In today’s blog I want to discuss your Instagram bio link! Yes, that one, single link that Instagram graciously allows us to use on our profiles… The one link that you have to promote what it is you have to offer, and the one link that so many instagram users don’t take full advantage of.

Most social platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest, don’t limit the amount of links you can share, making them amazing platforms for driving traffic to your website (or any other desired location). However Instagram is a lot different. 

They don’t let you link to anything in your caption, they only allow you one link in your bio, and only if you’re one of the privileged users with more than 10k followers can you add a link to your stories.

Why they’re so stingy with their linking is likely due to the fact that they want you to remain on the app. Increasing our link allowance would divert too many people from the platform so IG’s decided to just not let it happen. Which is why we need to make sure we’re making the absolute most out of the one link we do have!

So, in today’s blog I’m going to share with you 4 different Instagram link strategies as well as four ‘link in bio’ services you may want to consider for your profile! 

Prefer to watch the video version of this blog post? Check out my YouTube Video!

Let’s start with the strategy:

The link in your bio is precious real estate so using it correctly is vital to getting more traffic to your website and ultimately purchases of your products and services.

Instagram Link Strategy #1 – If you’re promoting something urgent and timely use a singular, direct link. 

It’s very popular to use a link in bio tool that allows you to turn your one link into many (which I’ll talk about later in this blog), but that is not recommended when hosting a sale, launching a brand new product or any other timely offer. Instead of sending traffic to a variety of different locations, you want to send them directly to the limited time offer, page, etc.

Every click someone has to take to get to their final destination is a potential opportunity for them to drop off. Taking away all unnecessary steps by using one, direct link ensures your audience makes it to where you want them, while time is of the essence.

Outside of these circumstances, using a link in bio tool to multiply your Instagram links is ideal, however that doesn’t mean you should link to absolutely everything..

Instagram Link Strategy #2 – When using a link in bio tool, limit the amount of links you share.

Analysis paralysis is something that happens to a person when they’re given too many options to pick from. Instead of choosing one, they choose none and just back away. This is the last thing you want when someone makes the effort to click the link in your bio! 

To stop this from happening and ensure you have a strong click-through rate, you’ll want to limit the total amount of links you share. I suggest using no more then can fit on your mobile screen without having to scroll. Generally this is around 5 or 6.

Instagram Link Strategy #3 – All the links you share should direct to something important.

Sharing a link that goes to the home page of your site is less effective and less “important” than sending them directly to your latest blog post, your services page, or an opt in form.

Ideally you should be sending all of your traffic directly to what you want them to see or interact with. For example, if you want views on a new YouTube video, send them there. If you’re trying to build your list, send them to your opt in page, etc. Anything that doesn’t make the “importance” cut, doesn’t need to be added to your Instagram link. 

Instagram Link Strategy #4 – Always remind your audience to click the link in your bio.

This tip isn’t specific to what you put in your Instagram link, but rather how to get traffic to it. If you never tell your audience to visit your link, they likely won’t visit all the valuable destinations you’ve set up for them.

In every post you must use a ‘call to action’ that encourages your audience to visit your profile and click that link. The best way to do this is to be specific; by saying “click the link in my bio to download my free guide that teaches you xyz!” you’re going to encourage a lot more clicks than simply saying “free guide – link in bio” (or even worse, not using a CTA at all!)

Ok so now that we have the strategy out of the way, let’s talk about your link in bio options!

If you did a quick google search you’ll quickly notice there are hundreds of services to choose from and they all seem pretty similar. So how do you actually choose which one is best for you?

Well that’s where I come in! I’ve trialed my fair share of link in bio tools and have narrowed it down to four options I think provide the best value and are worthy of using. Those four are:

1. Linktree (my guess is you’ve heard of them before!)2. Taplink (this is what I’m currently using on my own instagram account)3. Linkin.bio (a more image friendly service)4. Your Own Domain (the DIYers favorite option!)

Link in bio tool #1 – Linktree

Linktree is undoubtedly the most popular link in bio tool right now so you’ll probably recognize it’s branding and may have sen your favorite influencer use it on their profile.

Linktree offers a free plan, that includes unlimited links and some basic analytics that show how many times each link was clicked. Their paid plan is $6/month and includes more linking options, daily analytics, as well as link scheduling, newsletter signs ups and more.

