Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world, with over 2.9 billion monthly active users as of the fourth quarter of 2022. With such a massive user base, organic reach and engagement on Facebook posts is highly sought after by marketers, businesses, publishers and other content creators.
One common question around Facebook engagement is whether including links in posts leads to lower organic reach and engagement. There is a prevalent belief that Facebook’s algorithm intentionally limits the visibility of posts with links in order to encourage more sharing of native content and engagement on the platform itself.
The Short Answer
Facebook has denied that it penalizes posts with links. According to Facebook, there is no inherent negative bias in their algorithm against posts containing links.
That said, links can indirectly correlate with lower engagement for a few reasons:
- Low quality links may indicate low quality or spammy content that users don’t engage with
- Links take users off Facebook which limits on-platform activity
- Too many links can make a post seem promotional rather than personal
So links themselves are not directly penalized, but overuse of links or low quality linking practices may run counter to the types of content and user experiences that tend to perform best on Facebook.
Facebook’s Stance on Links
Facebook has directly addressed the question of whether links are penalized in their algorithm. According to statements made by Facebook representatives, there is no inherent penalty or downranking of posts just because they contain links.
In 2018, Facebook Product Marketing Lead Fidji Simo stated on Twitter in regards to links being penalized: “This is a myth. To be clear: There is no inherent negative bias in News Feed ranking against links.”
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also reiterated this stance in the comments of a 2017 Facebook post, saying “There’s no policy that links are bad and we don’t penalize them.”
Why Links May Indirectly Hurt Engagement
While Facebook asserts there is no direct link penalty, links can correlate with lower post engagement for a few reasons:
Low Quality Sites and Spam
Low quality links often indicate low quality or spammy content. Posts with many links to ad-heavy, clickbait or spam sites tend to receive less engagement.
Facebook’s algorithm aims to show users the most informative and interesting posts in their feeds. Users don’t engage much with low quality spam content, so these types of posts naturally get deprioritized.
Leaving the Facebook Platform
When users click on external links, it takes them off of Facebook. This limits their ability to interact with posts through likes, shares and comments.
Facebook wants to keep users active on their platform for as long as possible. Posts that predominantly promote leaving Facebook may undermine this goal.
Too Promotional
Too many links can make a post seem overly promotional and inauthentic. Users engage more with personal updates and stories from family and friends.
A post with nothing but a link or multiple links may come across more like an advertisement than an organic, personal post that users enjoy seeing in their feeds.
Best Practices for Using Links on Facebook
While links themselves don’t inherently hurt reach, incorporating them effectively takes some strategizing. Here are some best practices for using links on Facebook:
Link Sparingly
Avoid posting nothing but a link with no accompanying text or description. Include some personal context, engaging question or caption that gives people a reason to care about the link.
Diversify Content
Mix in posts without links to balance out the times you include them. Too many links at once can look overly promotional.
Prioritize Quality Over Quantity
A few relevant links to high quality sites are better than a bunch of links to low quality or irrelevant sites.
Shorten Links
Use link shorteners like Bit.ly to minimize long, unsightly URLs in posts.
Use Tracking Parameters
Add UTM parameters to track link clicks and performance in your analytics platform.
Include Multimedia
Images, videos and other rich media improve engagement. Don’t rely on links alone.
Engage With Comments
Reply to user comments on posts with links to encourage engagement on Facebook.
The Impact of Link Location
Where you place a link in a Facebook post can also impact engagement. According to research from BuzzSumo, links included in the text of posts receive higher engagement than those shared on the bottom:
| Link location | Average likes | Average shares | Average comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| In text | 22 | 5 | 2 |
| At bottom | 18 | 4 | 1 |
Linking to a URL in the main text rather than just including it at the end helps boost user engagement. This aligns with the best practice of accompanying links with descriptive text and captions.
Facebook Link Previews
Facebook automatically scans links included in posts and generates preview snippets with images and text from the linked page. These previews provide users with more context, which can improve clickthrough rates.
However, bugs can sometimes cause link previews to fail to generate or display incorrectly. Facebook is continually working on improving link previews and fixing associated bugs.
If you notice an issue with a link preview not appearing, try the following troubleshooting steps:
- Repost the update – previews failing to generate initially may work on retry
- Shorten the link – link shorteners sometimes help the crawler index pages
- Check for crawling restrictions – sites implementing noindex or robot.txt files block previews
- Use different links – linking to inner pages may avoid restrictive site-wide settings
- Check link debugger – Facebook’s debugger can identify preview issues
The Impact of Link Post Formats
Facebook offers several formats for sharing links with different placements and styles of preview:
- Link post – Small text preview below main link
- Photo post – Large horizontal image preview
- Video post – Embedded video player preview
Photo and video link posts tend to achieve higher engagement, as they grab more user attention with their visual-focused previews.
However, link posts still have their place, particularly for articles and textual content where an image or video preview is not available.
Facebook Link Post vs. Status Update
Beyond post type, you can also choose whether to include a link in a dedicated link share post, or within a text status update:
| Status Update | Link Post | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Text content | Link preview |
| Uses | Sharing thoughts, stories, questions | Sharing links specifically |
| Preview | Small below text | Large featured preview |
Status updates allow accompanying text to be the primary focus, with a less prominent link preview below. Link posts put the preview front and center.
Use status updates when sharing personal stories and content, with relevant links included organically within the text. Use link posts when your main goal is driving traffic to a specific page.
Facebook Link Post vs. Share Button
Facebook also provides a Share button on websites and articles to instantly share them as link posts:
| Manual Link Post | Share Button | |
|---|---|---|
| Customization | Full control over text | Pre-filled content |
| Context | Add backstory/ commentary | Shared as-is |
| Optimization | Can optimize text | Limited ability to edit |
Manually creating link posts allows full control over custom captions and context to add. The share button provides a quicker, more convenient option, but limits ability to optimize text.
Improving Facebook Link Post Engagement
To get the most traction from link posts on Facebook, incorporate these strategies:
- Write descriptive, engaging captions – give users a reason to care about the link
- Use attention-grabbing images – choose visuals relevant to the content
- Post at optimal times – analyze when your audience is most active
- Target relevant interests – customize to interests of your ideal audience
- Ask questions – prompts encourage comments and shares
- Mention influencers – draws attention of their engaged followings
Link Best Practices Beyond Facebook
While this article focuses specifically on link best practices for Facebook, many of the same principles apply across other major social platforms as well including Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest. Here are some core link optimization tips to keep in mind:
- Provide descriptive captions for context
- Embed links organically in text when possible
- Analyze ideal posting times for each platform
- Use images/videos to make previews visually engaging
- Check preview functionality regularly
- Shorten lengthy URLs for neatness
- Track link clicks and engagement
Conclusion
Facebook itself asserts there is no direct link penalty or downranking of posts simply for containing links. However, incorporating links effectively on the platform does require some strategy.
Avoid overly promotional posts with nothing but links. Include descriptive captions and mix in non-link content as well. Use rich media alongside links when possible for better previews. Analyze link performance and fine tune sharing practices over time.
With the right balance of links integrated organically into high quality content, they can be an asset rather than detriment to Facebook engagement.