How LinkedIn distribution actually works
Most algorithm advice is folklore repeated until it sounds official. These guides separate what LinkedIn documents from what the niche invented, with primary sources cited throughout.
13 guides. Every figure comes from our analysis of 12,988 ranked LinkedIn posts, or from a named source we checked ourselves.
How the LinkedIn algorithm works in 2026, and what it actually rewards
A source-by-source account of how LinkedIn distributes posts: what LinkedIn's own engineers and help pages confirm, what independent studies of millions of posts find, and which famous rules have no evidence behind them at all.
24 min read
GuideLinkedIn dwell time: what LinkedIn's own engineers published
LinkedIn has ranked the feed on dwell time since 2020 and published how. Here is the skip model, the long-dwell classifier, and the part nobody quotes correctly.
14 min read
GuideWhy did my LinkedIn reach drop? A diagnostic, not a conspiracy
Most reported LinkedIn reach drops are one of four things, and none of them is a secret ban. Here is how to work out which one you have using numbers you already have.
14 min read
GuideWhy did my LinkedIn post get no views? A diagnosis, in order of likelihood.
A post with almost no impressions is nearly always a ranking outcome, not a penalty. Here is how LinkedIn actually selects what to show, and how to work out which link in the chain broke.
15 min read
GuideLinkedIn shadowban: what is documented, what is folklore, and how to tell which you have
The pages ranking for this term are full of invented percentages. We read what LinkedIn actually publishes about restrictions, demotion and appeals, and worked out what is checkable.
15 min read
GuideThe LinkedIn golden hour: what actually happens in the first 90 minutes
Every LinkedIn guide cites a 60-minute golden hour. None of them cite a source. Here is what we could trace, what LinkedIn's own engineers have published, and what to actually do after you hit post.
14 min read
GuideDoes editing a LinkedIn post affect reach? We went looking for the source.
The claim that editing a post tanks its reach is everywhere and sourced nowhere. We read LinkedIn's help center, engineering blog and pressroom to find out what is actually documented.
14 min read
GuideDoes reposting on LinkedIn hurt reach? The advice contradicts itself, so we checked.
Half the internet says reposting is free reach and the other half says it is a penalty. We lined the claims up against what LinkedIn documents, and most of them have no source at all.
14 min read
DataIs LinkedIn organic reach declining? Tracing the numbers to source
Reach is down across four independent datasets. The most quoted figure, a 50% drop, is the one we could not verify. Here is what each study actually measured.
14 min read
DataHow to go viral on LinkedIn: what 12,988 posts say about the odds
The median post scores 0.40 per 1,000 followers. The top decile starts at 5.95. Virality is the tail of a skewed distribution, and here is what sits in it.
14 min read
DataDo external links hurt your LinkedIn reach? What the data actually shows
Link posts show up 1.5x more often among the weakest posts, and native video shows the opposite pattern. We also went looking for the source of the famous penalty percentages and mostly could not find one.
16 min read
DataDo hashtags still work on LinkedIn? We checked 34,000 posts.
The standard advice is 3-5 hashtags per post. In our data, heavy hashtag use is a weak-post signal, and LinkedIn has quietly removed most of the features that made hashtags useful.
14 min read
GuideLinkedIn engagement pods: what they are and whether they work
LinkedIn's Professional Community Policies address pods almost word for word. The detection percentages every article quotes, on the other hand, appear to have no primary source at all.
14 min read