Organic Reach

Organic reach on LinkedIn is determined by a multi-stage algorithm process: the post is first shown to a small seed audience (typically 5–10% of followers), the algorithm measures engagement within the first 60–90 minutes (velocity of reactions, comments, shares, and dwell time), and if the signals are strong, reach is progressively extended to larger audiences including second- and third-degree connections.

The factors that most influence organic reach: early engagement velocity (especially comments, which signal conversational value), dwell time (how long people spend reading before scrolling past), engagement-to-impression ratio at each stage (a post with 500 impressions and 20 comments will reach further than one with 5,000 impressions and 2 comments), and the relevance of who's engaging (engagements from people with high follower counts or strong engagement themselves carry more weight).

External links are the primary organic reach killer on LinkedIn - the algorithm suppresses posts with outbound links because they pull users off the platform. The workaround: post without the link, add it in the first comment, and reference "link in comments" in the post body.