Over the past few years, the value of links in social media posts has plummeted. It’s not that the links themselves have becomes less valuable, but that posts including links are pushed so far down the algorithm that you’re better off not including them. Some data suggests that you’ll get 10x more engagement if you don’t include a link, which is wise but also very problematic.
The solution has been to include a phrase such as “link in comments” in your post, and then follow up the post with a comment that includes the link. I’ve long thought that social media companies would catch onto that little trick, and indeed they have.
Rand Fishkin recently put out a great “5 Minute Whiteboard” video about this problem (which you should absolutely watch), and he offered two suggestions to help.
First, consider skipping the link entirely. He shares an example where they talked about a product, people knew where to find the product, they offered no link to the product, but tons of people went and found it anyhow. The lack of a link hurt a bit, but they got way more engagement and came out better in the long run.
Second, if you’re going to include a link in the comments you should be more subtle about it. Don’t say things like “link in comments” in the post, and when you add the link in the comments you should provide good content around the link to give that individual comment some value on its own. Even better, have others include the link on your post, which will feel even more organic.
We continue to head into a zero-click world on social media, and that second option will likely decline in value too. As time goes on, skipping the links and simply measuring the balance between lift and attribution will continue to be your best bet.
Check out Rand’s video for more.
