LinkedIn Algorithm Boost Verified Insights 2024
This is the most extensive research on the new LinkedIn algorithm in 2024 to get all insights. We verified all statistics with our own dataset of 50,000 LinkedIn posts published in 2024. Here comes everything you need to know about the LinkedIn algorithm to boost your reach.
Andi Groke
24 Oct 2024
Mastering LinkedIn
10 min
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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LinkedIn algorithm boost: Verfied statistics
Regardless of the post type:
Posts with outbound links often see decreased reach. Multiple links are always bad.
Posts with around 10 paragraphs and 15 sentences get a reach boost.
Job titles, mutual connections, and follower counts all affect LinkedIn search results.
Content creation frequency doesn't impact search rankings.
Content like interviews, live event coverage, and educational posts have high engagement.
Posts with questions or calls to action perform better.
Tagging relevant people increases visibility.
Let’s look at each post type to get that LinkedIn algorithm boost verified with numbers.
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What is the LinkedIn algorithm?
The LinkedIn algorithm is a set of rules that decides what content users see. It shows you the most relevant posts for you based on many calculations and factors. It wants you to stay engaged and keep coming back. It does this by analyzing each post and determining how relevant content is for each person. It’s not promoting viral content. It's looking for high quality content. Quality is interpreted different than on other social media platforms. It’s important to understand what type of posts the LinkedIn algorithm favors. Certain types of content get a significant LinkedIn algorithm boost. It's user's interests based. There are also signals used by the algorithm to rank your content up or down. Of course it’s always about creating high quality content. But there are very specific insights that help you get more reach.
Updates to the LinkedIn algorithm in 2024
There are some big changes to LinkedIn’s algorithm this year. A lot has changed. LinkedIn is evolving, and these updates show how it is adapting to what users want.
The updates try to make LinkedIn a more valuable experience for users. LinkedIn is pushing for expert-driven content that sparks discussions.
You’ll now see more posts from direct connections or from experts in your industry. That’s why the algorithm boosts professional knowledge posts beyond your immediate network. Engagement metrics like simple likes are now a lot less important for ranking. Also, older popular content shows up a lot more often. The focus shifts from bragging and personal updates to expert and insightful content.
Here's what you need to know:
1. Shift from virality to expertise and relevance
The algorithm no longer focuses on making certain content go viral. Instead, it’s boosting posts that share knowledge or offer advice. LinkedIn’s goal is to deliver the most helpful content to its members.
2. Enhanced focus on user feedback
The LinkedIn algorithm is using user feedback to adjust what content gets shown. It’s giving less attention to bragging or personal updates from 2nd or 3rd connections. It’s now focusing more on posts that share genuine insights and knowledge.
3. Elevated importance of subject matter expertise
The algorithm now gives more importance to expertise and authority. It looks at the content but also at the LinkedIn creators professional experience. This means information from your profile page.
4. Prioritizing meaningful engagement
The algorithm values meaningful comments and discussions more than likes and shares. Posts that lead to meaningful conversations get a big boost in the LinkedIn feed.
It's important to understand how posts with the LinkedIn algorithm work. There are similarities to other social platforms. But overall it is very unique. The LinkedIn algorithm works in three main steps. First, it sorts all posts into three categories. Spam, low-quality, or high-quality. Next, it tests LinkedIn engagement by showing high-quality posts to a small group of followers. After that, it uses ranking signals to decide whether to show the post to more people or not. It also checks your expertise. The LinkedIn algorithm determines if you’re qualified to discuss the topics you post about. Sounds crazy, but that’s what the platform's algorithm is all about now. It operates in several stages, each with specific criteria:
1. The LinkedIn algorithm categorizes your Content
LinkedIn’s algorithm has a sophisticated way to categorize content. It determines content quality and relevance, which affects how far your post on LinkedIn goes. The algorithm uses three categories:
Category 1: Spam Content
Spam is content that violates LinkedIn’s guidelines or tries to game the algorithm. Spam won’t reach the Linked feed.
Characteristics of spam include:
Poor grammar and writing: Grammatical errors, misspellings, or awkward phrasing.
Excessive use of tags: Tagging people or companies that are irrelevant to the post.
Repetitive or irrelevant comments: Posting the same comments or sending irrelevant messages.
Misleading content: Misrepresenting LinkedIn’s features or trying to trick users into engaging.
Content that solicits engagement: Asking for likes or shares is seen as low quality content.
Spam content also includes emoji polls, chain letters, and the use of many outbound links.
