How to Share a Link on Reddit Without Getting Removed
The safest pattern for most subreddits is a text post that tells the story, with the link dropped in a comment, because many communities filter or downrank link-in-body posts from newer accounts. Some subreddits require the link inside the post itself, others ban it there entirely, so the honest answer is always to check that specific subreddit’s rules before you decide.
A naked link with no context is treated as spam outright in communities like r/SaaS, and URL shorteners or tracking links are commonly banned wherever they show up. This page is about the mechanics of placing and formatting a link so it survives, not about broader self-promotion strategy or which subreddit to pick in the first place.
Reddit's weekly active user base, the full pool a single post can reach.
View the Reddit usage data (Business of Apps)Short answer: text post, link in a comment, unless the subreddit says otherwise
If you only take one line from this page: write a text post that leads with the problem or the story, submit it with no link at all, and add the link in a comment once the post is live. That pattern survives the most subreddits without modification. It is not universal, r/SideProject wants a link submission by design, and r/startups does not want your link anywhere near a normal post or comment, so step two is always confirming the specific subreddit does not have its own explicit rule that overrides this default.
A Reddit submission is one or the other, never both
This is the mechanic underneath every decision on this page. When you hit submit, Reddit forces a choice: a link post whose content is a URL, or a text post whose content is a markdown body. There is no third option that is both at once.
Link post
A submission whose entire content is a URL. Reddit fetches a preview thumbnail and title, and the post itself has no markdown body attached to it.
The subreddit's own rules or sidebar format explicitly ask for a link submission, such as r/SideProject's [Project name] - [Short description] convention.
Text (self) post
A submission with a markdown body up to 40,000 characters, and no URL field. Any link has to live inside that body text or in a comment underneath.
The subreddit does not explicitly require a link submission, which is most founder-facing subreddits, and especially when your account is newer or the community is promotion-sensitive.
One more mechanical detail worth knowing before you pick: a link post’s URL generally cannot be changed after it is submitted, while a text post’s body can be edited afterward. If you are not certain which format the subreddit wants, that asymmetry is another reason the text post is the lower-risk default.
Not sure where your link belongs? Ask before you post.
Tell the generator your product and the subreddit you are targeting, and it flags removal risk, including link placement, before you ever paste anything into Reddit.
Title options
Where to actually put the link
In the post body, in a comment underneath it, or nowhere in the submission at all. Five steps, in order, that cover the specific subreddit, your account’s history, and what to do when neither gives you a clear answer.
1. Check the subreddit's own rules for an explicit answer first
Some subreddits settle this for you. r/SideProject's sidebar format expects a link-style submission. r/startups tells you not to name-drop your own project or URL directly in a submission at all, link or text. r/smallbusiness requires every main post to be phrased as a question, which rules out a bare link post entirely. Read the specific subreddit's rules before guessing.
2. If the subreddit is neutral, default to a text post with the link in a comment
Many communities filter or downrank link-in-body posts from newer accounts, so a text post that tells the story, with the link dropped in a reply once the post is up, is the safer default pattern when a subreddit has no explicit rule either way.
3. Weigh your account's history, not just its age
A thin comment history reads the same to a spam filter whether the account is three days or three months old. An account with a real pattern of genuine posts and comments in that specific subreddit has more room to include a link directly than an account whose only activity is the launch post itself.
4. Match the subreddit's orientation, not just its rules text
Subreddits built for sharing, such as r/SideProject and r/microsaas, tolerate a link in the post itself as long as there is real context around it. Subreddits built around discussion and gatekeeping self-promotion into a weekly thread, such as r/startups, r/Entrepreneur, and r/smallbusiness, treat a link in a normal post or comment as removable regardless of how it is framed.
5. When in doubt, leave the link out of the submission entirely
If a subreddit's stance is unclear and you cannot find a recent example of a similar post surviving, the lowest-risk move is a text post with no link at all, followed by adding the link only in reply to a direct question in the comments once the post has already stood for a while.
