How to Link an Article on LinkedIn

Sharing an article on LinkedIn is more than just copy-pasting a link, it’s a powerful way to establish your authority, drive traffic to your website, and start meaningful conversations with your network. This guide walks you through the simple methods for sharing links before getting into the strategies the pros use to turn a simple link into a powerful engagement tool. We'll cover everything from optimizing your accompanying text to the great link-in-the-post vs. link-in-the-comments debate.

Choose Your Method: 3 Ways to Link an Article on LinkedIn

There isn’t one single "best" way to share a link. Your approach should align with your goal for the post. Are you looking for maximum clicks, or do you want to spark a discussion first? Let's break down the main ways to get it done.

1. The Standard Link Post (The Direct Approach)

This is the most straightforward and common method. It places the link directly in your post, generating a clickable preview that immediately grabs attention and tells your audience where they’re going.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. On your LinkedIn homepage, click "Start a post."
2. In the post creation box, write your introductory text. This is your hook - don't skip it!
3. Paste the URL of the article directly into the box. LinkedIn will automatically fetch the article's data and create a link preview, which usually includes a featured image, headline, and source URL.
4. Wait for the preview to load completely. Once it’s there, you can delete the raw URL from your text for a cleaner look. The preview will remain clickable.
5. Add 3-5 relevant hashtags to the end of your post to increase its visibility.
6. Click "Post" to share it with your network.

When to Use This Method: Use the standard link post when your primary goal is driving traffic directly to your article. It’s the lowest-friction method for your audience, providing a clear and immediate call-to-action (CTA).

2. The "Link in the Comments" Method (The Algorithm Theory)

You’ve probably seen posts with captions like, “Link to the full article in the comments!” This method involves publishing a text-only, image, or video post and then immediately adding the article link as the first comment.

Why do people do this? The prevailing theory is that social media platforms, including LinkedIn, want to keep users on their site for as long as possible. Posts with external links that send users away are sometimes hypothesized to have their reach throttled by the algorithm. By creating a post without an outbound link, you encourage engagement *on* the post first (likes, comments, etc.). Then, once engaged, users can find the link in the comments.

Pros:

• Potentially Higher Initial Reach: Your post might be shown to more people initially if it’s a text-only or native media post, which LinkedIn tends to favor.
• Drives Engagement on the Post: The act of asking people to check the comments can itself be an engagement prompt, and more comments signal to the algorithm that the post is valuable.

Cons:

• Creates Friction: You're asking your audience to do extra work. Some people WILL NOT bother to look for the link, leading to fewer clicks even with higher reach.
• Comments Can Get Buried: If your post becomes very popular, your comment with the link can get lost among others. While you can "pin" comments now, it's still an extra step.

When to Use This Method: This approach is great for when your main goal is to spark a broad conversation on LinkedIn itself. You are prioritizing reach and on-platform discussion over immediate click-throughs.

3. Using the LinkedIn "Article" Feature

Instead of linking to an article on an external website, you can publish the content directly on LinkedIn using its native article feature. This creates a blog-post-style piece that lives on your LinkedIn profile.

To do this, select “Write article” instead of “Start a post” on your homepage. You'll be taken to a long-form editor where you can add a headline, cover image, and body text, including images and outbound links within the article body.

When to Use This Method: This is an excellent strategy for establishing thought leadership directly on the platform. It notifies your entire network that you’ve published something new and the content is easily discovered via LinkedIn search. It’s best used for original content you want associated directly with your personal brand on the platform, rather than for driving traffic back to your own blog. For more tips on enhancing your professional presence, consider how to build a professional LinkedIn profile.

Strategies for Creating High-Engagement Link Posts

Simply sharing a link isn't enough. The success of your post depends on the value you provide around the link. Here’s how to make your audience want to click. To truly maximize your impact, explore methods to optimize your LinkedIn posts for engagement.

Craft an Irresistible Introduction

Never just drop a link. Your text is the salesperson for that click. Your mission is to give people a reason to care before they commit. Your intro sets the stage and should accomplish at least one of these things:

• Share a Surprising Statistic or Quote: Pull the most interesting, controversial, or surprising data point or quote from the article. For example: "A recent study found that 75% of professionals ignore unsolicited InMail. In this article, we're breaking down the 3 types of messages that actually get a response."
• Tell a Personal Story or Anecdote: How does the article relate to a personal experience? People connect with stories. "I used to spend hours every Monday planning content. It was a mess. This is the simple framework I learned that cut my planning time in half, and I outlined it in detail here."
• Ask a Provocative Question: Frame the topic as a problem or a polarizing question that makes people think, then present your article as the answer. "Is 'hustle culture' officially dead? Many creators are abandoning the 12-hour workday for something more sustainable. Here’s a look at the data."
• Provide a Bulleted Summary: Give them a taste of what they’ll learn. This shows respect for their time. "In this breakdown, you'll discover:
  • The one mistake everyone makes with their LinkedIn headline
  • How to use the 'Featured' section to win clients
  • A 5-minute profile audit you can do right now

These techniques are crucial for crafting compelling content, and you can delve deeper into how to write effective LinkedIn posts to master them.

Go Beyond a Link Post: Repurpose Your Article into a Carousel

Document posts, aka carousels, get phenomenal engagement on LinkedIn. Instead of just linking to an article, you can repurpose its key points into a visually engaging PDF and upload that instead.

How to do it:

1. Pull 5-7 key ideas or data points from your article.
2. Open a tool like Canva and create a simple document with one key idea per page. Use big fonts, clean graphics, and a visually appealing design.
3. On the final page, create a strong call-to-action, like "Read the full article for a deeper look," and include the short link or say, "Link is in the comments!"
4. On LinkedIn, start a post, click the "Add a document" icon (it looks like a piece of paper), and upload your PDF.
5. Write a compelling intro in your main post text, explaining what people will learn from the carousel. Then, post the article link in the first comment.

Optimize Your Link Preview Image and Headline

When you paste a link, the preview it generates is your post's billboard. A low-quality image or a boring headline will sabotage your click-through rate.

• Control the Source: The best way to manage this is on your website. Use your CMS (like WordPress with a plugin like Yoast SEO) to define the Open Graph (OG) title, description, and image for every blog post. A recommended size for LinkedIn OG images is 1200 x 627 pixels.
• Refresh the Preview: If you update your OG tags and LinkedIn still shows an old preview, use LinkedIn’s Post Inspector tool. Pasting your URL there will force LinkedIn to clear its cache and fetch the latest version.

Final Thoughts

Effectively sharing an article on LinkedIn is a blend of mechanics and strategy. While you can always just paste a link, the best results come from wrapping that link in value, whether a compelling story, a summary of key points, or a new format like a carousel post that invites engagement first.

Because we manage social accounts for multiple brands, we know how essential it is to have a modern system to handle this mix of content effectively. We built Postbase from the ground up to deal with today's social reality, supporting not just link posts but also the videos, carousels, and multi-platform campaigns that bring articles to life. Using our visual calendar helps us seamlessly plan when to publish an article as a link post, when to promote it with a video, and when to repurpose it as a document - all from one clean interface that just makes sense.