Linktree for instagram better NOT use.
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December 9, 2021Don’t use Linktree for Instagram! Read this!
Linktree for instagram seems like a perfect solution. This allows you to add more links to your Instagram profile. But there is a much better solution. In this article I explain why you should not use Linktree and what a good alternative is.
Before we start…
WHAT is Linktree
You may not have heard of Linktree. With Linktree you can create a kind of landing page, where you can add multiple links. There are also a number of alternatives such as Linkin.bio and Elink . But Linktree is the most popular. Linktree is mainly used on Instagram because you only have 1 place there where you can place a link. That’s in your bio or profile description. Unless you have more than 10,000 followers, you can also post a link in your Insta Stories (Swipe Up feature). You can’t add any link to your posts and that’s why many people often refer to the link in their bio.
Changing links in your Instagram bio
But it’s hard to keep changing this link in your Instagram bio. What if someone views an older post in which you refer to your “link in bio” and there is now a new link there? If you use Instagram for business, that is not useful because the links change regularly. Maybe you want to draw attention to your new blog every time and also do a nice promotion. That’s why many Instagrammers use a service like Linktree. This allows you to add more links to your profile. You create a kind of landing page on which you can put multiple links, and you place the link of your Linktree page in your Instagram bio.
Disadvantages of Linktree
Handy you would think because this solves a major Instagram problem. I thought so too. A super handy tool to add more links to your Instagram profile. Unfortunately, Google is just a little less of a fan, so it is bad for your SEO. You are also missing some important data in your Google Analytics. So there are some drawbacks to Linktree and there is a very simple alternative to Linktree. So simple that you really don’t need to use Linktree. And of course that also applies to the aforementioned alternatives. But to convince you, I first want to map out those disadvantages before I tell you what you can do better. What are the disadvantages of Linktree?
1. Limited in branding
It is limited in branding. You only have a choice of 4 standard options. You can’t even adjust colors. That’s a bit of a shame if you have a nice house style. There is also the Linktree logo instead of your own logo. (If you take a paid version you have some more design options).
2. Not Good Stats
Linktree’s stats are very minimal. You only see how often a link has been clicked in total, without further specifications (Even with the paid version, these statistics are not very extensive). As a result, you only know how often a link has been clicked in total and not whether there are peaks or how many people have clicked on the link in your Instagram bio at all. Suppose you are running a campaign to promote your Instagram, you will not see this reflected in your statistics (unless you manually keep track of it). And when you see that 50 people have clicked on the link to your blog. What does that say if you don’t know how many people clicked on the link in your Instagram bio? Were there 100 or 1000? So you cannot optimize and experiment with more or fewer links, the order of the links or the description.
3. No reliable Google Analytics data
All visitors who click on your Instagram link first come to Linktree, and not directly on your website. Linktree actually gets all your visitors as a gift. They must first click through before they also become your website visitors. You will not see those visitors in your Google Analytics. So you don’t know how many people clicked on the link in your Instagram profile. Google recognizes the source of this traffic as a backlink and not as a link from social media. Traffic from Linktree does not enter Google Analytics as Instagram, but as a referral.
As a result, you do not see how many visitors come to your website via Instagram.
Linktree SEO
The biggest disadvantage of Linktree is that it is bad for your SEO and that you do not get good data so that you cannot optimize. That’s the reason I don’t use Linktree anymore. You don’t see traffic from Linktree in Google Analytics as Instagram but as a referral, so you don’t have good data to optimize. As a result, in the eyes of Google, you are also less social, which influences your ranking. You may think you get the most traffic from Facebook, when it’s actually Instagram. But you will not see this in your Google Analytics because these visitors first come to Linktree. You will only see this as a referral.
- You can see this in Google Analytics via: acquisition > all traffic > channels.
- And via: acquisition > social > overview you can see through which social media channel you get the most traffic.
Google includes traffic from social media as a popularity factor. This contributes to your findability in Google. And if you use Linktree, you send all your visitors to their website, which gives them a high popularity ranking, and you miss out on that.
Free alternative to Linktree
Fortunately, there is a simple solution, which is also completely free. Just create an Instagram landing page on your website! All you need is a mobile friendly website, and a page on your own website. You can format this page however you want. With your own branding and colours.
- Step 1: I made a new page myself that I called Instagram, but you can call it whatever you want. The url of this page will be placed in your Instagram bio so make sure it is relevant and short. You can also mention, for example, link in bio or click here. You do not make this page visible on your website because you want people to only reach this link via your Instagram bio.
- Step 2: Design your page. On this page I have placed my photo, Instagram name and a number of links below, just like on Linktree. But you can of course organize this page however you want. Tip: Check how it looks on mobile because most people view this on their phone.
- Step 3: Update the link in your Instagram bio with your new URL. That’s all.
Advantages of your own landing page
Besides the fact that you have more control and can use your own house style, it mainly has a positive impact on your findability in Google and you get more visitors to your website. You will also see this in your Google Analytics as Instagram and not as referral traffic. This way you also know whether people click through on the links on your landing page or drop out, so you can adjust and test things so that more people click through.
So, we can do it or have it done by us.
Please contact us to discuss this.