As a business consultant, questions about Facebook Edgerank always pop up in the conversations with clients. In today's article, I want to provide answers to one of the most asked questions, "​​What is Facebook Edgerank?"

​What is Facebook Edgerank?

​Facebook Edgerank is an algorithm that Facebook uses to determine what should be seen by users based on their interests and interactions. Edgerank allows Facebook to ​deliver relevant content to users at any given time.

​What is an "Edge"?

​Facebook marketing can be really confusing at times. They have all the funny terminology which easily confuses many.

An "Edge" is every interaction you've ever done on Facebook. This means that from liking a post, replying to a post, commenting on Facebook groups/pages and even messages. Yes, you are being tracked (but for the good thing).

When Edgerank filters your Facebook feed, you will start seeing posts that matters to you and people who you had interacted recently.

​What are the factors affecting Edgerank?

​There are three factors that ​affects Facebook Edgerank:

• check​Affinity
• check​Edge Weight​
• check​Recency

​Affinity x Weight x Time Decay = Edgerank Affinity

Now, what does this means?

In simpler terms, Facebook gathers Affinity data based on the clicks you have made in the past to that page or friend's feed, including number of Likes, Shares and Comments you had made.

​Affinity can also be used to explain your level of interest towards a particular brand's page, or how much of an online friend you are.

​The Edgerank Algorithm

​Part 1: Weight

​Each person's Edge Weight is different. For example, someone who likes browsing photographs is more likely to have more photographs in their feed than someone who rarely clicks on them.

​Part 2: Decay

​Facebook recency is a key driver for Facebook Edgerank algorithm to work properly. Post decay happens incredibily overtime so that new edges are favoured over older ones.

It is also similar to the way search engine are attracted to fresh new content.

​How do you win over Facebook Edgerank?

​At Marketing Lancers, we are a firm believer that every algorithm has their owns 'style' and by understanding the style, we can easily increase our reach and results.

What are the algorithm that Facebook Edgerank likes?

• check​Posts with lots of comments
• check​Posts with lots of likes and shares
• check​Post types that users seem to prefer more than others (photos, videos and status updates)
• checkPosts that reference a trending topic
• checkPosts that receive high volume of likes, comments or shares in a short time
• checkVideo posts
• checkVideos uploaded to Facebook that receive large number of views or extended viewing duration
• checkPosts that tag other pages within the text
• checkPosts that are liked or commented by one's friends
• checkPosts from pages that one interacts with often
• checkPost types that one interacts with often
• checkPosts from pages with complete profile information
• checkPosts from pages where the fan base overlaps with the fanbase of other known high-quality pages
• checkImages and videos that have not previously appeared in the Open Graph
• checkLinks that have not been posted before

​BONUS: Things that the algorithm doesn't like

​There are also some major red flags you should consider if you want to beat Facebook Edgerank to its knees. One of them is knowing what the algorithm doesn't favor and avoid using them at all cost.

• ​Clickbait
• ​Frequently circulated content and repeated posts
• ​Like-baiting
• closePosts that link to spammy landing pages
• closePosts that are frequently hidden or reported (a sign of low quality/trust level)
• closePosts that contain the words such as "like, comment or share"
• closePosts with unsual engagement patterns (a like-baiting signal)
• closePosts that receive negative feedback categorizes as "meme content"
• closePosts that are classified as memes by Facebooks' visual analysis of overlayed text on images

​What do you think about Facebook Edgerank?

​I hope you find this article about Facebook Edgerank useful.

Have a question about Facebook Edgerank? Hit the reply button and don't be shy to ask!