Facebook limited my business page to 2 link posts a month, then counted a post that didn't even have a link

So apparently Facebook is testing a limit where some business pages can only make two posts with external links a month unless they subscribe, and I found out because Facebook told me I had already used mine.

The only problem was... the post I was trying to make didn't have a link in it. 😂

No URL, no www, nothing clickable. I was just talking about something I had been working on, so at first I figured maybe I screwed something up somewhere and didn't realize it.

I went through Meta support and they told me there were no restrictions on my account, but my page was part of this test where non-subscribers can be limited to two posts with links per month.

Okay, I think two links a month for a business page is ridiculous, but whatever, at least I understand the rule. You post two links, you hit the limit, Facebook stops the next one.

So I tell them again, yeah, but there is no link in this post.

That's when they tell me the system can also flag what they called "link-like content," even if there isn't an actual URL. They mentioned things like saying website, using .com, or wording that sounds like you're telling somebody to visit a site.

And I'm sitting there thinking... this is a business page. 😂 Of course I'm eventually going to say the word website. That's kind of one of the things businesses have.

So I asked how I was supposed to fix it and they basically told me they couldn't remove the limit, couldn't reset it, and I would have to wait until the beginning of the next month.

And to top it off, Facebook had already shown me a popup promoting Meta One so I could keep sharing links, and support told me subscribing may help avoid those non-subscriber posting limits.

That's the part that really rubbed me the wrong way.

I don't have a problem with companies charging for premium stuff. Give me better analytics, scheduling, AI tools, better support, whatever, and if it's worth paying for then fine.

But if you're going to limit something as basic as a business sharing links and then charge for more access to it, I feel like the system should at least be able to tell when somebody actually posted a damn link.

Because my whole conversation basically turned into:

Facebook: You used your two link posts.

Me: This post doesn't have a link.

Facebook: Yeah, but it looks like it might.

Me: Okay... can you fix that?

Facebook: No.

Me: So what am I supposed to do?

Facebook: Have you considered paying us? 😂

I'm attaching the screenshots because I know how ridiculous this sounds without receipts.

Has anybody else managing a Facebook page run into this yet? I'm especially curious about the false positive part, where a normal post with no actual URL gets counted as a link post anyway.

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Comments

metropolitandeluxe•20 days ago•6

Eventually they're going to constrain everything so much that an alternative is going to have to arise. Pigs get fat. Hogs get butchered.

dinothetouristdotcom•20 days ago•5

I’m running into something very similar, and it’s honestly changed the way I’m using Facebook completely.

For years my Page was basically my main traffic source. I would post a travel deal, put the external link directly in the caption, and people could go straight to my website. I already knew Facebook would reduce the reach because I was sending people outside the Meta ecosystem, but at least the option was there.

Then last week everything suddenly became much more restrictive. I also tried putting links in the comments, which worked for a while, but after using that method repeatedly some of the links started appearing greyed out and were no longer clickable. So technically the comment was still there, but it was useless for sending traffic.

At the same time I’ve been growing my own Facebook groups, and strangely enough I currently have much more freedom there. I can post external links normally and I’m often getting better engagement than on my Page.

So I’ve basically changed my funnel from:

Page → Website

to:

Page → Facebook Group → Website

On the Page I now tell people that the full deal/link is inside the group. Facebook is obviously much happier sending somebody to another Facebook destination, and once they are in the group I can share the external website link normally.

For me this is much better than using ManyChat, asking everyone to comment a keyword, or constantly sending people to “link in bio.”

The frustrating part is that I’ve spent thousands over the years building my Page to almost 48,000 followers, yet some posts are now reaching only around 200 people organically. Paying €43/month just to get a blue check and a handful of extra link posts doesn’t make much sense to me either.

If this continues, I think Pages will mainly become an acquisition tool for me, while the groups become the actual community and traffic source.

So if anyone here is in the same situation, my advice would be: start building one or two groups connected to your Page while you still can. At least then you’re not completely dependent on Page distribution every time Meta changes the rules.

stephenk_lightart•19 days ago•2

I had the same issue, and have changed my funneling to avoid Meta's greed which will only make creaters decrease their reliance on Meta.

chr-27•17 days ago•2

Same frustration on YouTube Shorts, TikTok and Reels — links just aren't clickable there, so everything becomes "link in bio".

Full disclosure, I'm building a tool around this ( linkifythis.com ): you say or show a short code instead of a URL, and each video gets its own page. It won't get around Facebook's "link-like content" check, though — from what support told you, any "go visit" wording seems to count. Where it helps is places links can't be clicked at all: short videos, podcasts, flyers.

The Page → Group → Website route above sounds like the best workaround for Facebook specifically.

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Boring-Surround2657•19 days ago•1

Support cannot clear a count once the system marks a post. Until the month resets, leave out any wording that sounds like a destination, even when the text has no address.

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