How does LinkedIn's algorithm work?

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You don't have to obsess over LinkedIn's algorithm, but you do need to better understand what happens to LinkedIn content after it's published. Posting on LinkedIn without properly understanding how the algorithm works is like sitting in a Volkswagen Beetle on a grid flanked by Porsches.

1. In a nutshell, how does the algorithm work?
It assigns a ‘quality’ score to your content before anyone sees it by analyzing the text, anything attached to the post, and attempts to predict how well it will be received by your intended audience (new connections, connections, followers, mutual hashtag followers, group members, etc.). It then pushes your post to a small sample of your audience (mostly connections, followers, group members…) and waits to see if they engage. Depending on how that first “test” goes, it will decide whether to send it to clinical nurse specialist email database more people and continue the test, or stop showing it in the feed.

2. Is there a diagram that explains what the algorithm does?
Yes. Here it is, although it doesn't really explain, it just gives an overview of the decision path that content takes on LinkedIn.

Infographic-algorithm-linkedIn

3. How do I know if my post is “low quality”?
Essentially, if LinkedIn’s algorithm decides your post sucks, it won’t appear in the feed and almost no one will see it. Apparently, the algorithm tries to make a judgment call — pre-engagement signals — by looking at the “attributes of the post, the member who posted it, its content, its text, any photos in it, and the potential viewer. All of this to decide the expected quality of the post. Historically the model was focusing more on a post’s past engagement as a signal of whether it was good, rather than its inherent attributes. So while we don’t have a quality metric per se (what attributes?), we are told that the algorithm takes a bird’s eye view of the author/post/audience before anyone sees it.

4. Does the algorithm remember how my last post performed?
We wish! Just because you created a post that got over a hundred thousand views and a lot of engagement doesn’t give you an advantage when you write your next post. If you regularly post thoughtful content that sparks interesting conversations, the feed will learn strong affinities between you and the people you talk to, making it even more likely to show your posts to those people in the future. But beyond that, there’s no audience ramp-up or expansion after a piece of content success. It’s a shame, but it’s in keeping with the temporary nature of LinkedIn posts.

5. If my post is “struggling” to get engagement, will it be helped?
Maybe! Pete Davies touched on a rather juicy concept built into the algorithm: “We also consider who would benefit from knowing about you, and may rank a connection’s post higher if your post needs more engagement. We call this ‘creator side optimization’. In theory, the algorithm can provide a nudge by placing your low-engagement post in more feeds/higher up in the feed, but there’s no way to know when/if that happens, or more importantly, why.



Pete Davies - LinkedIn

6. Do I need a wider network to get my content to more people?
No. Even if you have thousands of followers, it only takes a handful of people to get the engagement ball rolling and to signal to the algorithm that your content may be worthy of wider distribution. Connections and followers who regularly react, comment, and share your content, i.e. “fans,” are vital to the success of your content strategy. So are the persistent participants of your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree connections. Your content is like a steel ball in a pinball machine, your followers operate the flippers at the start of the game, and each person who subsequently engages is like a pop bumper that bounces your post back (via likes, mentions, comments, shares) to someone else, via notifications.

7. Are comments, likes and re-shares the same?
No. The algorithm apparently loves comments. Which makes sense, right? LinkedIn is all about data. If you stopped giving data to LinkedIn, it would die. But LinkedIn also wants and needs users to be on the platform, to keep coming back, and to stick around for as long as possible. Comments provide more data than likes and shares — they also generate engagement. That’s why many successful authors end their post with a question. They understand the importance of sparking discussion. It’s crucial for reach. They also understand that it’s smart to respond or react to every comment. Their job doesn’t end by clicking “publish,” it’s only just begun. Be consistent. Give a comment to every comment you receive, and you’ll notice an increase in views and engagement from others.

8. Is there a penalty for posting too many times a day/week?
If you (half-heartedly…) post more than 20 times a month isn’t going to help you, and posting too much will hurt your distribution. Unless you’re a real influencer or have a high level of engagement with each and every post, I wouldn’t “bother” people too much with lots of posts.” There are some studies that confirm this, some experts say: “We noticed that when you share more than one post a day, it has a negative impact on the views of all the posts shared that day.” Basically because the algorithm wants to show content from more members, rather than content from a minority of “heavy users.” We also found that if someone shares a second post on the same day, the second post needs 3 times more engagement to get the same views as the first and if you share 3 posts in one day, the third one will be ignored by the algorithm.” Therefore, they advise to wait at least 3 hours before posting twice in one day so that the algorithm tries to treat both posts equally.