Twitter is meant to improve communication, not just by limiting you to 140 characters, but also using the limited space in your profile page. Whether you are just starting to think about getting an account and creating a presence on Twitter, or if you’ve got a legion of followers, here are 7 tips you can try to optimize your profile page:

1. Username/”Handle” – Short, identifiable, organization oriented. Limited to 15 characters – If your name is too long, it’s less appealing for people to retweet or mention you, because your name takes up tweet space. Make sure that your organization is using its name, or a commonly used nickname/acronym. You can list your full organization name in the bio section, allowing people to search for you.

2. Avatar – Square image up to 700k, consistently branded. Not all logos translate well into a square format or can be easily recognized when shrunk down, so be sure it will fit well before you put it as your profile picture. Some organizations choose to use a picture of the person in charge of the tweets instead of a logo. It’s up to your organization to decide if it’s more important to brand the person or the logo online.

3. Bio – up to 160 characters, use keywords/slogans that describe your organization. This is your chance to identify yourself. This information will also be used in search, which is where keywords come in. You may also want to mention who is in charge of the tweets, to add a more personal touch to the organization profile.

4. More Info URL – link back to home page. If people are deciding on whether to follow your organization or want to learn more about who you are, that link is priceless. If the link goes to a page that isn’t well branded or is confusing, people probably aren’t going to stick around to try and figure it out.

5. Custom Background – Conveys Investment, extends branding. This can range from somewhat bland one color background to something very artistic. One background I love is KBEM Public Radio. The image must be under 800k in size, total image size should be around 1600px wide by 1200px tall. This encompasses almost all screen resolutions – and if you don’t stick to the dimensions it can start to tile, stretch, or be covered up by your Twitter profile.

6. Recent Images – Tweet images that are identifiable on a small scale. We all want to get everyone in the picture, but it may not show up well in your recent images display. Remember all of the images that you tweet will show up on your recent images, so don’t tweet something that you don’t want sticking around on your profile for awhile or will be very confusing to understand what it is if it’s scaled down.

7. Follower ratio – Try to keep it balanced. Consider keeping the number of followers within 20% of the number you follow. If the numbers are out of proportion, potential followers might think you’re a spam account. There’s disagreement on whether keeping your followers balanced is helpful or not, so go with what feels best for your organization.

What other tips do you suggest for optimizing your twitter page?