The LinkedIn algorithm, which determines how content is ranked and recommended to users, has gone through several major changes in the past few years. These changes have had significant impacts on content creators and marketers who rely on LinkedIn for lead generation and brand awareness.
The Switch to Relevance-Based Ranking
In 2017, LinkedIn announced that it would be shifting to a relevance-based feed. This meant that instead of showing posts in reverse chronological order, LinkedIn would now prioritize showing users the content it deemed most relevant to them. The goal was to create a more personalized experience.
This changed the game for marketers who had been used to their latest posts showing at the top of their followers’ feeds. Now reach and engagement depend heavily on how relevant LinkedIn considers your content to each user based on their profile and past activity.
Reduced Organic Reach
Many content creators have noticed a significant decline in organic reach since the relevance-based feed was implemented. Where a post may have once reached 30-40% of your followers, it may now only reach 5-10% without paying to boost it with ads. There are a few potential reasons for this:
- Withrelevance-based ranking, LinkedIn is showing more content from close connections and groups, and less from pages users don’t engage with as frequently.
- There is more content being shared on LinkedIn now than in past years, so the feed real estate is more competitive.
- LinkedIn wants more advertisers, so they have incentive to decrease organic reach to get more businesses to pay for boosting.
The Impact of Engagement-Based Ranking
In 2018, LinkedIn made another algorithm shift by incorporating engagement metrics into its ranking factors. This means how many reactions, comments, and shares a post gets will influence how high it ranks in the feed moving forward.
This has strategic implications in terms of creating more engaging content. Posts that drive discussion and elicit emotional reactions may be more likely to go viral under this algorithm. On the other hand, dry thought leadership or self-promotional content may suffer from lower engagement.
How the LinkedIn Algorithm Considers Your Behavior
LinkedIn personalizes the content you see based on your own behaviors on the platform. This includes:
- Who you connect and engage with
- What types of posts you like, comment on, and share
- Which Groups you are active in
- What content you view for the longest periods of time
Understanding these behavioral signals can help you optimize your activity. For example, consciously liking, commenting on, and sharing more of the type of content you want to see (industry news, career advice, etc.) can help train the algorithm.
How Content Attributes Impact LinkedIn Ranking
In addition to engagement and relevance, LinkedIn ranks content based on certain attributes and meta data elements. These include:
- Media format – Posts with images and video tend to rank better than text-only posts.
- Title – Click-worthy yet descriptive titles can catch users’ attention in the feed.
- Description – A preview of your post content helps users understand what it’s about.
- Keywords – Tags and keywords relevant to your target audience can help surface your posts.
Best Practices for the LinkedIn Algorithm
Here are some best practices to optimize your content for LinkedIn’s relevance- and engagement-based algorithm:
Focus on Quality Over Quantity
With reduced organic reach, you have to make each post count. Focus on distributing truly valuable content rather than posting as frequently as possible.
Engage Your Audience
Encourage comments, likes, and shares with thoughtful discussion questions, polls, quotes, images, etc. Get your followers engaged!
Know Your Audience
Tailor your posts’ messaging, topics, keywords, media, etc. directly to your audience’s interests and pain points.
Analyze Performance
Check LinkedIn Insights to see which types of posts perform best. Double down on what works.
Promote High-Performing Posts
Consider boosting posts that gain high engagement. This signals to the algorithm they offer value.
Should You Pay to Boost Posts on LinkedIn?
With organic reach declining, more marketers are turning to LinkedIn’s boosting options. Here are some pros and cons of paying to amplify your content:
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Tips for Effective LinkedIn Boosting
If you do invest in boosting, here are some tips to maximize results:
- Test different types of content to see what performs best when boosted
- Target your posts based on ideal customer demographics and interests
- Boost evergreen content that provides value beyond its initial promotion
- Set a daily maximum spend to control costs
- Measure engagement metrics beyond just reach (clicks, followers gained, etc.)
How the LinkedIn Algorithm Compares to Other Platforms
While algorithm changes have diminished organic reach across social media, LinkedIn tends to reward value-driven content more than some other platforms.
Vs. Facebook
Facebook’s algorithm strongly favors content that drives emotional reactions and discussion. LinkedIn still values quality content that educates or provides perspectives on industry issues.
Vs. Twitter
On Twitter, recency and being part of trending stories gives a big boost. LinkedIn’s algorithm lends more weight to content quality and audience alignment rather than timing.
Vs. Google
Google search ranks pages primarily based on keywords, backlinks and site authority. LinkedIn’s algorithm takes the user’s profile and intent into account more when ranking content in their feeds.
Why You Shouldn’t Try to “Game” the LinkedIn Algorithm
Some social media marketers attempt to reverse engineer or “hack” the LinkedIn algorithm to try to get more reach. This may include tactics like:
- Using lots of hashtags to appear in more keyword searches
- Including popular keywords that aren’t relevant just to rank for them
- Posting clickbait or controversial headlines just to get reactions
- Repeatedly deleting and reposting the same content to get another chance at going viral
While these tactics may work briefly, they often result in negative consequences:
- Your followers may disengage since the content isn’t relevant or valuable to them
- You may attract the wrong audience, followers, or group members
- LinkedIn may identify you as spamming and throttle your reach
The best approach is to optimize content based on authentic user value, not questionable shortcuts intended to “trick” the algorithm. Over time, this builds trust and authority.
Conclusion
The LinkedIn algorithm has placed the emphasis on quality, relevance, and engagement when ranking content. While this has made gaining organic reach more difficult, it presents opportunities to build loyal audiences through value-driven content.
Understanding how LinkedIn scores content can help you make informed decisions about topics, formats, engagement strategies, and possible boosting tactics. But proceed with caution if trying to exploit loopholes or shortcuts, as focusing on value will serve you better in the long run.
Keep testing and learning about your audience on LinkedIn. As other platforms make reaching users more difficult, LinkedIn’s professional context continues to provide fertile ground for brands aiming to connect authentically and deepen relationships with their best-fit customers.