Q: "Does putting links in the first comment instead of the caption actually save reach?"

Q: "Does putting links in the first comment instead of the caption actually save reach?"

Short answer: yes, and the gap was bigger than expected.

The case: an affiliate page ran an A/B test across 24 Instagram posts. Half had the link in the caption, half had "link in first comment." Caption-link posts averaged 5,100 reach. First-comment posts averaged 8,900 — a 74% lift. Click-throughs to the offer barely changed because they trained the audience to check comments.

Here's why: platforms quietly suppress posts that try to send users off-app. Verdict: keep captions link-free, drop the link below. Same clicks, way more reach.