LinkedIn Growth5 min read
Link in Comments on LinkedIn: Does It Actually Help Reach?
Why people put a link in comments on LinkedIn, whether it really beats a link in the post, how to add one, and an honest take on the reach question.
By Animesh Kudake, Co-founder, Apna Project
The short version
- A link in comments on LinkedIn means putting your outbound URL in the first comment instead of the post body, on the theory that the post then reaches more people.
- LinkedIn has never officially confirmed a fixed penalty for links in posts, so treat the practice as a widely used habit, not a proven rule.
- Adding a link in a comment is simple, since you just paste the full URL and LinkedIn turns it into a clickable link automatically.
- The real cost is friction. A reader has to notice the comment, tap it, then tap the link, and some never do.
- The honest move is to test it against links in the post with your own audience rather than trusting a blanket claim either way.
The real cost: friction
Whatever the algorithm does, there is a cost that is easy to measure and easy to forget: friction.
When your link lives in the post, a reader taps once. When it lives in the comments, they have to notice there is a comment worth opening, tap to expand comments, find yours, and then tap the link. Every extra step loses people. On mobile, where most of LinkedIn happens, that comment can sit below the fold entirely.
So even if the link-in-comments move earns you slightly wider reach, it can cost you clicks from the people who did see the post. Wider reach with a lower click rate is not automatically a win. It depends on what you actually want from the post.
If your goal is awareness, more eyeballs on the message may be worth the lost clicks. If your goal is signups or traffic, those extra clicks are the whole point, and burying the link can quietly work against you. Naming the goal before you choose where the link goes saves you from optimizing for a number that does not matter to you.
How to add a link in a comment
The mechanics are simple, and worth getting right.
- Publish your post first, then add the link as the first comment. Paste the full URL, including the https part, and LinkedIn turns it into a clickable link once you post the comment.
- Comments do not support custom anchor text. You cannot hide a URL behind a word like you can in some post formats, so the raw address is what people see. A clean or shortened URL looks tidier.
- Point to the link from the post. A short line such as "full breakdown in the comments" tells readers the link exists, which is the whole reason the tactic can work at all.
- Do not paste the same link into dozens of comments across other posts. That reads as spam to people and to the platform, which is a different and worse habit than a single link on your own post.
Our honest take
We build a LinkedIn commenting tool, so we live in the comment section, and we will say the quiet thing plainly: nobody outside LinkedIn knows the exact link penalty, and anyone who tells you they do is selling certainty they do not have.
What we would actually do is test it. Post a few link-in-post updates and a few link-in-comment updates over a couple of weeks, and compare reach and clicks on your own account. Your audience is the only sample that matters, and the answer for a niche B2B page can differ from the answer for a big creator. This is the same test-it mindset behind our broader LinkedIn commenting strategy.
One more thing worth saying, since we make a commenting tool: the comment section is powerful for reasons that have nothing to do with dropping your own link. Showing up early and thoughtfully on other people's posts puts you in front of their audience, and that compounds. A link in your own comment is a small tactic. Being genuinely useful in comments is the bigger game.
So skip the dogma. A link in comments is a fine habit to try, it is not a cheat code, and the reach question is one only your own results can settle.
Frequently asked questions
Why do people say link in comments on LinkedIn?
Many creators believe LinkedIn shows posts with outbound links to fewer people, because links pull readers off the platform. Putting the link in the first comment keeps the post itself link-free, so the theory goes that it earns wider reach while the link stays one tap away.
Can I put a link in a LinkedIn comment?
Yes. LinkedIn allows links in comments. Paste the full URL into the comment box and it becomes clickable once posted. A link preview may or may not appear, but the URL itself will work for anyone who taps it, on both desktop and mobile.
How do I insert a hyperlink in a LinkedIn comment?
Comments do not support custom anchor text, so you cannot hide a link behind a word. Paste the raw URL and LinkedIn auto-links it. If you want it to look tidy, use a clean or shortened URL, since the full address is what readers will see in the comment.
Does LinkedIn penalise links in comments?
There is no confirmed penalty either way. LinkedIn has not published a rule that links in posts are demoted or that comment links are safe. What is clear is that comment links add friction for readers. The safest stance is to test both and watch your own results.
Written by the team building Commenti on real LinkedIn growth data. Found an error? Tell us and we’ll fix it. Accuracy beats winning.
Sources
Co-founder, Apna Project
Co-founder at Apna Project, where he helps founders and agencies turn ideas into products. Writes here on LinkedIn growth and what actually earns attention in a comment section. Commenti is the LinkedIn comment automation tool by Ampliflow.
Spend a week on LinkedIn and you will see it constantly: a post that ends with "link in comments." The article, the signup, the video, all parked one tap away in the first comment instead of in the post itself.
A link in comments on LinkedIn is exactly that habit, and it rests on a single belief: that LinkedIn quietly shows link-free posts to more people, so keeping the URL out of the post buys you reach.
The belief is everywhere. The evidence behind it is softer than most people admit, and it is worth separating what we know from what we assume.
Why people do it
The reasoning is straightforward. LinkedIn wants to keep people on LinkedIn. An outbound link is an exit door. So the theory says the feed shows posts with links to fewer people, because a click that leaves the platform is worth less to LinkedIn than a comment or a longer read.
Move the link to the comments and, in theory, the post stays "clean." It reads as native content, earns its distribution, and the link is still there for anyone who wants it. That is the whole pitch, and it is why the practice spread so fast among creators chasing reach on LinkedIn.
It is a reasonable theory. It is just not a confirmed one.
What LinkedIn has and has not said
Here is the honest part most posts skip. LinkedIn has never published a rule that says "posts with links are demoted" or "links in comments are safe." There is no official number, no documented penalty, no confirmation.
What exists is a large pile of anecdotes and a handful of small creator experiments, and they do not all agree. Some people see better reach with the link in the comments. Others see no difference. A few report the opposite. When the platform stays quiet, folklore fills the gap, and this is one of the tidiest pieces of folklore LinkedIn has produced.
So treat any confident claim, in either direction, with suspicion. The people insisting links in posts kill your reach and the people insisting it is a myth are both usually working from vibes, not from data LinkedIn has released. The mechanics that actually decide distribution are the ones in how the LinkedIn algorithm works, and outbound links are at most one small input among many.