], it has been great working together on [project or outcome]. I am adding a few recommendations to my profile and yours would carry real weight, especially on [specific skill or result]. To make it quick, here are three things that stood out from my side: [bullet one], [bullet two], [bullet three]. Feel free to use, change, or ignore any of them. No rush at all, and thank you.

Three things make that work. It is personal, so it does not read as a mass send. It names the exact skill or result you want on the record, so you do not get a generic "great to work with." And it offers bullet points, which cuts the writing time from twenty minutes to five and roughly doubles your reply rate in practice. Ask when the win is fresh, not six months later when the details have faded. If you want more angles for the ask itself, our full script for asking a client for a review and these copy-paste email request templates go deeper than a single LinkedIn note.

The problem nobody mentions: your proof is stranded on LinkedIn

Say the recommendation comes in and it is glowing. Where does it actually work for you? On your LinkedIn profile, seen by people who are already on LinkedIn, already looking at you, and mostly already sold. The prospect reading your pricing page at 11pm, not logged in, comparing you to two competitors, never sees it. That is the audience a testimonial is supposed to convert, and LinkedIn keeps your best proof away from them.

It gets worse when you look at control. You do not own the display. LinkedIn owns the layout, the algorithm that decides what shows, and the account itself. There is no official way to embed a personal recommendation on your website, so the text is trapped behind a login and a profile visit. If LinkedIn redesigns the Recommendations section, throttles reach, or restricts your account, your social proof moves or vanishes and you have no say. You earned that proof. You do not own it.

This is the same trap every rented tool sets, just with a friendlier face. Social proof is an asset, like your logo or your domain. It belongs on property you control, working at the exact moment someone decides whether to trust you. Leaving it on LinkedIn is the free version of renting your reputation back from a platform. The paid version is a monthly testimonial subscription, which we will get to.

Pull your LinkedIn recommendations off-platform (and where to put them)

The good news: a recommendation is just text with a name attached, and text travels. Here is the off-platform move in four steps.

1. Copy the recommendation. Open your Recommendations section and copy the full text, plus the person's name, title, and company.
2. Get a quick thumbs-up. A recommendation on your profile is public, but reusing it in your marketing, with a name and photo, is politer and safer with a one-line heads-up. Most people say yes in seconds because you are amplifying their words. That quick permission also lets you ask for a headshot and, ideally, a link to their profile so the quote is verifiable.
3. Add real attribution. Name, role, company, and a photo. A quote with a face and a title converts far better than an anonymous line. If you can link to their LinkedIn profile, prospects can verify the person is real.
4. Put it on a wall you own. Drop it into a testimonial widget on your own site, next to your pricing and your call to action, where the decision actually happens.

That last step is the whole game. A Wall of Love widget turns a pile of scattered recommendations into one embeddable block of proof that lives on your domain. Compare the two homes for the same quote.

You can also collect fresh proof directly, without the LinkedIn round-trip. A no-login testimonial form lets a client leave a written or video testimonial in under a minute, and you approve what goes live before anyone sees it.

Collect proof in the flow, not just on LinkedIn

LinkedIn's request is, when you think about it, an in-app message: a note that appears inside the platform at a moment you chose. You can run that same play on your own terms. The strongest testimonials come right after a moment of delight, so ask there, in the flow, instead of weeks later on a social network the customer may not check.

That means two collection channels LinkedIn cannot give you. In-email: drop a request or a one-tap rating straight into a project-wrap or thank-you email, so the ask meets the customer where they already are. In-app: embed a collection prompt inside your product and trigger it right after a win, a completed order, or a milestone. testimonials.ltd is built for exactly this, with collection widgets you can place in emails and inside your app, not just a share link you hope someone clicks. It even captures abandoned-review intent: if someone starts a testimonial and drops off, you keep what they already typed so you can follow up, which no rented tool bothers to do.

