Facebook’s New Experiment: Limiting Link Posts for Professional Accounts
In a recent development, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has initiated a test that restricts the number of external links users can post on Facebook. This limitation applies specifically to users operating under professional mode and Facebook Pages. The test allows these users to share only two external links unless they subscribe to the Meta Verified program, which starts at $14.99 per month.
Social media strategist Matt Navarra highlighted this change, noting that while the restriction applies to external links, users can still share affiliate links, comment on posts, and link to content within Meta’s platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed the test, stating, This is a limited test to understand whether the ability to publish an increased volume of posts with links adds additional value for Meta Verified subscribers. This move directly impacts creators and brands that rely on sharing links from their blogs or other platforms to reach a broader audience.
The company emphasized that this experiment aims to explore ways to enhance the Meta Verified subscription plan. Notably, publishers are currently excluded from this test, and users can still post links in comments without any restrictions.
According to Meta’s Q3 transparency report, over 98% of feed views in the U.S. come from posts without any links. The report also indicated that the majority of the 1.9% of views on posts with links originated from pages that users followed, with minimal engagement from linked posts shared by friends and groups.
The same report identified YouTube, TikTok, and GoFundMe as the top domains among the links posted. With the new link posting limit test, creators and brands may be compelled to share content from other Meta platforms if they reach their limit or opt to pay for a subscription to continue posting external links.
This experiment reflects a broader trend in the digital landscape, where platforms are reevaluating the role of external links. As artificial intelligence reshapes internet interactions, there’s an ongoing debate about the relevance of a link-based web. AI-driven summaries and searches have posed challenges to the publishing industry. In recent years, social networks like X have experimented with demoting linked posts to encourage users to share content natively on their platforms.
