You don’t need a link. You need a website worth typing in.

Meta now charges to share links on Facebook. Fine. The link was never what got people to your website. A reason to visit was.

For some businesses, social media sends people to the website. For others, the Facebook Page is the website. Either way, Meta just changed the deal.

Meta now caps free link posts on Facebook Pages, and sells more through its Meta One subscriptions. For a lot of NZ businesses, sharing links on Facebook has been rent-free for years. Not any more.

This is the catch with building your business on rented land. Meta owns the platform, so Meta sets the rent, and Meta can put it up whenever it likes. If your Facebook Page is your website, you’re not just renting space for your links. You’re renting the whole shop.

At Done By Nine, this is now one of the first questions we ask in an audit: if Facebook closed your Page tomorrow, what would you get to keep? By the end of this article, you’ll have ten reasons to give people to visit your website, and a clear rule for which platforms to rent and which to own.

What did Meta actually change?

If your Page has the limit, Meta’s free plan lets you include links in 2 posts or comments a month. Extra links in the comments of a post that already has a link don’t count, and neither do links to Meta’s own apps. Anything more needs a paid Meta One plan. Some reports say Meta One will also be how businesses add clickable links to Instagram posts and Reels. Meta hasn’t confirmed how that works in NZ yet.

The cap started as a test in December 2025 and may not apply to every Page yet. The direction is clear though. In the first three months of 2026, 98.7% of US Facebook feed views came from posts without a link, according to Meta’s own report.

Facebook wants people to stay on Facebook. Link posts were losing reach long before Meta started charging for them.

What does building on rented land mean?

Building on rented land means growing your business on a platform you don’t own and can’t control. Your Facebook followers, reach, comments and posts all belong to Meta.

The link charge is just the latest rent rise. Algorithm changes, reach drops and rising ad costs have all done the same thing before.

Renting isn’t the problem. Every business rents something. The problem is renting everything.

The rule we use is simple: rent one thing, own the rest.

• Getting found: rent it. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google and AI search are great at putting your business in front of new people.
• Your website: own it. Your website is the one place online where your business sets the rules.
• Your customer data: own it. An email list, a customer database and your booking records stay yours, whatever any platform does next.

Meta was only ever good at getting you found. The job of your social content is to move people off Meta’s land and onto yours.

Ten reasons people will visit your website.

People will type in your web address when your website has something social media can’t give them. Here are ten of those reasons.

1. Tease it on social, pay it off on your website.

Share the hook and the first half on Instagram or Facebook. Make the social post useful on its own, then put the next step on your website. A Taranaki builder posts a 30-second Reel on the 3 things that blow out a bathroom reno budget. The Reel stands up by itself. The website has the real cost breakdown from a recent New Plymouth job and a checklist to take to any quote. Viewers who are just scrolling still learn something. Viewers who are planning a reno go and get the rest.

2. Build a tool only your website has.

People will type an address for a tool. People won’t type an address for a blog post. A calculator, a quiz, a product finder or an instant price check gives someone an answer about their own situation. Done By Nine’s own Price & Fit Check works this way: nine questions, an indicative price, about three minutes, no call required.

3. Offer a resource worth an email address.

Templates, checklists and guides give people a reason to visit and a reason to sign up. The visit happens on land you own. The email address is customer data you own, and Meta can’t charge you to email your own list.

4. Keep some offers for your website only.

Web-only prices, bundles and deals teach customers that the best offer isn’t on Facebook. Say it on social, sell it on your website. An Auckland homewares store doesn’t need a link to post “this bundle’s only on our website”. Customers will go and find it.

5. Make your website the fastest way to book or get a quote.

Nobody wants to wait two days for a reply to a DM. Online booking, instant quotes and live availability make your website the quickest way to get something done. Once your website is the quick option, customers stop asking where to book.

6. Give your website and email list first access.

New products, launches, event tickets and limited spots go live on your website and to your email list before anywhere else. Social media announces the launch. Your website is where the launch actually happens.

7. Give customers a members’ area.

Loyalty points, a customer account, saved orders and member-only content give people a reason to come back again and again. A one-off visit is good. A customer who logs in every month is better.

