<b>Putting the link in the first comment: tested, mostly a myth</b>

<b>Putting the link in the first comment: tested, mostly a myth</b>

The question: does moving your link out of the post body and into the first comment actually rescue reach?

The folk theory says the algorithm suppresses posts with outbound links, so practitioners hide links in comments. An A/B-style test ran matched posts — same copy, link in body versus link in first comment — across a set of accounts. Method: paired posts, randomized which version each account ran.

Three findings:
— The reach difference between link-in-body and link-in-comment was small and inconsistent — not the dramatic penalty folklore claims.
— Link-in-comment posts got fewer total clicks, because many readers never expand comments.
— Where in-body links did lose reach, the loss was smaller than the click-through loss from hiding them.

Caveats: link suppression may vary by account history and topic; one test window — treat as directional.

What it means for B2B: you may be trading measurable clicks for an unmeasured, possibly tiny reach gain. If clicks are the goal, the 'hide the link' tactic can be net-negative.

Bottom line: test it on your own account before adopting a rule built on someone else's anecdote.