Over 200 million businesses have made a digital home on Instagram. At first glance, they’re all in it for different reasons, but beyond the surface, the end goal is clear — to attract more customers and make more money.
Links help with that. If you have an army of Instagram followers, links can tangibly drive sales and build your brand reputation by sending people to your business website. The other piece of this particular puzzle is that every quality link helps with SEO — and everything that helps with search engine optimization helps you promote your business on a secondary level.
So, it makes sense that you’d want to include links in Instagram captions.
In an ideal world, that exciting Instagram post about the amazing new art class you’ve developed for toddlers would also include a link to your site, where everyone who’s seen the post can sign up. That cool caption about your new line of paracord pet collars would include a link to allow your loyal fans to order right away — and make use of your discount code.
Even if you don’t have a business Instagram account, you’d still be able to share links to cool products, news stories, or that latest Netflix show you’re totally in love with. Just because sharing is caring.
Unfortunately, that’s not how things work on Instagram. While you can certainly share URLs, and your Instagram followers will be able to see them, too, links don’t work in Instagram captions — with a few notable exceptions.
That doesn’t mean that promoting your business on Instagram is a waste of time, but it does mean you have to jump through some finicky acrobatic hoops if you’re desperate to share clickable links on Instagram anyway. Stay with us for a look at your best options.
The Exceptions: Where Do Links Work in Instagram Captions?
Links in Instagram captions usually don’t work, but you still have a few powerful options — some of which every Instagram user can play around with, and some of which are reserved for “elite” groups:
- You can share clickable links in your Instagram bio. (Usually one at a time, although third-party aggregator tools can let you share more than one link in your bio.)
- Instagram Stories (temporary photo or video posts that disappear after 24 hours) can include a link. If you set it up, swiping up will take your followers directly to the linked page! You’ll need 10,000 IG followers or more to reap the benefits of this cool feature.
- Instagram’s link sticker feature allows everyone to add links to their Reels and Stories. These clickable links are a great way to promote your business — but also to share web pages you think are cool as a regular Instagram user.
- Got a digital storefront on Insta, or want one? Instagram shopping makes it possible to tag products and get links set up.
None of these exceptions cover links in your feed posts — which is what the question “Do links work in Instagram captions?” is really all about.
Don’t give up quite yet. You can successfully direct your Instagram followers to the link in your Instagram bio. If you do it right, your Instagram captions can still drive a massive amount of traffic to the web page you share there, too!
How to Add a Link to Your Instagram Bio
It’s quick and pretty simple to add a link to your Instagram bio — and the fact that you can update that link as often as you like means you can share countless different things with your followers.
To get started, just:
- Go to your Insta profile and tap “Edit profile.”
- Find the “Links” field, right under “Bio.”
- Copy/paste the URL you want to share in your bio link into that field. Tap “Done.”
That’s it. After following this quick guide, your bio link will be live — and everyone who taps on your Instagram profile will have a chance to see it and click on it.
That step alone has the potential to bring quite a lot of traffic to the page you link (depending on your follower count and engagement rates), but it still doesn’t give you de facto links in Instagram captions. You’ll need to take an extra step to make that happen.
Use Your Handle to Set up a ‘two-step Link’ in Your Instagram Captions
Your handle is your Instagram username with an @ in front of it. Tapping it takes users to your Insta bio page right away, essentially serving as a “link middleman” when you strategically deploy it in your Instagram captions.
Simply ask your Instagram audience to visit the link in your bio page with a catchy call to action. For example:
- Enter my exciting giveaway by visiting the link in my bio @example now!
- Want one of my awesome new t-shirts? Grab yours through the link in my bio @example before it’s too late!
- Pay 15% less with code INSTA17 — link in bio @example!
Does it work — and will your audience follow you down the rabbit hole to your link? You bet you can get a lot of traffic this way. It all depends on how engaging your call to action is, so keep brainstorming until you nail that message!
Should You Use a Link Shortener for Instagram Bio Links?
Many Instagram influencers use link shorteners like Bitly to make the links in their bios look neater. That choice has pros and cons when you’re using your bio in lieu of links in Instagram captions.
Using a link shortener can help if your link is super long or messy — which you should try to avoid in the first place, but which can be unavoidable if you’re sharing an affiliate link with a tracking code (URM parameter).
In that case, it’s best to update your bio to concisely describe where clicking the link takes people. After all, more and more people are reluctant to click on “mystery links” for safety reasons.
If you’re simply promoting your own business website, meanwhile, it’s best not to use a link shortener. The extra layer of transparency will get more people clicking — and that means more traffic and sales for you.
Can I Share Urls in My Instagram Captions (even Though They Won’t Work as Links)?
Of course you can! Do links work in Instagram captions? Nope. But that doesn’t have to stop you from copy/pasting or typing URLs. They won’t be clickable, but your Instagram followers can still copy/paste the URLs you post if they’re interested enough.
Copy/pasting URLs is easier from computers than phones, and your mileage may vary, but try it out if you must!
Sharing URLs may not be a strong approach to driving traffic to your business website, but it can be a decent way of sharing where people can find charities you’re passionate about or take a peek at news stories you’re interested in.
Wrapping Up: Do Links Work in Instagram Captions?
Links don’t work in Instagram captions — but that doesn’t stop you from effectively promoting your website, showcasing a sponsor, or sharing information about a charity you’re passionate about.
The closest thing to links in Instagram captions is using your handle. Writing @yourusername will create a clickable link that takes your IG followers to your bio page. They’ll be able to see the link you’re currently promoting there.
Write a creative and compelling call to action, and your results can be pretty good!