Video is where LinkedIn simply cannot compete, since recommendations are text only. A short clip of a customer saying the words outperforms any paragraph, and testimonials.ltd collects video through the same no-login form. Video is a transparent, capped add-on rather than an unlimited promise, because storage and bandwidth cost real money, and that honest cap is exactly what lets the whole thing be a one-time purchase instead of a monthly bill.

What the monthly tools charge for the same job

Here is the part the category would rather you skip. Once you decide to move proof off LinkedIn and onto your own site, most tools that help you do it, Senja, Testimonial.to, Trustmary, Famewall, charge every single month, forever, for a job that does not change after setup. You collect the testimonials once. You embed the widget once. The proof does not expire. But the invoice arrives every month regardless.

testimonials.ltd runs the opposite model. You pay one time and keep the collection forms, the approval flow, and the widgets for good. Text testimonials are generous and kept forever. Sites and brand spaces are a one-time, tiered choice (roughly one, three, or ten), so an agency buys the client capacity it needs once instead of paying monthly per site. The domain says it out loud: .ltd reads as Lifetime Deal. You are not renting your reputation from LinkedIn, and you are not renting the tool that displays it either.

FAQ

How do I ask for a testimonial on LinkedIn?

Go to your profile, scroll to the Recommendations section, click the plus icon, and choose Ask for a recommendation. Pick a first-degree connection, set how you worked together, then write a short, specific note naming the project and the skill you want highlighted. You can also start from the person's profile through the More menu.

What is the difference between a LinkedIn recommendation and a testimonial?

A recommendation is LinkedIn's native feature: a written endorsement that lives on your profile after you approve it. A testimonial is proof you can use anywhere in your marketing. A LinkedIn recommendation becomes a testimonial the moment you copy it, get a quick okay to reuse it, and display it on a page you control.

Can I use a LinkedIn recommendation on my own website?

Yes. Copy the text along with the person's name, title, and company, send a one-line message to confirm they are happy for you to reuse it, add a photo and attribution, then embed it in a testimonial widget on your site. The quick permission step is good manners and keeps everything above board, and it is your chance to grab a headshot.

How do I add testimonials to my LinkedIn Company Page?

Company Page testimonials are separate from personal recommendations. In your Page super admin view, open the What We Do tab, scroll to the testimonials section, and add a client or candidate by searching for them. They receive a request and, once approved, the testimonial appears on the Page. This is business-facing and does not touch your personal Recommendations section.

How do I request a recommendation on the LinkedIn mobile app?

Tap your photo to open your profile, scroll to the Recommendations section, tap the plus or pencil icon, and choose Ask for a recommendation. Select the connection, set the relationship and your role at the time, write your message, and send. The steps mirror the desktop flow, and you still approve the recommendation before it goes live.

How many LinkedIn recommendations should I ask for, and when?

Quality beats quantity. A handful of recent, specific recommendations from people who match your target buyer outperforms a long list of generic ones. Ask when a win is fresh, so the details are vivid, and space requests out rather than blasting your whole network in one day.

Related on testimonials.ltd

• Feature. No-login testimonial form. Collect written or video proof in under a minute, with nothing for the reviewer to sign into.
• Pricing. One-time price, kept forever. Pay once for the forms, approval flow, and widgets instead of a monthly bill.
• Widget. Wall of Love: the testimonial widget explained. Turn scattered recommendations into one embeddable block of proof on your own site.
• Guide. The full script for asking a client for a review. A deeper playbook than a single LinkedIn note.
• Own it. Testimonial widget: own the one you embed. Why the display of your proof should sit on property you control.

Try testimonials.ltd

Get the recommendation, then own it forever.

Ask for the LinkedIn recommendation, absolutely. Then give that proof a home that works when it matters, on your own site, in front of prospects who are not logged into anyone's platform. testimonials.ltd collects text and video through a no-login form, lets you approve every testimonial before it goes live, and displays the winners in a Wall of Love widget you embed anywhere. Video is an honest, capped add-on, never an unlimited promise, and the whole thing is a one-time price, not a subscription. Collect your proof, keep it for good, and stop leaving your best words stranded on someone else's profile.

Start collecting testimonials