Updated 3 weeks ago
When you publish a post with a link included, you can opt to have the link previewed or you can leave the link in the text and add your own photo.
For the link to be detected correctly by the social media channels, the link must always start with HTTPS.
For the link to be previewed, you simply have to add it in the text without attaching any image or video. The post will be published with the image extracted from the preview of the link. If you add two links, the last one will be previewed.
If you add a photo or video to a post, the link will appear in the text and the photo or video will be displayed.
YouTube links receive special treatment when shared on Facebook; the YouTube video appears embedded for playback, but it doesn't generate a preview like a regular link to a web page
On Google Business Profile the link will always be displayed as a button with the text "More Info".
LinkedIn changes : check the Differences in image size and third party links for organic posts and sponsored content
Exceptionally, in the LinkedIn settings, you have the option to enable link preview (if you add more than one link, the last one will be previewed).
Additionally, if you attach an image, it will replace the original image. If the preview is not enabled, the URL and the image will be displayed as a photo.
When the URL shortener is enabled, all links you add to your posts will be automatically shortened at the time of publishing. Instead of seeing your original URL, the published post will display a shortened link like t.mtrbio.com or similar Metricool domain.
How it works:
Only links starting with https:// will be shortened
Shortening happens at publish time, so you'll see your original URL in the preview
If you add more than one link, they will all be shortened
The destination remains the same — the shortened link redirects to your original URL
Privacy-focused: Unlike other link shorteners that track interactions with your content, Metricool's shortener doesn't track anything, giving you more privacy and control over your posts.
To enable or disable the URL shortener:
You can toggle the URL shortener in the Global Presets section of the composer. Enable it if you want to hide the original URL in your posts.
Open the composer to create a new post
Find Global Presets in the composer interface
Toggle Use URL shortener on or off
Why is my link showing a Metricool domain? If you see your published links appearing as t.mtrbio.com/... instead of your original URL, check if the URL shortener is activated in Global Presets. Disable it if you prefer your links to display with their original domain. For more link-related scenarios, see Why is my link not displaying as expected.
Make sure the link starts with HTTPS. Social networks may not detect links without it, and the URL shortener only shortens links that start with https://.
Also, the preview only appears if you don't attach an image or video to the post. If you add media, the link stays in the text and the media is displayed.
The preview in Metricool is an approximation. The final image is decided by the social network, based on the Open Graph image (og:image) of the page you're linking to. To check what Facebook or LinkedIn detect, and how to fix it, see Why is my link not displaying as expected.
If you can't change the page, attach your own image to the post instead of using the link preview.
Only the last link is previewed. If the URL shortener is enabled, all the links in the post are shortened.
Facebook treats YouTube links differently: the video appears embedded for playback instead of generating a preview card like a regular link.
Meta is applying a monthly limit on posts with links to some Pages that don't pay for a Meta subscription. This limit is set by Meta on each Page, so Metricool can't control or bypass it.
If Facebook applies the limit to your Page, it will show you a notice. If you haven't seen it, you can keep scheduling posts with links from Metricool as usual.
Depending on your Page, links added in comments may also count towards the limit, even if you schedule them as a first comment. Meta may change how this limit works, so check the notice on your Page or Meta's Help Center for the latest details.