# LinkedIn Virality Score: predict your post before you publish

> LinkPost's virality score rates your LinkedIn draft **before** you publish on **300+ factors** (including **27 personalized** to your style), via an algorithm calibrated on **1 million analyzed posts**. It adds a **controversy score** and a **sentiment score**, and tells you what to fix. It's a statistical prediction, never a guarantee.

**Home** > **Features** > **Virality score**

## TL;DR {#tldr}

- You paste or write your draft, LinkPost scores it BEFORE publishing across three axes: virality, controversy, sentiment.
- The score draws on 300+ factors analyzed by the V2 algorithm, including 27 personalized to your voice, calibrated on 1M+ LinkedIn posts.
- On the narrative side, the marketing grid frames it as 33 criteria (22 attention tactics + 11 virality rules): a more readable view of the same levers.
- The algorithm doesn't just give a grade: it pinpoints the weak link (for example, your hook caps at 0.6/1) so you know exactly what to rewrite.
- A score is a prediction, not a promise: across the 20 most active users, +71% of posts break through and -75% of flops avoided, but no guaranteed virality.

## How the virality score works {#how-it-works}

You write or paste your draft, and LinkPost runs it through the scoring engine **before** you publish. The engine doesn't settle for a single grade: it breaks your text down across **300+ factors** (hook, structure, mobile readability, idea density, engagement triggers) and returns a numeric score, with the detail of what's dragging the post down.

In practice, you see where it breaks. The algorithm tells you, for example, "your hook caps at 0.6/1" instead of leaving you to guess. You fix the weak link, re-score, and publish the version that matches the most winning patterns. The goal isn't a good grade: it's knowing what to rewrite.

The diagnosis stays concrete, never vague. The score tells you your closing line falls flat and offers two alternatives, or that one posting time loses you 40% of impressions in your niche. It's science replacing intuition.

### Three scores, not one {#three-scores}

LinkPost doesn't return a single number. It computes a **virality score** (engagement potential), a **controversy score** (how much tension the post carries) and a **sentiment score** (the dominant emotional tone). You steer all three together, because a post can break through for the right reasons as well as the wrong ones.

### 300+ factors, 27 personalized {#three-hundred-factors}

The V2 algorithm analyzes **300+ factors**, including **27 personalized** to the way you write (rhythm, vocabulary, preferred formats). The score isn't a generic grid: it accounts for what works for YOU, learned from your posts, not from an anonymous average.

### 33 criteria, the readable view {#thirty-three-criteria}

On the surface, LinkPost sums all of this up into **33 criteria**: **22 attention tactics** (catching the eye, holding the read) and **11 virality rules** (what drives sharing). It's not a separate algorithm: it's a human-readable view of the same levers, so you understand the score instead of just receiving it.

## A prediction, never a guarantee {#a-prediction-not-a-promise}

Let's be honest: no tool can promise virality. The score is a **statistical prediction** based on the patterns that correlate with engagement across **1 million analyzed posts**. It clearly raises your odds and shows you what to improve, but real performance also depends on timing, your audience, current events and a degree of randomness no one controls.

That's exactly why a good score reads as a signal, not a certainty. Across LinkPost's 20 most active users: **+71% of posts break through** and **-75% of flops avoided**. These are measured results, not an individual guarantee on your next post. You put the odds on your side, you don't cheat them.

## Aligned with LinkedIn feed research {#aligned-with-linkedin-research}

The score didn't come out of nowhere. It was designed by drawing on LinkedIn Engineering's public work on the feed: a ranking that relies on **embeddings** to understand a post's meaning, and that distinguishes **passive signals** (time spent reading) from **active signals** (like, comment, share).

Put simply, LinkPost doesn't chase vanity metrics: it optimizes for what the platform actually values. The score reflects the mechanics described by LinkedIn's own engineers, not recycled guru recipes.

