How to Put a Link in Your Instagram Bio + Link Optimization Tips

Most business owners have recognized Instagram for the marketing tool it can be. Actually using it is a different ball game.

But, learning how to put a link in your Instagram bio is one of the first steps you need to take to start generating income through your account.

Much like Facebook and Twitter, you can add links wherever you want on Instagram. However, most of them won’t be clickable. If you have less than 10,000 followers, the only place you can add a clickable link is in your bio.

This guide is all about teaching you how to put that clickable link in your Instagram bio and optimizing the link to get you more clicks.

What Is an Instagram Bio Link?

When a person posts a picture on Instagram and says “link in bio,” they’re inviting you to check out the one link that Instagram allows users to add to their bio.

Your link can lead to any site, as long as it doesn’t violate Instagram’s rules. You can post your website, YouTube channel, affiliate link, etc. But, you only have one link, so you have to maximize it. I’ll tell you how later.

But first, let’s start by discussing how to put a link in your Instagram bio in every way possible.

How to Put A Link in Your Instagram Bio Through the Website

This method works if you’re using your laptop to access Instagram or don’t have the app on your phone. So here’s what you have to do to get your bio link up.

1. From www.instagram.com, log in to your Instagram account.
2. You’ll probably be directed to your timeline as that’s Instagram’s default page/home screen. , Click your username at the upper-right corner of the screen to get to your profile.
3. Now that you’re in your profile click on “Edit profile.” You’ll find it right next to your username.
4. You’ll see several words with boxes next to them when the page loads. We want the third one from the top, labeled “Website.” In the box next to the word, enter your link.
5. Scroll down and click “Submit” at the end of the page to cement those changes.

How To Put A Link in Your Instagram Bio Through the App

1. On your phone’s home screen or menu, click Instagram and make sure you’re logged in.
2. Next, head to your profile by clicking the icon of your profile picture at the screen’s bottom right corner.
3. On the profile page, you’ll find the “Edit profile” button under your picture. Click on it.
4. “Website” is still what we’re looking for.
5. Fill in the box next to the word with your link address and enter “Done” from the top right corner of your screen.

And that’s how you add a link in your Instagram bio no matter what device you’re using. But knowing all of this is only the first step to maximizing your bio link’s power.

Here are a couple of things your bio link can do for you.

How to Use Instagram Bio Links

1. Linking Your Website

This is the most common type of link across Instagram bios. You can easily link your website in your bio to drive traffic from your Instagram page.

And if you have a more specific page you want to be noticed, linking it in your bio is a great way to direct people’s attention to it.

2. Driving Traffic to Your Blog

There are hundreds of millions of blogs on the internet but only so much attention. If you want to get more eyes on your content, link it in your bio. Chances are you’ll be able to draw in a new crowd.

3. Promote a Particular Product or Service

Do you sell any products or offer any services? Are you interested in using Instagram for affiliate marketing or do you have an event that needs publicizing?

Your Instagram bio link can help you draw eyes to such promotions, and with more traffic comes interest and, eventually, sales.

4. Sending People to Your YouTube Channel

According to 51% of marketers worldwide, video marketing is one of the best ways to guarantee an ROI.

And even if you’re not marketing anything and simply want people to view your channel and videos, adding a YouTube link in your Instagram bio using any of the methods discussed above will draw in people that want more of your content.

5. Giveaways!

Everybody loves giveaways and contests, and I’m pretty sure your followers do, too. Linking the participation link for a contest on your bio is a great way to attract traffic to your website and your Insta page. It’s a double win!

I bet you’re itching to add a web address now that I’ve shown you what a bio link can do for you.

But, hold up.

You only get one link in bio. You need to make the most of it. So, what I’m going to do now is teach you how to optimize your link so you can show off all of your stuff within one link.

Tips to Optimize Your Link in Bio

1. Shorten that Link

Don’t you just love how Instagram only provides 150 characters for bio descriptions?

No? Yeah, I thought so.

And just like with your bio description, your link in bio needs to be short and sweet. It’s rather unsightly when you have a long, rambling, three-line link in your bio.

Links with too many unrelated words and numbers generally don’t have people jumping to click them.

It’s much better if your link is short and gives your bio a cleaner look. Adding a short link to Instagram bio only requires copying and pasting the link in an Instagram URL shortener.

Copying the new link, and following the above steps.

2. Branding

Branding shouldn’t stop with a logo, business name, packaging, or theme. Even your links should be branded. Branded links make a surprising impact on visitors.

A link with your brand’s name tends to be much shorter and more memorable than generic links. That is, just seeing the link is enough to make it stick in people’s minds.

So much so that even if they don’t buy your product at first, they’ll be able to remember the link when they’re ready to make a purchase.

It also helps when wanting to refer your service. People are more likely to remember your brand because of your link’s name and the products with it.

This memory also helps when people are searching for your products with a search engine.

3. Get an Instagram Bio Link Tool

In ye olden days (2016 or so), you had to carefully choose which site you needed to link on your bio. Also, adding links to sites like Snapchat, Telegram e.t.c to your bio will cause your link in bio not to work.

But with the right link in bio tool, you can easily add multiple links to your Instagram bio. You can create a link to house all your links.

Confused?

Let me explain.

Take Shorby, for instance. Shorby is an Instagram bio link tool that can help you shorten your links and host them on a landing page.

Disclosure: I’m an affiliate and I may earn a small commission if you sign up for Shorby with my link. Thank you.

Shorby offers people the ability to build a branded landing page to link all your products, blog posts, videos, etc. Within this one page, you’ll be able to grant your visitors access to every site you want them to visit.

This means that you can host all your links in one place and not have to change bio links constantly.

There are other tools that allow you to put clickable links in your Instagram bio.

The more popular ones are Linktree and Linkin.bio.

However, in this article, I used Shorby because Shorby features help create a micro landing page that allows you to add multiple links to your Instagram bio, shorten long links plus other useful extras.

For example, you’re allowed to change your content automatically through an RSS feed. You can also add something called Messenger Links.

Messenger links allow you to set up a link that will automatically link visitors to your messages. This means that they can chat with you through a simple link if they need to ask a question.

Sign up for Shorby free trial.

And here’s another advantage of link in bio tools: Analytics.

Analytics, when done right, can give a lot of insight into consumer behavior. Normal links do offer some analytics, like how many clicks your link has gotten, but that’s not much of a help.

Links created with a bio link tool (branded links) normally offer much better analytics. They can tell you when visitors clicked, what device they used, their location, and more.

Some link tools even have a retargeting feature that allows them to track visitors when they click their links.

This way, even if they don’t sign up for a service or make a purchase, you can use a retargeted ad to remind them while browsing other sites.

All that information can be used to build up better content for a more targeted audience. And better content and a more targeted audience will eventually lead to increased sales.

Conclusion

It’s easy to learn how to put a link in your Instagram bio, but getting the most value out of that one link should be your goal.

I hope that I’ve shown you how to use the Instagram tools at your disposal to gain more traffic and make more sales.