What is Edgerank?

If you have ever wondered how Facebook decides which posts to display on your newsfeed, keep reading. Edgerank is the magical algorithm that Facebook uses to determine what posts appear and it looks like this: Don’t get discouraged if you think that just looks like a complicated math problem. Let me break it down for you. The three components that the Edgerank formula consists of are: Affinity, Weight and Time Decay. Let’s start with Affinity. This is basically determined by your relationship with someone. People you interact with more often are more likely to pop up higher on your newsfeed. Keep in mind that this is a one-way street. Just because someone appears in your feed a lot doesn’t mean you appear on their feed as often. Weight is the next component of the formula. Different types of content hold a different weight in the eyes of Facebook.

1. Photos/Videos
2. Links
3. Plain text

Despite the ranking, it all comes down to engagement that the posts receive. The more likes and comments, the more visible the post will be. For example, if a text post receives more likes, shares, etc. than a picture, the text post will be more visible even though it is technically ranked lower. Also, if a user’s interacts with a specific type of content more often than the others, that type of content is more likely to appear up on their feed. Time decay is the last part of the equation. This is based on when the content was posted. The newer the post, the more likely that it will be seen. Older posts aren’t as relevant anymore, so the more likely they are to get lost in the shuffle. This also depends on how often a user logs on to Facebook. If they log in multiple times a day, their newsfeed will refresh more often than some one who logs on every couple of days. Now I am going lay this out for you using Harry Potter as and example, because who doesn’t love a good ‘ol wizard analogy? Plus, Edgerank is a little magical. So why is this important? Because it helps us understand how Facebook works and when posts are more likely to appear on a newsfeed. The newsfeed is the first part of Facebook that a user sees, and a lot of the time the only thing they view. This also proves that engagement is so significant in giving a post visibility. It is important for businesses to have a presence on Facebook and spend time developing those relationships so that their posts are more likely to appear. Hope you have a better idea of the magic behind Facebook, and more importantly enjoyed my Harry Potter reference!