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# How to Create a Research Link

When putting an episode together, it’s always great to be able to link out to sites and resources that are mentioned in that episode.

Not only does this make it easy for the listener to read more around the topics discussed, but it helps your show notes stand out and act as a deep-dive resource for the listener.

With Captivate’s _Research Links_ feature, you can easily collate these links for episodes:

* Create or edit a link from the _Research and Planning_ section of your Captivate dashboard
* Create or add a _Research Link_ when creating/publishing a new episode, or editing an existing episode
* Add a new or saved _Research Link_ in the [Episode Planning](https://help.captivate.fm/en/articles/6081693-how-to-create-an-episode-idea) feature

This makes it super easy to add links to any episode, no matter what step in the creation process you’re at.

With the Captivate Podcast Research extension for Chrome, saving links from around the web is even easier, enabling you to save a link straight from the web page you’re currently on.

Here’s how to create a Research Link for each option.

## Create a Research Link in the Research and Planning section

* Log into Captivate
* Click on _Research Links_ in the left hand menu
* Click _Add New Research Link_
* Enter the URL for the link
* Add the _Label_ you want it to display in the episode. The _Label_ is the text that will be displayed for the link - so, for example, instead of just showing the URL for Google like [www.google.com](https://www.google.com), you could enter the text _Learn more at Google_ in the label section, and this is what would be displayed in your show notes! Captivate auto-generates the label based on the URL, but you can also change it to your preferred text instead.
* Add any _Notes_ you want to share about the link. This can be a little more information on what’s being linked to - a little blurb about the guest, for example, or an explanatory blurb on what to do after clicking the link. So if you’re linking to a landing page, you could add a blurb that instructs how to download an ebook, or sign up for a course, etc. Anything you add here will also appear in your show notes.

[![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/a322dcdf04a98800/b2cbb152-c8b7-49be-b746-782f6e_l7bwt5.png)](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/484990888/0569ce4f880c2cfa5254e563/The-final-season-review-The-New-Movie-and-TV-Show+%281%29.png?expires=1730238300&signature=9b4209b3b7c4c72d2d7a3454a420cf7bc16ef44e97fbb11df25801409a59d58c&req=cCgjH8B%2BlYlXFb4f3HP0gLlGgGSz1otj1Z%2BGkyLYL8tQIi961RX6O2QjFGpm%0Alu0sCeLfj9d4J%2BjSBA%3D%3D%0A)

## Create a Research Link When Publishing or Editing an Episode

As well as creating new _Research Links_ in the _Research and Planning_ section, you can also create them while publishing a new episode, or editing an existing episode.

* In your Captivate dashboard, click _Publish New Episode_ or edit an existing one
* Scroll down the editing screen until you see the _Research Links_ section
* Add a new _Research Link_, or _Add a Saved Research Link_ that you’ve previously created
* Follow the same steps as above to add the _URL, Label_, and _Notes_ for the link - the URL is where you’re linking to, the Label is the text that will be hyperlinked to the URL in the show notes, and the Notes is for any extra information you want to add about the link
* Use the shortcodes drop-down to add the _Research Link_ to the show notes. You can choose to add this anywhere in the show notes, and that’s where it’ll be displayed on your RSS feed and podcast apps like Spotify, etc.

[![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/30f6d60eb6089800/24413c14-2b05-42c6-8f3c-db4852_st186m.png)](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/484992058/a38973e36b3ba5abb5f3a50c/Edit-Episode-Captivate+%2820%29+%281%29.png?expires=1730238300&signature=5676f643cb5ef404c74f45c1c8a962f1482ebad295f4ee1c86b788c06d66d1a2&req=cCgjH8B8nYRXFb4f3HP0gCudJ8%2BeA4caHZHATeEpiS5ccFS4liMdcvaIVmMo%0AxrNepxuuNQMx8v%2F6lw%3D%3D%0A)

While it’ll appear as a shortcode in your episode editing screen, it’ll appear as a clean piece of text that links out to the target URL in your RSS feed and podcast apps.

[![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/b569b01fe0c8e800/80887304-69e9-4049-a685-348bd4_d5lcp5.png)](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/484992728/c7bd1444ba2240ae85362594/Interview-with-Dave-Filoni-About-All-Things-Star-Wars-Spark-of-Rebellion-A-Star-Wars-Show+%281%29.png?expires=1730238300&signature=b1cd09b8d2715f1a7205fbe8aa103f06175f09641a36612cd22720fba6464698&req=cCgjH8B8moNXFb4f3HP0gD2bSRntdq7Hs0ep2BBtmNWNosf%2FFsmKHB%2BBnYAc%0AzRfH8xN%2FWP3Njku6Ew%3D%3D%0A)

## Add a new or saved Research Link in the Episode Planning feature

Captivate is all about saving you time as a podcaster, which is why we’ve made it easy for you to create or edit a _Research Link_ before you’ve even created your episode!

When using the _Episode Planning_ feature, you’ll see there’s also a _Research Links_ section there. This allows you to add a new _Research Link_, or add a previously saved one.

What’s cool about this option is, when you convert the idea into an episode, the _Research Link_ will carry over to to that episode, along with the Label and any Notes created around the link.

* Click on _Episode Planning_ in the left hand menu
* Click _Add an Episode Idea_ to create a new idea, or edit a previously created one
* Scroll down the page until you see the _Research Links_ section
* Add a new _Research Link_, or _Add a Saved Research Link_ that you’ve previously created
* Follow the same steps as above to add the URL, Label, and Notes for the link - the URL is where you’re linking to, the Label is the text that will be hyperlinked to the URL in the show notes, and the Notes is for any extra information you want to add about the link
* Choose whether to convert the idea to an episode, or _Update Episode Idea_

**Recommended reading:** [How to create an episode idea](https://help.captivate.fm/en/articles/6081693-how-to-create-an-episode-idea)