Image: created by me using Microsoft Designer.
One of the major things we use social media for is to generate traffic to our websites by sharing links in our posts.
The problem is the social networks want you and your followers to stay on them and not be taken elsewhere by an outbound link.
That’s why several penalise posts with outbound links in them by setting the algorithm to reduce the free organic reach of those posts – so the minimum number of uses leave the platform, even briefly, after clicking on the link.
What to do
So how do you maximise your outbound link conversion for each of the major social networks?
Here’s what you need to do for each platform:
LinkedIn – although for some time many people have been putting outbound links in the Comments to avoid the 40% post reach penalty of placing them in the post text, that results in only a modest reach penalty, but, crucially, 75% less conversion.
Which is what matters, so put the link in the post if conversion is the top goal for the post.
If post visibility is the main goal, put it in the Comments. For the details, read this blog, based on Richard van der Blom’s research data.
Facebook – It’s been known for some time that Facebook’s algorithm penalises the reach of posts with outbound links in the copy. Dan Slee sets out the latest data here.
The question, then, is where do you put them to maximise conversion?
The answer recently emerged in content tips given to professional users in their Page post insights. Here’s Social Media Today’s report.
TL;DR – put your link in a Comment on your own post and say in the post that the link is there. Which is what several news media have been doing for a while.
If you’d rather not have to do this manually each time a link post publishes, you need to schedule your Facebook posts with a third-party application which uses the Facebook API, such as @Publer, which I use. They will allow you to schedule your post content and a Comment to be posted on it straight away or after a delay of your choice.
Instagram – Links in Instagram posts aren’t clickable, but you can put them in Stories using the Link sticker. But they’ll only be seen by your followers.
As Stories are only visible for 24 hours, if you want your links seen beyond that you should invest in setting up a Linktree-type page where you can have all the links you want to share, have the link to it in your bio and in your post say ‘Link in bio’.
That’s what I do using the Page feature in my Bitly account, which I mainly use for creating short, custom links to track conversion from each platform and include in media content.
BlueSky – BlueSky is very much the exception to the social media platform norms in that not only doesn’t it have an algorithm deciding what you see in your feed – you just see in chronological order what the people you follow posted and shared – but it also has no problem with outbound links because of its ‘open web’ ethos.
Which is why media, who have LOTS of links to share, love it for the higher-than-other-platforms link conversion they enjoy on it.
What should you do? Put your link in the post, but look to shorten it if it has a long URL and/or you’ve added UTM coding – BlueSky posts only support 299 characters and you’ll want to use most of that for the copy explaining what you’re linking to offers the readers. You can create and post long thread posts, but you’re always best to have the link in the first post as followers may not see or read the later posts in a thread.
Threads – Like BlueSky, you can post links in Threads posts, but don’t expect to get much conversion from them. At least not yet.
For a long time users suspected posts with links were being reach-limited by the algorithm. Boss Adam Mosseri denied that and said the low conversion was just users choosing not to click the links.
More recently, he said Meta was nervous about links in Threads posts in case “bad actors” posted ones to dodgy content or malware, but was now working to have the algorithm show users more link posts with useful content verified as safe.
Regardless, link conversion on Threads remains low despite its global user growing past 350 million monthly active users.
So put your links in the post, but don’t expect great results compared to other platforms, especially as you’re also fighting the algorithm.
TikTok – This isn’t a platform I use (because my target audience isn’t yet using it as much as others), but here’s what @Andrew Hutchinson of Social Media Today says: “Like IG, TikTok also has limited capacity to support links, as you can’t include URLs in descriptions or comments. That means that TikTok doesn’t have to restrict the reach of links, because you can’t really add them anyway, and there’s no evidence to suggest that TikTok restricts links included via your profile bio.”
So use a Linktree-type page as your bio link, post your links on it and post that the link is in your bio.
Snapchat – I’m also not on Snapchat for the same reason as TikTok (plus I’m not having a midlife crisis), so here’s what Andrew says: “Snapchat also doesn’t provide much room for links, at least within public posts, and there’s no reach penalty for links posted within promoted Snaps.
“Snap does restrict some links to other social apps, and it won’t allow you to link to pages that don’t load within its browser. But theoretically at least, you can post links in Stories with no reach penalty.
“That said, user engagement may be lower on public Snaps with links, and that may organically limit link posts.”
X – I no longer use X for ethical reasons, but if you feel you have to still use it, it’s long been noted that it limits the reach of posts with outbound links, especially to publications Elon Musk has issues with.
His advice? Post your main content and put any links in a reply..