Hey all,
Big week. A lot is shifting in the world of LinkedIn right now, but here's the thing, trust is still the only metric worth growing and leveraging. So don't let this update rattle you. It's periodic, it was expected, and if you've done the groundwork, it won't touch your ability to sell.
I'm writing this having come off a morning round of golf, a gym session, a handful of client calls, and a review of our internal client results. The business is growing. The lifestyle is improving.
Isn't that the whole point?
Right, let's get into it.
A LinkedIn Algorithm Masterclass
I talk about LinkedIn a lot in my content, on my posts, and in this newsletter. But I know that when the algorithm shifts, most people either panic or ignore it entirely.
Neither of those is the right move.
So let me walk you through what's actually changed, what it means for you, and what to do about it. Because if you're still posting the same way you were 12 months ago, you're quietly losing ground and probably don't even know it yet.
Here's the thing: LinkedIn added Saves and Sends to post analytics in late 2025. That one small change tells us everything about where the platform is heading. LinkedIn is no longer rewarding content that looks busy. It's rewarding content people keep, share privately, and return to. That's a fundamentally different game.
And most people are still playing the old one.
So what's actually changed?
The 2026 algorithm is less about broadcasting to all your followers and more about precision delivery, getting your content in front of the people most likely to genuinely care about it. Think of it as LinkedIn getting smarter about matching the right post to the right person, rather than just showing the newest thing.
The metrics that used to feel like vanity: likes, impressions, follower count mean less now. The algorithm measures dwell time over likes. A post someone reads for 30 seconds outperforms one with 50 quick likes. It now detects "click bounces" where people click but leave immediately and actively deprioritises that content.
That's worth sitting with for a moment.
Here's what the algorithm actually rewards now:
1. Your Profile as a Trust Signal
Your profile isn't just a CV anymore. Your About Section is now the evidence file LinkedIn's algorithm uses to determine whether your content should be shown to people who care about your topic. If it's vague or generic, you're making it harder for the platform to put you in the right conversations. The fix isn't more keywords it's clarity and depth. What problems do you solve? Who for? What outcomes have you created?
2. Content That Earns Real Attention
LinkedIn is doubling down on relevance, quality, and intentional engagement. The platform no longer favours the loudest posts, it favours the most useful ones. That means frameworks. Breakdowns. Lessons learned. Things people would actually save and come back to.
One valuable post per week outperforms five forgettable ones. I know that's counterintuitive if you've been chasing consistency for its own sake, but the data is pretty clear on this.
3. Format Matters More Than You Think
Document posts are hitting 6.6% average engagement compared to 2–4% for text posts. Video views on LinkedIn grew 36% year-over-year. Native formats win. And the one thing that almost universally tanks your reach? External links. Posts with links to external websites see approximately 60% less reach than identical posts without them and the "link in first comment" workaround has also been penalised as of early 2026.
4. Comments Are Still King, But Quality Over Quantity
Posts with comments are 2–3x more likely to appear in second and third-degree connection feeds. But it's not about farming comments. Generic replies don't move the needle. The algorithm is looking for conversations that have real substance back-and-forth threads, thoughtful additions, genuine disagreement even.
5. Personal Profiles Beat Company Pages
If your strategy is built around your company page, this one stings a little. Organic posts from LinkedIn company pages now reach only about 1.6% of their followers, and company page content accounts for just 1–2% of the overall feed. LinkedIn is prioritising people over logos. The brands winning right now are the ones putting their founders and leaders front and centre.
The shift in one sentence:
Topical consistency is now a long-term growth lever. Accounts that built authority in focused areas are seeing sustained visibility, while broad content strategies continue to struggle.
This isn't a temporary blip. It's the new normal.
If your reach has dipped recently, you don't need to post more or shout louder. You need to show up with more clarity, more depth, and more relevance to the people you actually want to reach.
That's exactly what we help businesses do and it's never been more important to get right than it is right now.
Watch our free 37 growth workshop here.
Or have you seen my podcast with the Creative Director behind one of the biggest business creators on the internet, Simon Squibb?