What the studies measure
Four datasets, all observational and published by tool vendors, point the same way:
- Ordinal (900,000+ posts): about −26.5% reach with a link, Mann-Whitney test significant (p < 0.001).
- van der Blom 2025 (1.8 million posts): about −18.8% median reach.
- FlyPost (each author compared with themselves): about −12%.
- MagicPost: the gap depends on link type. Plain URL about −3%, link preview about −35%, attached link about −48%. Since 2026: −18% against the same author, −10% at equal topic.
Reading: the direction is consistent, the size runs from about −10% to −48% depending on method. These are correlations: a post with a link is often a promotional post, which may explain part of the gap.
What about a link in the comments?
It is the most common practice, but no published study compares a link in a comment with a link in the body. No gain can honestly be quoted. What is certain: readers need one more tap to reach it, and you must remember to post it.
How to decide
- If the link is the goal of the post (sign-up, article, offer), keep it and accept lower reach.
- If the post stands without the link, put it in the first comment and say “link in comments” in the text.
- Measure on your own posts: comparing against your last ten posts beats a study average.
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These figures come from observational studies published by tool vendors, not peer-reviewed. They describe correlations. LinkedIn is a trademark of LinkedIn Corporation; LinkedIn Format Pro is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by LinkedIn.