To see a full pricing comparison click here.

Linktree is a great link in bio tool for any newbie who wants a quick and easy way to multiply the amount of links in their bio. However, I find that linktree to be very generic. Since it’s so popular and there’s limited customization on the free plan it can end up looking like everyone else’s link in bio which is the last thing you want. It’s super important for your feed and offerings to stand out on Instagram and your link should be no different!

Link in bio tool #2 – Taplink

Taplink is the link in bio tool I currently use and recommend! It’s a super powerful tool that really takes your Instagram link to the next level and outshines many of it’s competitors.

Taplink’s free plan offers more than most other link in bio tools by including text blocks, unlimited links, design customizations and even FAQ sections that allow you to answer your audience’s most common questions without ever having to leave Instagram!

The true magic of Taplink, however, is in their paid plan that starts at just $2 month. With the paid plan you get access to a ton of features I have never seen on a link in bio service before such as:

Embedded videosOpt in formsCountdown timersCustom HTMLMapsFacebook Messenger integrationand even payment processing!

With these features you can really take FULL advantage of your Instagram link by turning it into a lead generator or a checkout page!

Remember how I mentioned earlier that asking your audience to take more than one step increases the likelihood of them dropping off? Well with Taplink you can avoid that completely by having everything they need directly on the first tap of your link!

I guess that’s why they call it that!

If you’d like to try Taplinks paid membership, simply use my code: ALEXTOOBY at checkout for a 7 day free trial so you can try out all of the amazing features for yourself!

Link in bio tool #3 – Later’s linkin.bio

You are probably familiar with Later as an Instagram scheduler (my favorite in fact!) but you may not know that they also have a link in bio tool as well, which is conveniently called linkin.bio. This service is a bit different as they don’t use text links or buttons but rather allow you to add a link to each image you’ve uploaded to your Instagram feed – which is exactly how we wish our feeds actually worked! Being able to add a link to every post would be a real dream but it’s not possible so Later had to come up with the next best thing.

When using linkin.bio you can add a singular link to each image you upload to your feed that matches the call to action you used in your caption (remember, don’t forget to always use a CTA!) This then adds an image to your linkin.bio that your audience can view, tap and be taken to the link.

Now my only big complaint here is that it’s not obvious what the user is getting when they click. As you can see in the example below, this users link in bio looks exactly the same as their Instagram feed which presents an opportunity for potential confusion.

@iamwellandgood Instagram profile

@iamwellandgood linkin.bio

Imagine scrolling through someone’s feed, they use a strong call to action and you’re compelled to click the link in their bio. When you get there, two things could happen:

1. you might be confused and think, wait? What did I just click on? and 2. You might not remember which image it was that included that call to action you were interested in. I see this a guaranteed way for visitors to get lost on when trying to get to the value on your website.

However, having said that I do think that this type of service is amazing for fashion bloggers or really anyone that sells a physical product. Visually seeing the product they want to learn more about and clicking through it to the appropriate page will work so much better than someone like me who offers a product that isn’t often featured in my images.

Link in bio tool #4 – Your Own Domain

The final recommended link in bio tool is actually not a tool at all.. it’s your own domain! Instead of using a third party service you can easily build a dedicated page on your website that houses the many links you would add to any other link in bio service.

Depending on your level of web design knowledge or how customizable your theme is, this could be more or less difficult for some users.

If you are capable of doing this yourself it’s a good idea as you ensure all traffic you generate from your Instagram feed goes directly to your URL and no where else. There have been a few times that linktree has gone down and everyone’s links stopped working so this ensures you avoid outages outside of your control.

Additionally, you’ll be able to customize this to your exact liking and branding. As I mentioned earlier, standing out on Instagram is super important so if you have a link in bio that looks like no one elses, you’re off to a great start!

@desb_ custom link in bio page

The only thing to remember is you’ll want to use trackable links or ensure your google analytics is properly set up so you can track exactly how many clicks you’re getting on each link. This is important as it will show you what your audience is most interested in so you can offer them even more of that!

So there you have it, my Instagram link strategy and four recommended ‘link in bio’ tools! I hope this blog gave you some clarity on how to truly take advantage of your Instagram link and which third party tool might benefit you the most!

Do you use a link in bio service? If so, which one? Let me know in the comments below!