How to Add a Hyperlink in a LinkedIn Message

Sending a raw, clunky URL in a LinkedIn message just doesn't cut it anymore. It can look messy, untrustworthy, and break the flow of your conversation. This guide will show you exactly how to add clean, professional hyperlinks to your LinkedIn messages, cover the best practices for making those links effective, and explain the differences between hyperlinking on desktop versus the mobile app.

Why Clean Hyperlinks Matter in Your LinkedIn Outreach

Taking a few extra seconds to craft a proper hyperlink might seem like a small detail, but it has a surprisingly big impact on how you, as a professional or a brand, come across. It’s an easy way to elevate your communication and stand out in a crowded inbox. Here’s why it’s worth the small effort.

It Projects Professionalism and Credibility

First impressions matter, especially in a professional setting like LinkedIn. Imagine you receive two different messages. One contains a long, sprawling URL filled with tracking codes and random characters:

"You can see our portfolio here: https://www.yourcreativeagency.com/projects/client-work/2024-portfolio/web-design-digital-marketing-final_v3.pdf?utm_source=linkedin&,utm_medium=message&,token=a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8"

The other message uses a clean hyperlink:

"You can see our latest portfolio here."

The second option is instantly more polished, readable, and professional. It shows an attention to detail that reflects well on you and your brand. For best practices on tagging and mentions to maintain professionalism, read how to mention someone in a LinkedIn post. Messy links can subconsciously come across as careless or even spammy, creating a barrier before the recipient even considers clicking.

It Improves Message Clarity and Readability

Your goal in any message is to communicate clearly and concisely. A long URL breaks up the flow of your text, making it harder to read and understand. By embedding your link within relevant anchor text - the clickable words themselves - you keep your message clean and focused. For tips on improving readability in your messages, check out how to add a line break in a LinkedIn message. The recipient can read your message without being distracted by a jumble of letters and symbols, allowing them to focus on the value you're providing rather than deciphering a web address.

It Can Boost Your Click-Through Rate

People are naturally hesitant to click on links they don't understand or trust. A raw URL gives them little context about where they’re going. Is it a PDF? A blog post? A signup form? Descriptive anchor text solves this problem. When you use text like, "our recent case study on SaaS growth," you're not just providing a link, you're telling the user what they'll get by clicking. This transparency builds trust and gives them a clear reason to engage, which often leads to a higher click-through rate. Vague calls-to-action like "click here" are better than a raw link, but specific, descriptive text performs best. To learn more about adding clickable text in your posts, see how to add a link to text in a LinkedIn post.

How to Add a Hyperlink in a LinkedIn Message on Desktop

For years, creating custom hyperlinks in LinkedIn messages was a frustrating limitation, but thankfully, the platform has made it a straightforward process on the desktop site. If you know how to format an email, you'll feel right at home with this feature. Follow these simple steps.

1. Navigate to Your LinkedIn Messages: Open LinkedIn in your web browser and click the "Messaging" icon at the top of the page. Select an existing conversation or start a new one.
2. Draft Your Message: Write the body of your message in the composition window at the bottom. Type out the exact phrase you want to serve as the clickable text. For example, you might write: "I recently published an article on content marketing strategy that you might find interesting."
3. Highlight Your Anchor Text: Using your cursor, highlight the specific words you want to turn into a link. In our example, you would highlight "article on content marketing strategy."
4. Click the 'Link' Icon: Once your text is highlighted, a small formatting toolbar will appear just above the composition window. Look for the icon that looks like two connected chain links. Click it.
5. Insert Your URL: A pop-up box will appear with a field labeled "Insert a link." Copy the full URL you want to direct the reader to and paste it into this field. Make sure to include the full https:// prefix for the link to work correctly.
6. Apply and Send: After pasting the URL, click the "Apply" button. You will see that your highlighted text is now blue and underlined, indicating it's a hyperlink. You can finish the rest of your message and hit "Send."

And that’s it! You've successfully added a clean, professional hyperlink to your desktop message, making your communication clearer and more effective.

