How to Add a Link in a Post in LinkedIn

When you share information with your professional circles on LinkedIn, you may want to include a clickable link to make it more accessible for readers. Fortunately, this process is relatively easy.

If you want to add a link to your post, you’ve come to the right place. This article will explain how to add a clickable link to a LinkedIn Post.

Add a Link With the “Add a Link“ Feature

LinkedIn only officially supports adding clickable links to photo and video posts on the mobile app. For other kinds of posts or the Desktop version, there are a few workarounds available.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. In the mobile app, tap the “Post” icon.
   
2. Choose “Add a photo” or “Take a video,” and follow the prompts for whatever you choose to share.
   
3. You’ll have the option to do the following:
   
   • Add a URL to your post.
   • Include “Link text” or not.
   • Tag people with the “Person” icon.
   • Choose the “Page” icon to tag a page.
   • Select “Preview link” to see how the post looks before you post.
   
4. When satisfied, tap “Done” in the upper right corner.
   
5. Tap “Next.”
   
6. Confirm by tapping “Post.”
   

How to Add a Clickable Link With the Desktop Version

Since LinkedIn doesn’t provide the feature to “Add a Link,” you have to be a little more creative to include a clickable link in a post.

1. Click “Start a post” on your profile.
   
2. Type your URL within the post, including the “www” and the “.com, “.net,” etc. ending.
   
3. When your post is complete, hit the “Post” button in the bottom left corner.
   
4. The link, and a corresponding clickable image, will appear in your post.
   

Other Ways to Post Links With LinkedIn

While both posting methods will get the job done, the LinkedIn community has long proposed that posts with links are deprioritized in LinkedIn’s algorithm. Whether or not this is true, users have looked for other ways to post links that won’t trigger the possible algorithm penalty from LinkedIn. These methods can be used whether you believe the rumors about post-promotion or not.

Add a Link in the Post’s Comments

This is an option for both mobile and desktop users. It allows a clickable link to be included with the post but keeps the post simple and doesn’t flag any potential LinkedIn promotion issues.

1. Create a new post.
   
2. Include the phrase “link in the comments” or something similar in your LinkedIn Post to let readers know where to find the associated clickable link.
   
3. Click or tap “Post.”
   

The LinkedIn algorithm won’t attribute the link to your post, but readers can still easily find a clickable link directing them to the desired URL. The downside to this option is that your link can get lost in the comments if many readers interact with your post and comment as well.

Add the Link to the Post Later

LinkedIn users have coined this as the “Write-Publish-Edit” method. You can write a post without any links, and then add the link later with the “Edit Post” feature.

1. Write a post, not including links, and publish it to LinkedIn as usual.
   
2. Wait for a couple of minutes to give the post time to completely publish.
3. Click the three dots in the top right corner of the post to “Edit” it.
   
4. Include the external URL you wish to share, typed out fully.
   
5. Choose “Save” to republish the post.
   

LinkedIn creators believe that this method publishes the link but circumvents LinkedIn’s promotional algorithms. The theory is that LinkedIn scans the original post and deems it clean from links, but it doesn’t continually scan any edits or updates you make to the post.

Hyperlinking in a LinkedIn Post

You can hyperlink text in a LinkedIn post if it corresponds to a page or profile within the platform.

• Type @user’s name to hyperlink to a person’s profile
• Link to a company page with @company name

Note that LinkedIn doesn’t support other hyperlinked texts in posts.

FAQs

Why don’t I see the “Add a Link” option on my desktop version of LinkedIn?

The “Add a Link” feature isn’t available on the desktop version of LinkedIn, so this option will only show if you’re using the LinkedIn mobile app. But you can use other methods to include a clickable link.

Why do some LinkedIn users say not to post links?

Some users who study social media marketing have proposed that LinkedIn doesn’t promote posts with links in them. This is just speculation, but users believe that LinkedIn scans posts for external links and deprioritizes posts that contain them, resulting in much less traffic to those posts.

Why are my links showing up as “lnkd.in?”

If LinkedIn determines your link is too long, 25 characters or more, it will shorten the link and display it as “lnkd.in.” The main issue here is that your readers can’t tell where they’re headed. Shorten your link to under 25 characters or use a link-shortening service to get around this rule.

What if I don’t like the image that generates from my link?

If you’d prefer to select your own image to correspond with your link, you can click the “Edit” pencil icon in the upper right-hand corner of the image. This will allow you to navigate to another picture for use in your post.

Adding a Clickable Link to a LinkedIn Post

The “Add a Link” feature makes it easier for your LinkedIn connections to view information you wish to share. The LinkedIn Help website says that as of June 26, 2023, they will be removing the ability to create clickable links. They cite creator feedback communicating that the links aren’t helpful in the LinkedIn community. If this is true, it will be helpful to know how to work with the system to still include linkable text in your posts.

Have you included clickable links in your LinkedIn posts? Do you find the feature to be beneficial to your professional communication or not? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.