Category 2: Irrelevant Content
Irrelevant content doesn’t break LinkedIn’s rules but isn’t valuable. It’s unlikely to reach many users.
Examples include:
Content with minimal interaction: Posts that don’t get any likes, comments, or shares.
No clear target audience: Generic posts that don’t speak to anyone in particular.
Content not alligned with your profile: Topics outside your expertise.
Cross-posting: Content for other platforms but not a good fit for LinkedIn.
Irrelevant content may not be spam but still doesn’t resonate with the audience.
Category 3: Quality Content
Quality content is what the algorithm is after. It gets the most reach and visibility.
Characteristics of high-quality content include:
Relevant and informative: Provides valuable insights and addresses professional interests.
Well-written: Easy to read, clear, and engaging.
Expert-driven: Shows the author’s expertise and authority.
Encourages meaningful engagement: Sparks good discussions, not just likes.
Optimized for search: Uses relevant keywords and hashtags.
Uses media: Rich media like images or videos boost reach.
The definition of quality content may change, so it is important to keep up with best practices.
High-quality posts have good grammar, encourage engagement, and use a few well-chosen hashtags.
The LinkedIn algorithm assesses your expertise
LinkedIn’s algorithm looks at your expertise to decide how to boost your content. It analyzes more than your posts and other LinkedIn posts! It also checks your professional background and authority on the topic.
If you share financial insights, LinkedIn expects you to have financial expertise. That’s fair. A posts about finance from a financial analyist will get more reach.
The LinkedIn algorithm uses your profile, work history, skills, endorsements, and recommendations. All to check your credibility. So a well maintained profile will boost your reach.
The algorithm also considers the engagement your posts get from other experts. If other experts engage, it signals you’re trusted, boosting visibility.
The LinkedIn algorithm tests post engagement with a small follower group
This is interesting, because it’s similar to what the TikTok algorithm does. Before showing a post to a broader audience, LinkedIn tests it with a small group of your connections. By doing this, it checks if your post on LinkedIn is worth sharing further. This also means that the type of connections you have is very important. Having a lot of random connections will result in less engagement on your posts.
The algorithm tracks likes, comments, shares, and views. If your post gets good LinkedIn engagement, it’s shown to more people. If not, visibility will be actively reduced by the algorithm. Monitor your LinkedIn impressions carefully.
This makes sure that only valuable content reaches a wider audience. At least in the eyes of the algorithm.
The LinkedIn algorithm expands the audience based on ranking signals
If a post shows good initial engagement, LinkedIn uses special ranking signals. These signals determine the reach. The goal is to get it in front of right people.
There are four categories of ranking signals:
Personal connections: Posts from your direct connections. Especially connections you interact with get a boost. The algorithm shows posts from people you're connected to. This is why you need a strong, professional network.
Interest relevance: LinkedIn looks at your profile, connections, and engagement history. It categegorizes your own interest. The algorithm checks how likely you are to care about a post. It looks at your profile, the people and companies you follow, and your past activity. You should tailor your content to your audience's interests.
Engagement probability: This predicts if another user will engage based on past behavior. It uses their past behavior and the post's early performance. Posts with high engagement early on are more likely to be shared. That’s why using optimal posting times is crucial.
Subject matter expertise: The algorithm values content from recognized experts. The algorithm evaluates the author's expertise. It looks at work history, skills, endorsements, and recommendations. It also checks past content and engagement patterns.
The algorithm tries to deliver personalized, relevant content for each user. That’s why it’s so important to have 1st level connections that show interest in your topics.
The LinkedIn algorithm continuously monitors engagement
Even after a post reaches a bigger audience, LinkedIn keeps monitoring engagement. This allows the algorithm to adjust visibility in real-time.
The algorithm focuses on meaningful interactions. Comments that add value carry more weight than simple likes. It also looks at who is engaging. Relevant followers and connections matter more.
This continuous monitoring makes sure that high-performing content keeps its visibility. Posts that fail to engage drop off over time.
LinkedIn's algorithm tracks how people engage with your posts. It uses this data to decide on quality and relevance. Some actions signal positive engagement, while others hurt your reach.
Positive engagement signals:
Meaningful comments: Likes, comments, and reposts all help. But comments that add to the conversation have more weight than generic responses.
Direct messaging shares: When people share your post in a private message, it means they value it.
"See More" clicks: If people click "see more" to expand your post, it's a sign of interest.
General clicks: Any clickable part of your post counts as engagement. Links, images, slides, video plays and polls all matter.
Post Saves: If someone saves your post, it shows they found value and want to revisit it.
Connection requests: Someone reads your post and sends a connection request. This means you made an impression.