How seven founder subreddits actually handle links
Pulled directly from each subreddit’s own rules, not a general guess. “In post” means submitting the link as part of the post itself, “In comment” means adding it as a reply once the post is live.
| Subreddit | In post | In comment | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| r/startups | No | Restricted | No standalone promotional post allowed. Don't name-drop your own project or URL directly in a submission. Naked or affiliate links in comments are a listed removal reason. The link belongs in the weekly Share Your Startup thread instead. |
| r/SideProject | Yes | Yes | Sharing your project is the entire purpose here. Use the sidebar's [Project name] - [Short description] format. No formal AutoMod rule list exists, so the bar is quality and genuineness, not a link ban. |
| r/SaaS | Rate-limited | Rate-limited | One mention every 60 days, across posts, comments, and links combined, with your affiliation disclosed. Naked links with no context are treated as spam. No URL shorteners or trackers. |
| r/Entrepreneur | No | No | Rule 1 explicitly bans URL dropping outside the designated weekly threads, alongside DM me and check my profile. Links in normal posts or comments are removed regardless of framing. |
| r/smallbusiness | No | Restricted | Main posts must be phrased as a question, which rules out a link post outright. As of June 2026, product mentions are removed from posts and comments if they look directly or indirectly promotional. Promotion goes only in the weekly Promote your business thread. |
| r/indiehackers | Once | Once | One self-promotion post is allowed, tagged with the SHOW IH flair, framed as a request for critique rather than a launch. Any MRR or revenue claim needs proof or the post is removed. |
| r/microsaas | With context | With context | Sharing is allowed, but a purely promotional link without backstory, tech stack, revenue, or a specific lesson is removed as low-value self-promotion. Any post or comment asking for DMs is also removed. |
Every one of these is specific to its own subreddit. Do not assume a pattern that works in r/SideProject transfers to r/startups or r/Entrepreneur, the rules above show they do not.
Formatting the link itself, not just placing it
Where the link goes is half the problem. How it looks once it is there is the other half, and a badly formatted link can get flagged even in a subreddit that otherwise allows it.
Markdown link syntax: [link text](https://example.com) Renders as: link text A naked pasted URL: https://example.com Renders as a bare link with nothing explaining what it is.
Both technically work on Reddit. Only the first one reads as a genuine reference instead of a drop-and-run link, and it is the format most subreddit style guides and experienced users expect inside a comment or a text post body.
Six things to check before you paste it in
Five ways link posts get removed
A link in the post body from a thin-history account
Many subreddits filter or downrank link-in-body posts specifically from newer or low-activity accounts. The exact same link posted by an account with months of genuine comments in that subreddit often survives, because the filter is reading the account's history, not just the text.
Shortened, obfuscated, or tracked links
URL shorteners and tracking links are commonly banned outright. r/SaaS lists shortened or affiliate links as a specific removal reason, and AutoMod configurations across many subreddits flag shortener domains automatically because they hide the real destination.
A naked link with no surrounding context
A URL dropped with nothing around it reads as spam to both moderators and automated filters. r/SaaS states this explicitly: naked links are treated as spam even when the product itself would otherwise be welcome under the subreddit's rate limit.
The link goes where the subreddit specifically forbids it
r/Entrepreneur removes URL dropping outside its designated weekly threads under Rule 1. r/startups removes naked or affiliate links in comments and does not allow name-dropping your own project or URL in a submission at all. Posting the same link pattern that works in r/SideProject into one of these subreddits gets it pulled regardless of formatting.
Repeating the same link across several comments
Dropping an identical link in reply after reply on the same thread, or across several different threads in a short window, is one of the clearest spam signatures subreddit filters and Reddit's own systems look for, separate from whether any single instance would have been fine on its own.
What to do if your link post disappears
Most links that vanish are not manually removed by a moderator, they are caught by AutoMod or a spam filter tuned specifically to link placement and formatting. Reposting the same link the same way just gets it caught again.
The post or comment with your link is missing when you view it logged out
This is almost always the spam filter or AutoMod catching the link itself, not a manual mod decision. Do not repost immediately with the same link in the same place, that pattern reads as evasion to the same filter.
