In September, Social Media Today reported that some Facebook Pages are now limited to two link posts a month unless they pay for a Meta One subscription. Publisher Pages are exempt, because Meta wants their content flowing in. Business Pages are not.
That number is small enough to be a joke until you count. Two. A local business that posts a job photo with a link to its website every day runs out of links by the second of the month.
We manage Pages for local businesses, so we had already changed how we post before this test expanded. Here is what we do and why it works better anyway.
This did not start in September
Meta's own Widely Viewed Content Report for the first quarter of 2026 says 98.7 percent of US post views did not include an external link. That is Meta describing its own feed.
Most of what people see on Facebook has no outside link
Share of US Facebook post views, Meta's own Widely Viewed Content Report.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Post views with no external link | 98.7% |
| Post views that included an external link | 1.3% |
Source: Meta Widely Viewed Content Report, first quarter of 2026, as cited by Social Media Today on September 17, 2026.
So before any cap, a post with a link was already the post almost nobody saw. The cap just makes official what the feed was doing quietly. We noticed it the way most owners do: a post with a link got a tenth of the reach of the same post without one. We stopped putting links in captions on our client Pages months ago and moved them to the first comment. Reach went back up.
What the cap looks like against a real schedule
Two link posts a month against a real posting schedule
Posts per month: the cap in Meta's test versus what we schedule for a local business Page.
Meta's test, reported by Social Media Today, September 17, 2026.
Our own planner: about one a day, most with no outside link at all.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Link posts allowed on an affected free Page | 2 |
| Posts we schedule for a local business Page each month | 28 |
Source: Social Media Today for the cap; our own posting schedule for the second bar.
For a local business Page we schedule about a post a day: a job photo, a before and after, a short video from the truck, a question for the audience, a customer's words with their permission. Almost none of those need a link, and the ones that do (a new article, a seasonal offer, an event) can carry the link in the first comment or in the Page bio.
Two linked posts a month is enough for that schedule. The problem is not the cap. The problem is a business whose only way home from Facebook was the link.
Where your posts should send people now
The honest answer is that a post should not have to send people anywhere. It should make them want to find you, and finding you should take one tap.
Put the name, the town and the phone in plain text in every post. "Scott's crew, Tyler. (903) 555-0100." A phone number is not a link. Meta cannot cap it, and a person can tap it.
Fix the Page itself. The call button rings a line someone answers. The website field is filled in. The about section says what you do, where, and what it costs to start. The pinned post is directions, hours, and the phone.
Make the website worth the trip. When someone does type your domain, the site should load in two seconds on a phone, show a price or a range, and have a form or a text button above the fold. We built the checklist for that in a Facebook page is not a website, and it matters more now, not less.
Move the conversation off Meta in the second message. When someone messages the Page, the first reply answers the question and the second asks for a phone number or email so you can send the quote. Now the relationship lives in your phone and your inbox, which no test can cap.
Use the two links on purpose. One for the thing you most want read this month. One in reserve. Everything else goes in a comment or the bio.
Why this is good news if you own your platform
Every one of these changes pushes in the same direction. Reach on Facebook is rented. The link out is rented. The audience is rented. The things Meta cannot touch are your name, your phone number, your domain, your email list, and the website that turns a visit into a call.
If your business already has those, this test is a footnote. If it does not, this is the month to build them, because the next change will not come with a news article.
What to do this week
- Check whether your Page has the pop-up about link limits. If it does, you are in the test. If not, post as if you are.
- Move links out of captions and into the first comment. Put the phone number and domain in the caption in plain text.
- Fill in the Page's call button, website field, and about section. Pin a post with hours, directions and the phone.
- Open your website on your own phone. Time it. Find the price. Find the button. If any of those three fail, that is the real job.
- Decide what the two linked posts this month are for before you spend them.
That is the whole fix. The form below is how you ask us to build the parts you are missing. The rest you can do today.
Questions people actually ask
Is every Facebook Page limited to two link posts now?
No. As Social Media Today reported it, the two-links-a-month cap is a test on some non-paying professional Pages, publisher Pages are exempt, and Meta said other Pages may be restricted later. Meta first tested the same cap in December 2025. Whether your Page is in the test, the direction is clear: links in posts are becoming a paid feature.
Should I pay for Meta One to get links back?
Not just for links. Meta One for Business launched in September 2026 with paid tiers, and at the time of the report Facebook post links were not even listed as a benefit. Before paying any platform a monthly fee for the right to send people to your own website, count what that website does with the visitors. If it has no clear next step and no follow-up, the link was never the problem.
Does putting the link in the first comment work?
It is what we do, and it keeps the post itself free of a link, which is the thing that gets buried. It is not a loophole Meta has blessed and it could change. Treat it as a habit, not a strategy. The strategy is that your Page makes people want to find you, and your website and phone are easy to find without a link.
If links are limited, how do I get customers off Facebook?
Your business name, a memorable domain, and a phone number in plain text in every post and in the Page bio. A pinned post with directions and hours. A Page call button that rings a line somebody answers. And a Messenger reply that asks for a phone number or email in the first exchange, so the conversation lives somewhere you own by the second message.
Where these numbers come from
- Social Media Today: Facebook Pages get charged for link posts (September 17, 2026)
Our own figures come from the lead records of businesses we run systems for, counted in total and never by name.