New followers: New followers boost your authority and reach.
Dwell time: The longer someone reads your post, the more valuable it appears to the algorithm.
Sharing on other platforms: When your post gets shared somewhere else. It signals bigger relevance.
Negative Engagement Signals:
Hidden or reported posts: When users hide your post on LinkedIn or report it as spam, your reach drops.
Lack of engagement: If your post doesn't get likes, comments, or shares.
Engagement from irrelevant users: Engagement from users outside your target audience.
Share: Polls make up 1.2% of LinkedIn posts.
Reach: Polls achieve a 1.99 times increase in reach. They're top performers. 6% of company polls get over 100,000 impressions. Polls are 1.4 times more likely to be featured in "Trending Content".
Question Formulation: Questions should be broad enough to engage a wide audience. Explaining the context and goal of the poll boost engagement by 35%.
Poll structure: Three answer choices work best. Four options can reduce reach by 10%. Only two options can reduce reach by 25%.
Duration: One week is the best duration. One-day polls see an 80% drop in user engagement.
Connect: Poll participants accept 80% of connection requests.
Share: Carousel posts make up 8.1% of all posts.
Reach: Carousel posts have 1.6 times more reach.
Slide count: The best number of slides is 12.4. Fewer than five slides reduce reach by 35%. More than 20 slides can cause a 25% drop in engagement.
Caption length: Keep captions under 500 characters. Longer text reduces reach.
Content per Slide: Aim for 25-50 words per slide. One-sentence slides see a 30% drop in engagement.
Layout and Design: Vertical layouts perform best. Horizontal formats reduce reach by up to 35%. Handwritten fonts reduce performance by 25%.
Share: Video posts make up 8.2% of LinkedIn content.
Reach: Video posts have 1.3 times the median reach. Tendency goes up.
Optimal Length: Videos should be 1-2 minutes. This boosts interaction by 40%. Videos over 3 minutes see a 15% drop in engagement.
Format: Vertical videos get 15% more reach.
Source: Native LinkedIn uploads work best. External links (like YouTube) reduce reach by 50%.
LinkedIn Live: Live content has a 25% year-over-year increase in interactions. Average engagement for LinkedIn Live is 5.2%. Engagement is 12x higher than standard video posts.
Share: Posts with a single image make up 48% of all LinkedIn posts.
Reach: These posts rank third, with a 1.21 times increase in reach. Adding visuals can capture attention and increase visibility.
Optimal length: Keep it between 900 to 1,200 characters. Longer text can reduce reach by 10%.
Image Choice:
Relevant images boost reach by 15-20%. Selfies can increase it by 30%.
Personalized images work better than stock photos. They increase engagement by 45%.
Additional images: Each extra image adds a 5% increase in reach, until up to five images.
People: Images with people boost reach by 20%. If it includes you, that jumps to 60%. Engagement goes up by 50%.
Orientation: Vertical images get 25% more than horizontal ones. Most LinkedIn users are on mobile, so vertical works best.
Screenshots: Screenshots get 15% fewer clicks!
Promotional content: Promotional images can reduce performance by 75%.
Share: Text only posts make up 16% of all LinkedIn content.
Reach: Text only posts rank fourth in reach for personal accounts. They achieve 1.17 times the average reach. For company pages, it's only 0.46 times.
Optimal length: The best length is between 1,800 to 2,100 characters. Posts shorter than 1,000 characters can lose 25% of their reach.
Formatting: Short paragraphs of four lines or less improve engagement by 15%. White space helps, boosting performance by 25%.
Sentence Structure: Short sentences perform 20% better. Aim for under 12 words.
Hooks and conclusions: The first two or three sentences are key. A strong start can boost the rentention by 30%. Ending with a question gives 20% to 40% more engagement.
Calls to actions: Text only posts are great for CTAs like downloads or sign-ups. They get a 25% higher click-through rate.
Posting frequency: Posting more than once a day can reduce reach by 30%!
Ideal use cases: Use text only posts for storytelling and sharing tips. They're good for personal highlights and behind-the-scenes content.
Share: Only 4% of LinkedIn posts are articles. Of these, 34% are in newsletters.
Reach: Articles alone have low reach (0.57 times the median). Integrated in newsletters, they perform four times better.
Subscriber Growth: New followers are auto-invited to subscribe newsletters. Subscriber growth is up by 30%.
Content Strategy: Publish articles twice a month for the best results.
Content Preferences: Articles with videos or trend summaries do 30% better.
