LinkedIn analytics: what the numbers actually mean

Dwell time and comment quality say more about a post's real performance than impressions do, now that reaction-farming tactics are actively worked against.

Impressions are a starting point, not a result

An impression is counted whenever a post appears on someone's screen, regardless of whether they engaged with it at all. A large impression count with little engagement underneath usually means a post reached people without genuinely landing.

Watch how long people spend with a post

How long someone stays with a post is weighted heavily in the ranking: reading it, expanding "see more," watching an attached video. A post that earns a lot of time spent does more for an account than one that earns quick, passive likes.

Judge comments by quality, not just count

A handful of substantive comments reflects more real value than a large number of short, reflexive ones. Engagement-bait tactics designed to farm comments are now actively worked against, so a high comment count earned that way may not show up in reach at all.

Run every channel from one calendar.

Every channel you have, included. Adding another does not change the price.