How the LinkedIn algo works in 2025 (by LinkedIn)

I spoke with the algorithm and editorial teams last week. Here's what they demystified:

Author

Ira Ko
February 19, 2025

tl;dr

1. LinkedIn is all-in on video

  • LinkedIn is prioritizing vertical short-form video

    • Video is the most consumed format on the platform

      • There is 2x more video on LinkedIn than any other format

    • Square and horizontal formats, long-form podcasts just don’t get consumed as much (LinkedIn’s product analytics)

  • In order to be picked up by the video feed, you need vertical video that is 2 mins or less.

  • Impressions vs members

    • A video is counted as an impression when it plays for more than 3 seconds

    • Members = unique viewers

  • Watch time is important — are they watching to the end? LinkedIn is working on providing more analytics for this

2. Personal brand > corporate brand

  • “Founders are the ambassadors of the profile, not company pages”

    • Share unique perspectives 

    • Use reshares strategically 

  • Brands are generally capped to internal audiences / audiences following the company page

    • Company account pages don't really reach a larger orbit 

    • Use brand pages for updates and announcements 

  • Riches in niches

    • LinkedIn is now focusing on niche educational content and not content that’s designed to go viral

    • “Focus on adding insight to the customer’s day”

    • “Leverage unique topics or special experiences unique to you or your executive”

3. Algorithm mythbusting

Posting multiple times a week/day

  • Don’t post multiple times a day

  • Your weekly cadence depends on your audience and what’s sustainable for you

Scheduling

  • Scheduling a post from third party tools does not affect impressions

  • Scheduling posts for the next morning when people are online might even be better

  • Don't overthink 9:00am vs 9:01am

Editing

  • The algorithm does not punish you for editing posts

Reposts

  • Don’t repost. Reposts are like “reheating left overs”

  • LinkedIn has suppressed the reach of reposts

  • Tell the same story from separate accounts, ideally from a different POV

Hashtags

  • Hashtags are only useful for LinkedIn search. This can be useful for conferences (#gtc2025) or branded keywords (#shapeshift)

  • You can no longer subscribe to hashtags

Linking out

  • Link previews are bad for reach

  • LinkedIn recommends attaching a photo of the link preview, even spelling out the URL in the photo

  • They recommend company account or someone else comment the link

    • Get people to like the comment to boost it in rank

  • Ira: The main problem with linking out is that users leave the platform and do not engage with your post, thus hurting the reach of the post.

    • In specific cases, it might be better to ask users to leave a comment to get access to the link via DMs. This is sometimes cringe, however, so use sparingly

Accounts they like:

Shoot me an email with any questions. Good luck.