The LinkedIn Algorithm Changed Again. Here's What's New For 2026

"LinkedIn tactics that worked six months ago could be tanking your reach right now. The platform has rolled out significant changes to how content gets distributed, and most people posting have no idea. Your posts might be getting buried while others who adapted early are seeing their engagement climb. I visited LinkedIn's New York headquarters to learn how they think about the platform's future. LinkedIn is understandably cagey about the algorithm because people could game it. So I chat to marketers running experiments to stay up to date on what's actually working. I run my own. And with enough data, you can reverse engineer large parts of the algorithm. Chris Donnelly has 1.2 million LinkedIn followers. He owns The Creator Accelerator and co-owns SayWhat, a company that analyzes millions of posts weekly."

"Donnelly shares insights to help you generate leads on LinkedIn, including a brand new 64-page report on the LinkedIn algorithm based on 300,000 posts. Here's what you need to know to get an edge over everyone still playing by old rules. How the LinkedIn algorithm works in 2026: what you need to know Your profile signals your authority The algorithm reads your headline, about section, and experience to verify your authority before distributing your posts. LinkedIn's latest update, which Donnelly said is called 360 Brew, "now shows your content more accurately to your ICP if you give it the right signals." He advises to "set your profile up to look like you are a certain job within a certain sector.""

LinkedIn's 360 Brew update uses profile fields (headline, about, experience) to verify authority and match content to an ideal customer profile. The algorithm reduces distribution when content topics diverge from stated expertise. Large-scale data analysis and experiments reveal patterns that allow partial reverse engineering of distribution behavior. A 64-page report analyzed 300,000 posts and ongoing analysis covers millions of posts weekly to surface actionable tactics. Early adopters of new signals see climbing engagement, while creators relying on older tactics often experience declining reach. Profile optimization and topic consistency are now critical for lead generation on LinkedIn.

Read at Forbes