What is EdgeRank?
Simply put, EdgeRank is the algorithm Facebook uses to determine what content to show on each Facebook user’s newsfeed.
If you want a more in-depth understanding of this topic, check out the FAQ section below:
Question #1: How does EdgeRank work?
EdgeRank gives each post and activity on Facebook a score based on three simple metrics:
- Affinity score
- Edge weight
- Time decay
Let us take a look at each one in more detail:
First, affinity score measures how likely it is that a particular user would want to see another user’s posts and activities based on things such as:
- How often the former interacts with the latter
- How many mutual friends do both users have
- How many interests do both users share
This score only goes one way. This means that even if user A has a high-affinity score with user B, the reverse is not necessarily true.
Also, nobody but Facebook knows the actual weight of each of these factors.
The second metric, edge weight, measures how ‘interesting’ a particular post or action is based not only on its type (e.g., photo, text, video, or activity), but also how many reactions, comments, and shares it got. But just like with the affinity score, the actual weights of the factors that make up this metric are also unknown.
One thing to take note of, however, is that whenever Facebook rolls out a new feature, the company typically gives it a high initial edge weight to get more people to use it. This is exactly why when the check-in feature was introduced years ago, your newsfeed was filled with updates about people checking in to different places.
The third and final metric is time decay, which measures how ‘current’ a particular post or activity is based on factors such as:
- How long ago it was posted
- How long ago since people engaged with it
- How long ago since the poster last logged in
Again, nobody but Facebook knows the actual weights of the factors that make up this metric.
Question #2: How does it affect me?
As we have seen earlier, EdgeRank is the algorithm that decides whether or not your posts and activities appear on other users’ newsfeeds. This means that the higher your EdgeRank score is, the more likely it is that more people will see your posts and activities—which is particularly important if you run a Facebook page and want to maximise your posts’ reach and visibility.
Question #3: How do I boost my EdgeRank score?
Since nobody but Facebook knows how EdgeRank rates each post or activity on the platform, there is no tried-and-tested way to boost your EdgeRank score. The only thing you can do to increase your odds of having your posts seen by more people is to focus on the factors you can control—which means doing things such as:
- Posting interesting, helpful, and valuable content
- Encouraging people to engage with your posts (i.e., asking for reactions, comments, and shares)
- Posting frequently
- Logging into facebook frequently
- Interacting with other users
Question #4: Is there a tool I can use to measure my EdgeRank score?
No, there is no tool you can use to measure your EdgeRank score. Again, only Facebook knows exactly how the algorithm works, so there is no way for an external party to come up with an accurate way to measure the score of a post or activity.
Question #5: Is there a way to bypass it?
Yes, there is a way to bypass EdgeRank and get your posts and activities in front of more people regardless of their actual score. It’s called Facebook ads. For a small fee, you can target the exact users you want to see your posts and activities and get your content in front of them.
This approach, however, is more suited to brandings, businesses, and personalities who can actually turn the views and engagement into income. It would be a waste of money for someone who has no monetisation strategies in place.