LinkedIn Analytics: Where to Find Them and What Each Metric Means

LinkedIn has quietly made its analytics much more useful over the last couple of years, and you don't need Premium for the core numbers. The problem is that they live in three different places, and the labels don't explain themselves. Here's where each one is and what it tells you, using LinkedIn's own definitions as of October 2026.

Where to find LinkedIn analytics

Type	Where it lives	Who gets it
Post analytics	Me, Posts & Activity, then click the impressions count or View analytics on a post	All members, for their own posts
Combined post analytics	Your profile's Analytics section, then Show all, then Content analytics	All members
Audience analytics	Same Analytics dashboard, Audience analytics in the left pane	All members
Page analytics	Your LinkedIn Page admin view	All Page admin roles

LinkedIn's creator analytics FAQ says there are no criteria to meet: creator analytics are available to all members. Only you can view your post analytics.

What each post metric means

• Impressions: the number of times your post was shown. LinkedIn says this is an estimate.
• Members reached: distinct members and Pages that saw your post, without repeat views. This is your real audience size.
• In network / Out of network: the share of impressions from people who follow or are connected to you, versus people who aren't.
• Profile viewers from this post and Followers gained from this post: the two numbers that show a post built your audience.
• Reactions, comments, reposts, saves and sends: social engagement. Saves and sends are the quiet signs that a post was useful.
• Visits to links in this post: clicks on external links, including repeat clicks.

For video, LinkedIn counts a view when your video is watched for two or more continuous seconds, including replays, and shows watch time and average watch time. If you want more on impressions specifically, LinkedIn Follow versus Connect explains how followers and connections differ, which matters when you read in-network numbers.

A few quirks worth knowing

• Your own views, engagements, saves and sends count towards your analytics.
• Demographic data isn't available for posts shared only with connections or in LinkedIn Groups.
• Engagements can go negative on a single day in the trend graph, because removed reactions and deleted comments are subtracted.
• Percentage changes compare your selected date range with the previous one of the same length.
• The combined view only shows data up to yesterday, so today's post won't appear until tomorrow.

How long LinkedIn keeps your data

Data	Available for
Video performance and viewer demographics	180 days
Article and newsletter analytics	Two years
Discovery and social engagement counts, other post types	1,000 days
Members reached	400 days
Demographic breakdowns	180 days

If you report to a boss or a client, export before data ages out. Combined post analytics let you pick a range from the past seven days up to the past 365 days and export to an .XLSX file.

A Premium extra: who viewed your profile after a post

If you have Premium, LinkedIn may show a Who viewed your profile after this post section at the bottom of a post's analytics. It lists members who viewed your profile within the first month after the post went out, and you can expand it to see up to 100 recent profile viewers, depending on their privacy settings. It's useful for spotting which posts pull in prospects, but the free numbers above are enough for most people.

How I'd use LinkedIn analytics in 15 minutes a week

1. Open combined post analytics and set the range to the past 7 days.
2. Switch the metric to Engagements and note your top three posts.
3. Open each of those posts and check followers gained and profile viewers from the post.
4. Write one line on what those posts had in common: topic, format or opening line.
5. Once a month, check audience analytics to make sure new followers are the people you want to reach.
6. Export the month to .XLSX if you report to anyone.

That's it. The point isn't to stare at graphs. It's to find the one or two topics that turn readers into followers and give them more of your week. In my experience, the topic that wins is rarely the one you'd have guessed, which is exactly why it's worth checking every week.

Audience analytics: who follows you

Audience analytics show your follower growth over time and the top five follower demographics by job title, location, industry, seniority, company size or company. I'd check this monthly. If your followers are mostly peers in your own industry but you sell to a different one, your content is aimed at the wrong room.

LinkedIn Page analytics

Page analytics are available to all Page admin roles and cover content, followers, visitors, search appearances, competitors, employer brand and newsletter performance. The competitor view compares your Page's followers and engagement with other Pages you choose, which is handy for a quick monthly benchmark.

If you outgrow the built-in numbers, I've compared LinkedIn analytics tools that add scheduling and reporting on top.

My verdict

Ignore impressions as a headline and watch three numbers instead: members reached, followers gained from each post, and saves plus sends. Check combined analytics weekly to spot your best topics, audience analytics monthly to make sure the right people are following, and export anything you need before LinkedIn's retention windows close.

Frequently asked questions

Are LinkedIn analytics free?

Yes. LinkedIn says creator analytics, including combined post analytics and audience analytics, are available to all members.

What's the difference between impressions and members reached?

Impressions count every time your post was shown. Members reached counts distinct members and Pages, without repeat views.

Do my own views count in LinkedIn analytics?

Yes. LinkedIn says your own views, engagements, saves and sends count towards your content's analytics.

How far back can I see LinkedIn analytics?

Combined post analytics go up to the past 365 days. Discovery and engagement counts for most posts are kept for 1,000 days, and demographics for 180 days.

Who can see LinkedIn Page analytics?

LinkedIn says Page analytics are available to all Page admin roles.