8. Keep the full proof on your website.

Social media gets the before-and-after photo. Your website gets the whole case study: the brief, the cost, the result and the client’s review. Someone weighing up a big purchase wants the full story, and that story should live on land you own. It’s why our case studies live on our website.

9. Answer the questions customers actually ask.

Every business gets the same questions in its DMs: how much, how long, do you deliver, will it fit. Answer each one properly on your website. When someone asks on Instagram, reply in the DM with the short answer and a link to the full answer on your website. Those same pages also help you get found when people ask Google or ChatGPT the question instead.

10. Make your website the home of live information.

Stock levels, opening hours, menus, availability, timetables and delivery areas change all the time. A Facebook post is out of date the moment it’s published, but your website can always be current. Think about how you shop for groceries. Nobody checks New World’s Facebook Page to see if something’s in stock. You check the app or the website, then click and collect. Your customers expect the same from you, however big or small your business is.

Easy wins you can do this week.

Before you build anything new, get the basics right. None of these need a developer or a budget. Here are six easy wins:

• Make your web address easy to remember. Short, no hyphens, no odd spellings. If you have to spell your web address out over the phone, it’s too hard to type.
• Use short campaign addresses. A page like donebynine.com/rented is easy to say in a video and easy to type from a post. Set each one up as its own page or redirect so you can see how many people came through it. Try that one. It brings you straight back here.
• Say your web address out loud. Put it in your Reels, your videos and the text on your graphics. A web address people hear three times is one they remember.
• Check your profiles. Your web address belongs in your Facebook and Instagram bios, your cover image and your Google Business Profile.
• Google your own business name. Whatever comes up first is where people who saw you on social media will land. Make sure it’s your website.
• Save your free link posts for what matters. If Meta limits your Page to 2 free link posts a month, use them for your biggest launches, not everyday posts.

Where will people find you now?

People will still find your business on rented platforms: Google, AI search, LinkedIn, PR and local directories. That’s fine. Rented platforms are where discovery happens. The job is making sure every one of them points back to your website.

• Google: plenty of people who see your business on social media search for the business name next. Keep your Google Business Profile and reviews in good shape so that search lands on your website. Where Did All Your Website Traffic Go? explains what happens when Google answers before anyone clicks.
• AI search: more people now ask ChatGPT or Google’s AI Overviews for a recommendation before they scroll a feed. AI tools draw on clear, well-structured website content when they name a business. The Decision Zone explains why AI search is now your business’s first impression.
• Everywhere else: LinkedIn, PR, partner listings and local directories all send people your way. Use them, and make sure every one points back to your website.

What NZ business owners are asking about Meta’s link limits.

Can I just put the link in the comments?

Not really, not any more. Putting the link in the comments was the go-to fix when Meta first tested link limits. Now, if your Page has the limit, a link in a comment uses the same free allowance as a link in a post. The exception is extra links in the comments of a post that already has a link: those don’t count. So if you do share a link, put it in the post itself and add any others underneath. The better fix is a reason to visit your website that doesn’t need a link at all.

Should I pay for Meta One to get more links?

Probably not. Paying for Meta One can make sense if your business relies on sending Facebook traffic to your website every day. Meta lists its Advanced plan at US$49.99 a month for 8 posts or comments with links, and says prices vary by region. For most NZ small businesses, that money is better spent making the website worth visiting. Paying more rent doesn’t change the fact that Facebook is rented land.

Should I stop posting on Facebook?

No. Facebook is still one of the best places for NZ businesses to get found by new people. Keep posting, but treat every Facebook post as a reason to visit your website, not a replacement for it.

What if my website hasn’t got much on it?

Start with one reason to visit. A live menu, an online booking page or one useful tool is enough to begin with. Add the next reason once the first one is working.

The bottom line.

Meta charging for links isn’t the end of the world. It’s a reminder that Facebook was always rented land. Rent the platforms that help people find your business. Own your website and your customer data. Then give people a reason to visit that’s stronger than a link: a tool, an offer, first access or the full story. Do that, and people will type your address in themselves.

This week, pick one reason from the list above and put it on your website.