Average Article Composition: Articles average 3.2 hyperlinks, 2.1 tags, 4.5 pictures, and 0.3 videos.
Optimal length: Aim for 800-1200 words. Exceeding 1,500 words reduces reach by 10% for every extra 150 words.
Structure: Use short paragraphs and clear headlines. This boosts views by 50%.
We verified that followers matter more than connections. In 2024, LinkedIn's algorithm prioritizes content from first-degree connections. If you message someone, you're 70% likely to see their next post. Saving a post increases this to 90%. The platform's algorithm learns from what you engage with, showing more of what you like.
To get the most reach, build a relevant network. LinkedIn also favors content from users' connections over big influencers. If someone engages with your post, their connections are 19% more likely to see it if they’re connected to you. Aim for at least 150 followers or connections.
Tagging matters. Done well, it expands your reach. Tag relevant people or companies. Tagging too many or the wrong people can lead to your post being marked as spam.
Increased reach: Tagging the right people can boost reach by up to 48%. Not tagging anyone may cause a 10% drop in reach.
Engagement influence: Tagged people who comment boost reach more. Their comments are 1.5 times more impactful.
Image tags: Tagging in images, especially event photos, boosts reach by 15%.
Safe tagging in comments: Tagging in comments is safer and won’t hurt your reach even if there's no response.
Tagging penalties
Tagging threshold: Avoid tagging more than eight people to prevent penalties.
Engagement rate check: Tagging over five people requires at least 60% response. If they don’t respond your reach may suffer.
Spam trigger: Tagging more than 15 people can flag your post as spam.
There is a lot of discussion around the use of hashtags on LinkedIn. They don’t do much in 2024 but still do something. Best practice is to use three hashtags. Specific hashtags work better than general ones. Avoid hashtags that ask for engagement.
Here are the numbers:
Limited reach boost: Using hashtags gives only a 9% increase in reach.
Potential spam: Using over 10 hashtags may trigger spam alerts.
The value of Likes for the LinkedIn algorithm
Likes signal relevance, but likes from irrelevant users won’t boost your ranking much. Aim for at least ten likes in the first hour after posting. That is also called the golden hour.
While "Likes" matter, they're less impactful than comments and shares. LinkedIn values professional discourse over vanity metrics.
How "Likes" affect the algorithm
Signal for limited reach: A "Like" increases reach by 1.4% in your network and 2.5% in the network of the liker.
Engagement from relevant networks: Likes from diverse, relevant users matter more. Colleague likes are 15% valuable for the algorithm.
Specific likes: Reactions like PRAISE or EMPATHY show deeper interest and boost promotion.
Effect of comments for the LinkedIn algorithm
Comments are powerful. They show that your content is valuable. The algorithm rewards posts that spark real conversations.
The impact of comments
Reach boost for both: Each comment increases your reach by 5% and shows it to 2.8% of the commenters network.
Impact of longer comments: Comments over 15 words have double the impact.
Timing: Comment on your post within the first hour, then at 6-8 hours, and again after 24 hours to increase reach by 25%.
Prompt responses: Replying within the first hour can boost growth by 40%.
Comments with Links: Comments with links get four times less visibility.
AI-Generated Comments: AI-generated comments receive lower response rates.
Comments matter. They are key to better visibility. For those not comfortable creating content, commenting is an effective alternative. Commenting daily for a month boosts your profile views by 40%, post engagement by 25%, and followers by 20%.
In 2024, LinkedIn made significant changes to its algorithm. The platform now focuses on expert-driven content. Simple likes don’t matter as much. Posts that spark meaningful discussions get a boost. To succeed on LinkedIn, you need to understand these changes.
Prioritize content that shows your expertise. Leverage credible sources. Foster meaningful engagement. This will help you stand out from others.
Use your immediate and extended networks. Participate in LinkedIn groups. Engage in credible discussions. It’s important to interact like-minded LinkedIn members.
Avoid spammy practices. Don’t over-tag and never use engagement pods. Irrelevant content will hurt your reach.
Early engagement is very important. Post at the best times to get likes and comments early.
Keep your LinkedIn profile updated. Make sure it shows your subject matter expertise. Share strategic content regularly. These actions are essential for success. Use these insights to maximize your reach. Connect with professionals. Grow your influence on the platform.
Author
Andi Groke
Andi is the CEO of Mind Nexus and Co-Founder of postline.ai. He is a serial entrepreneur, keynote speaker and former Dentsu executive. Andi worked in marketing for more than 15 years, serving clients such as Disney and Mastercard. Today he is developing AI marketing software for agencies and brands and is involved in several SaaS projects.