It seems like every time we turn around, Facebook is making another change to its algorithm, that complicated formula that determines which stories show up in users’ news feeds. And this week, Facebook announced yet another update. Read on for a summary of the changes and what these changes mean for you.

Cracking Down on “Click Bait”
Ever see a post in your timeline that has such a vague, intriguing headline that you just have to click it to see what it’s about? Maybe something like this?

Posts like these, which Facebook refers to as “click-bait,” get a ton of clicks. The thing is, when you click links like these to get the full story, it’s usually not very interesting…so you probably don’t end up spending too much time on the page. Before Facebook’s latest algorithm update, the more clicks these posts received, the more they showed up in news feeds, drowning out other posts. Facebook’s latest algorithm update looks beyond clicks and also considers the amount of time people spend reading an article, as well as the number of likes, comments and shares the article receives.

Sharing Links
On Facebook, links are generally shared in one of two ways:

1. Pasting the link directly into a blank post, which triggers preview text and an image from the site to appear. Check out the example below. When a visitor clicks on the image, it takes them directly to the linked URL.

2. Posting a photo and including the link as part of the caption, like this:

According to a blog post from Facebook, people often prefer to click on links displayed in the link format, rather than links included in a post caption. Why? Because the link format provides additional information about the link that helps people decide whether or not it's worth their time to click through. The updated algorithm will now give priority to links in the link-share format.

Do I Need to Do Anything?
Now you know what changes Facebook made to its algorithm, but is there anything you need to change about your Facebook strategy? Here are a couple recommendations.

• Don’t post click-bait: Avoid vague, misleading headlines. Instead, write headlines that give people a good idea of what they can expect to see if they click one of your links. And, it should go without saying, but always link to quality content that is helpful to your Facebook audience.
• Use Facebook’s link format: Start posting links using Facebook’s link format, rather than posting a photo and including a link as part of the photo’s caption.

What do you think of Facebook’s latest round of algorithm updates? Please share in the comments below!