Definition
Item link fields should resolve to full URLs that include protocol and host.
Item link and absolute URLs
Absolute links keep readers and crawlers pointed to the correct item page.
Checked by FeedInspector
Capability checks
Metrics
Why it matters
Relative or malformed links break click through behavior and make downstream enrichment unreliable.
How FeedInspector checks it
FeedInspector checks item.link and tech.linksResolvable using URL resolution against the feed URL.
Common problems and fixes
Problem: Relative links like /post/123 appear in item link.
Fix: Publish fully qualified URLs such as https://example.com/post/123.
Problem: Tracking redirect links become invalid over time.
Fix: Use canonical destination URLs in the feed item link field.
Minimal example
Absolute item link
<item>
<title>Absolute URL example</title>
<link>https://example.com/articles/absolute-url</link>
</item>