The rest of your post is up, but the link specifically never rendered or got stripped
Some AutoMod configurations remove just the offending line rather than the whole post. Re-check the domain against that subreddit's rules, remove any shortener or tracking parameters, and consider moving the link out of the body and into a reply instead.
You got a removal message citing a rule
Read exactly what it names. A rule citation about self-promotion, naked links, or link placement tells you precisely what to fix before you try again, and whether the subreddit even allows the link anywhere at all.
Nothing was ever visibly rejected, the link just never shows up anywhere
Check whether the post or comment is visible on your own profile in a private or logged-out window. If it is invisible there too, that points to an account-level issue rather than a single filtered link, worth checking separately.
If you are not sure whether you are looking at a filtered link, a wider removal, or a deeper account issue, start with what Reddit removal risk actually is and how to lower it, which covers the full set of AutoMod and mod-review triggers beyond just link placement.
Run this checklist before you hit post
Seven checks, pulled directly from the mechanics above, worth thirty seconds before you submit anything with a link attached.
If you remember one thing from this page
Text post, link in a comment, is the safe default. It is not universal, so check the specific subreddit’s rules first, but when nothing tells you otherwise, this is the pattern that survives the most communities without modification.
A submission is a link post or a text post, never both. A link post’s URL generally cannot be changed after it is live, while a text post’s body can be edited, which is one more reason to default to text when you are not certain.
Format matters as much as placement. A naked, shortened, or tracked link gets flagged even in subreddits that otherwise allow links. Use markdown link syntax with real anchor text, and strip trackers before you paste anything in.
A walkthrough of posting links without getting removed
Link placement, answered
Should I put my link in the post body or in a comment?
Default to a comment. Many subreddits filter or downrank link-in-body posts from newer accounts, so writing a text post that tells the story with no link, then adding the link in a comment once the post is live, is the safer default pattern. Some subreddits, like r/SideProject, explicitly want a link submission instead, so always check that specific subreddit's rules before assuming the default applies.
Can a Reddit post be both a link post and a text post?
No. A submission is one or the other. A link post's content is a URL, a text post's content is a markdown body up to 40,000 characters. If you want to combine a link with your own commentary, write a text post and put the link inside the body or in a comment underneath it.
Why do naked links get removed?
A URL with nothing explaining what it is reads as spam to both moderators and automated filters. r/SaaS states this explicitly in its rules, treating naked links as spam even when the underlying product would otherwise be allowed under its promotion rate limit. Add real context, what the link is and why it is relevant, every time.
Are URL shorteners banned on Reddit?
They are commonly banned at the subreddit level. r/SaaS explicitly disallows shortened or tracked links as a removal reason, and many AutoMod configurations flag known shortener domains automatically. Paste the direct, full URL instead.
Can I edit a link post's URL after I submit it?
Generally no, the destination URL on a link post cannot be changed after posting. A text post's markdown body can be edited afterward. That asymmetry is one more reason to default to a text post when you are not fully certain about a link's destination or formatting yet.
Does my account age affect where I can put a link?
Indirectly, yes. Many subreddits' filters are tuned to flag link-in-body posts specifically from newer or thinner-history accounts, not from accounts with a genuine pattern of activity in that community. Building real comment history in a subreddit before you post a link there gives you more room than a brand new account has.
Do all founder subreddits treat links the same way?
No, and treating them the same is the most common mistake. r/SideProject wants a link in the post by design. r/startups and r/Entrepreneur remove links from normal posts and comments outside their designated threads entirely. r/SaaS allows a link but rate-limits it to once every 60 days with disclosure required. Check each subreddit individually.
What is the difference between formatting a link with markdown and just pasting the URL?
Markdown link syntax, [link text](https://example.com), renders as readable anchor text tied to a real word or phrase, which reads as a genuine reference. A bare pasted URL renders as just the raw address, which looks closer to a naked link even if there is other text nearby. Use markdown syntax whenever you are linking inside a comment or a text post body.