How to Add a Hyperlink in the LinkedIn Mobile App (iOS &, Android)

Unfortunately, the LinkedIn mobile app experience is a bit different and, as of now, more limited than the desktop version. On the mobile app, you cannot create custom anchor text the same way you can on the desktop. There isn’t a formatting toolbar that allows you to turn "my portfolio" into a clickable link. However, you can still share a clickable link.

Here’s how it works on mobile:

1. Open a Conversation: Launch the LinkedIn app and go to your messages.
2. Paste the Full URL: Write your message, and where you want the link to appear, simply paste the entire, original URL into the message box.
3. Send the Message: When you send the message, LinkedIn will automatically recognize the URL and make it clickable for the recipient. For most links, LinkedIn will also generate a rich preview card that includes the page title, a brief description, and a featured image.

A Workaround for Cleaner Links on Mobile

Since you can't use descriptive anchor text, long and messy URLs can be even more of a problem on mobile. The best solution here is to use a URL shortening service like Bitly or TinyURL. By shortening your link first, you can turn a long, unreadable URL into something clean and simple. Learn more about how to shorten your LinkedIn URL for a cleaner look.

For example, instead of pasting this:
https://yourcompany.com/resources/2024-data/q3-marketing-insights-and-analytics-report.pdf

You would shorten it to something like:
https://bit.ly/Q3MarketingReport or even better, if you have a branded shortener brand.co/Q3_report.

This approach makes your message much cleaner and adds a layer of professionalism, even with the mobile app's limitations.

Best Practices for Using Hyperlinks in LinkedIn Messages

Knowing how to add a link is only half the battle. Using links effectively can dramatically improve your networking and outreach results. For strategies on streamlining your outreach, explore how to automate LinkedIn messages. Here are some pro tips to keep in mind.

Keep Your Anchor Text Clear and Concise

The words you choose for your clickable text should give the reader a clear expectation of what they'll find on the other side. Avoid generic phrases like "click here" or "this link." Instead, be specific.

• Good: "Read our annual report."
• Better: "Read our 2024 Annual Performance Report."
• Vague: "Check this out."

Concise, descriptive text builds trust and tells the professional exactly why it's worth their time to click. The anchor text should feel like a natural part of the sentence.

Always Provide Context

Never just drop a link into a conversation without an explanation - it's the digital equivalent of handing someone a random key without telling them what door it opens. Briefly introduce the link and state its relevance to your conversation.

Instead of just saying, "Here's my portfolio," try something more personal and contextual:

"Since we were discussing a brand refresh, I thought you might like to see a similar project from our recent portfolio. The work we did for XYZ Company is particularly relevant to what you described."

A little context goes a long way in making your link feel helpful rather than self-promotional.

Use a Single, Clear Call-to-Action

A professional's inbox is already a busy place. If you overwhelm someone with too many choices, they’ll often choose none at all. Stick to one primary link and call-to-action (CTA) per message. If you want them to book a call, link to your calendar. If you want them to read an article, link to the article. If you absolutely must include more than one, make sure there’s a clear hierarchy of importance so the recipient knows which action is most important.

Always Double-Check Your Links

This sounds obvious, but a broken link is one of the quickest ways to appear unprofessional. Mismatched anchor text, a link that leads to a 404 error, or a URL pointing to the wrong page can instantly ruin your credibility. Before you ever hit send, quickly test your link by copy-pasting it into a browser to make sure it loads correctly and directs to the right destination.

Final Thoughts

Mastering tiny details like a professional hyperlink adds up, making your LinkedIn communication stand out for all the right reasons. By embedding clean, clear, and contextual links into your messages, you're not just sharing information - you're creating a better experience for the recipient and reinforcing your professional brand.

Nailing the small stuff is what separates good outreach from great outreach, but managing dozens of conversations across LinkedIn, X, and Instagram can make it tough to stay on top of it all. At Postbase, we built our unified inbox specifically to make this more manageable. It brings all your direct messages and comments from every platform into one clean view, so you can spend less time switching between tabs and more time building relationships.