## Free analyzer vs full prediction {#free-analyzer-vs-product}

There are two levels. The **Post Analyzer** is free and public, no signup required: you paste a post, you get a score on 300+ factors to test the logic. It's the perfect tool to understand the method before committing.

The **full prediction** lives in the product: it adds personalization to your voice (27 factors), the controversy and sentiment scores, and the loop of write, score, schedule, publish, measure. There's no free trial of the full product: the Analyzer is the free entry point, and LinkPost is the next step when you want to score and run things over time.

## Scoring before you publish vs publishing blind {#data}

> What changes when you score your post before clicking publish.

| Criterion | Publishing blind | LinkPost |
|---|---|---|
| Decision | By instinct, we'll see | **Numeric virality score** before publishing |
| Axes scored | None, you publish and pray | **Virality, controversy, sentiment** |
| Depth of analysis | Eyeball re-read | **300+ factors**, 27 personalized |
| Diagnosis | No feedback | **Weak link pinpointed** (e.g. hook at 0.6/1) |
| Reference base | Your gut feeling | **1M+ LinkedIn posts** analyzed |

> You stop publishing with crossed fingers: you see the score, fix the weak link, and decide knowingly. The score stays a prediction, not a promise.
> — LinkPost methodology, based on 1 million analyzed LinkedIn posts

Source: [Engineering the next generation of LinkedIn's Feed](https://www.linkedin.com/blog/engineering/feed/engineering-the-next-generation-of-linkedins-feed) (LinkedIn Engineering)

## FAQ {#faq}

### Does the virality score guarantee a viral post? {#faq-does-the-virality-score-guarantee-a-viral-post}

No, and no tool can. The score is a statistical prediction calibrated on 1M+ posts: it clearly raises your odds and shows you what to fix, but performance also depends on timing, your audience and current events. It's a signal, not a certainty.

### How do I predict a LinkedIn post's virality before publishing? {#faq-how-do-i-predict-a-linkedin-post-s-virality-before-publishin}

You paste your draft into LinkPost and the algorithm scores it before publishing on 300+ factors, with a virality, controversy and sentiment score. It pinpoints the weak link (for example a hook at 0.6/1) so you know exactly what to rewrite.

### Is it 33 criteria or 300+ factors? {#faq-is-it-33-criteria-or-300-factors}

Both describe the same thing at two levels. The V2 algorithm analyzes 300+ technical factors, including 27 personalized to your style. On the surface, LinkPost sums them up into 33 readable criteria (22 attention tactics + 11 virality rules) so you can understand the score.

### What's the difference between the free Analyzer and the full prediction? {#faq-what-s-the-difference-between-the-free-analyzer-and-the-full}

The Post Analyzer is free, public and requires no signup: you paste a post, you get a score on 300+ factors. The full prediction, inside the product, adds personalization to your voice, the controversy and sentiment scores, and the complete write-score-publish-measure loop.

### What is the score calibrated on? {#faq-what-is-the-score-calibrated-on}

On a base of more than 1 million analyzed LinkedIn posts, and designed by drawing on LinkedIn Engineering's public research on its feed (embeddings, passive vs active signals). It optimizes for what the platform truly values, not for vanity metrics.

### What do the controversy and sentiment scores measure? {#faq-what-do-the-controversy-and-sentiment-scores-measure}

The controversy score gauges how much tension your post carries (a divisive post engages more, but not always for the right reasons). The sentiment score identifies the dominant emotional tone. You steer all three axes together to publish with full awareness.

### Do I need a free trial to test the score? {#faq-do-i-need-a-free-trial-to-test-the-score}

The full product has no free trial, but the LinkedIn Post Analyzer is free and requires no signup. You can test the scoring logic there before moving to the full prediction, personalized to your voice.

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*Canonical source: https://linkpost.gg/en/features/virality-score*
*Published: June 25, 2026*
*Last updated: June 25, 2026*
*Author: Yannis Haismann (https://www.linkedin.com/in/yannis-haismann/)*