If you logged into LinkedIn this week and felt like you were stepping into a time capsule, you aren't alone. Seeing a post from three weeks ago sitting right at the top of your feed is the "new normal." Honestly, it’s a bit jarring. We’ve spent years training ourselves to think of social media as a "now" platform, but as of September 2025, LinkedIn has officially killed the recency bias.
The LinkedIn algorithm news 2025 september update is basically the platform's way of saying: "We don't care when you said it; we care if it's actually worth reading." Reach is down for about 90% of users, which sounds terrifying, but it's not a death sentence. It’s a filter.
The "Long Tail" is Replacing the Viral Spike
The biggest shift we’re seeing right now is what experts like Richard van der Blom are calling the "relevance over recency" pivot.
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In the past, you’d post, get a spike of likes for six hours, and then your content would vanish into the digital abyss. Now? LinkedIn is using heavy-duty Large Language Models (LLMs) to scan your content for actual substance. If you write something truly insightful about B2B sales or engineering, the algorithm might keep pushing it into the feeds of relevant professionals for 14 to 21 days.
This is why your "reach" might look lower in the first hour. The "Golden Window" has stretched. It’s no longer a sprint; it’s a marathon. If a post triggers saves—which is now the most powerful signal—the algorithm treats it as an evergreen asset.
Why "Saves" are the New "Likes"
Forget the thumbs-up emoji. It’s cheap. Everyone does it.
According to recent data from AuthoredUp, a single "Save" provides roughly 5x more reach than a standard like. Why? Because a save tells the algorithm that your content is so valuable the user wants to return to it. It’s a high-intent signal. If you aren't creating "Saveable" content—think checklists, deep-dive industry breakdowns, or technical tutorials—you’re basically shouting into a void.
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Format Winners: What’s Actually Working?
The "Gold Rush" for carousels (native documents) has cooled off significantly compared to early 2024, but they still lead the pack in engagement.
Interestingly, the LinkedIn algorithm news 2025 september reveals a surprising comeback for short, punchy text posts. But there's a catch. They have to be under 200 words. The algorithm is currently rewarding brevity for quick updates while simultaneously boosting "Deep Dive" posts that exceed 2,500 characters.
Essentially, you need to be at one end of the spectrum or the other. Middle-of-the-road, generic 500-word posts are getting buried.
- Multi-image posts: These are hitting a 6.6% engagement rate, the highest on the platform.
- Vertical Video: If you’re still posting horizontal clips, you’re losing 80% of your potential mobile reach. The feed is now optimized for the "TikTok-style" vertical scroll.
- Personal Profiles: This hasn't changed, but it’s more extreme now. Personal posts are outperforming company pages by nearly 10x. If you’re a brand, you have to empower your employees to speak for you.
The ChatGPT Penalty (It’s Real)
LinkedIn’s AI detection has gotten scarily good. If you’re just dumping raw AI output into a post, the algorithm detects the predictable syntax and suppresses it. They’re looking for "Signal of Expertise."
This means using first-person narratives. Talk about your client. Share your failure from last Tuesday. Use data that isn't in a public LLM training set. The 2025 updates are designed to reward "human-in-the-loop" content. If it sounds like a corporate brochure, it’s going to fail.
Practical Steps to Fix Your Reach Right Now
- Stop the Link Habit: Posting an external link in the main body of your post is still a reach-killer. If you must, add it after the post has been live for an hour, or better yet, put it in the "Featured" section of your profile and direct people there.
- The 15-Word Rule: Comments under 15 words are now worth significantly less. If you want to boost someone’s post (or your own), you need to write a sentence or two of actual substance.
- Niche Down or Perish: The algorithm is looking at your "Authority Score." If you talk about HR one day and Crypto the next, LinkedIn gets confused. Pick one or two "Expertise Pillars" and stick to them for at least 80% of your content.
- Optimize for Dwell Time: Use formatting that makes people stay on the page. Line breaks, bold headers, and compelling "hooks" in the first two lines are essential because "See More" clicks are a major ranking factor.
What's Next?
September was a bit of a "cleanup" month for LinkedIn. They've integrated more Microsoft data for ad targeting and opened up "Thought Leader Ads" for events. This means the "pay-to-play" model is becoming more prevalent for brands.
If you want to stay relevant, focus on meaningful interactions. Don't just post and ghost. Reply to every comment within the first two hours. That early momentum tells the AI that a real conversation is happening, which is the ultimate goal for the platform as it moves into 2026.
Check your "Creator Analytics" tab. Look at your "Saves" and "Sends" specifically. If those numbers are growing, you're winning, even if your total "Views" look lower than they did last year. Quality is the only metric that matters now.