Best Practices for Using Instagram to Drive Website Traffic

Best Practices for Using Instagram to Drive Website Traffic

Published on 30th of January 2025

When used properly, your Instagram profile can be an excellent tool to drive traffic to your website. This is especially true if you have a considerable Instagram following who consistently like your posts and leave comments.

We’ve gathered some of the best ways to turn your Instagram following into more website traffic.

If you want to drive website traffic via your Instagram, the very first thing you should do is add your link to your bio. You can use this in several ways.

Keep things simple and just link to the homepage of your website. An even better option is to make a landing page on your website just for Instagram traffic and post a link to this page in your bio. You can also change the link in your bio every once in a while as a way to highlight promotions or new releases.

Previously, you could only add a link sticker to your Instagram Story if your account was a certain size. But as of late 2021, everyone can add a link via a sticker. This is an amazing way to add links, as you can also include text to encourage people to click on them. So, set up landing pages for various Instagram promotions or other goals and use your sticker links to drive traffic to that particular page.

Swipe Up in Stories

If your account has at least 10,000 followers, you can also let your followers easily follow your link by swiping up on your story. This way, you can simply include some text encouraging them to swipe up. This is a convenient alternative to having them click on a link in your Stories, as many users prefer this method.

Adding a link sticker to your Story is great, but your Stories disappear in 24 hours. However, you can make it last as long as you want by saving the Story to your highlights. Highlights are easy to find on your Instagram profile, and new followers are likely to click on them when they read your bio.

Add CTAs to Posts and Reels

No matter the type of Instagram content you are creating, from regular posts to Reels, consider adding a CTA to click on your link. The most popular method of doing this is to specifically direct them to the link in your bio.

For example, let’s say you have a new product coming out or an upcoming sale. Update the link in your bio to reflect it, and then make a Reel or post mentioning the sale. Include a CTA of “Click on the link in our bio to learn more!” or something similar.

Remember that the CTA can be in the caption or even superimposed over the photo or video. For example, you can include your website address at the bottom of your videos.

Add Action Buttons

One of the benefits of having an Instagram business profile is the ability to add action buttons to your profile. Some of these buttons will directly drive traffic to your website, while others will boost audience engagement in other ways.

Action buttons are currently limited and include “Book now” to schedule an appointment, “Reserve” for restaurant reservations, and “Order food” for take-out or delivery. Keep in mind that each of these action buttons is driven by a partner, so you may need to make an account with a third party for reservations or other services.

Get Influencers to Do All of the Above

Any strategy that you can use to spread your link on Instagram will also work if someone else does it. So, if you are working with an influencer, see if you can get them to include your link in their bio, at least temporarily. Or ask them to include your link in the Stories they post about your products.

The bonus of this is that, as with any other influencer content, you get to reach the influencer’s audience in addition to your own. It dramatically expands your reach.

Leverage DMs

Consider rethinking your strategy for using direct messages on Instagram to drive more traffic to your website. Start by encouraging your followers to reach out to you over direct messages. Then, when you talk to them, make it a point to work website links into the conversation naturally. You can even get in the habit of welcoming new followers, asking them questions, and sharing relevant links with them.

Set Up Instagram Shops

If you haven’t already set up Instagram Shops to sell physical products, now is the time to do so. This feature lets you tag your products and essentially make shoppable posts on your profile. Your followers can see your products by clicking on “View Shop” on your profile. When they click on a product, they will be taken to your website to buy that product.

As a bonus, you can include carousel posts that have as many as 20 images for your shops and use product stickers in Instagram Stories.

Consider Ads

If your goal is to drive more traffic to your website, consider running paid Instagram ads that help you do so. Remember to craft a CTA that will drive clicks. And for the best results, create a specific landing page for the ad that you drive traffic to.

Use Instagram Insights to Evaluate Your Strategy

Once you include links on your Instagram profile, the social media platform will start gathering data on them. This will let you see information such as how many clicks your link has gotten and peak times for link activity. Use this information to evaluate your strategy and decide if you want to make any changes.

Conclusion

From adding your website link to your bio to including it in stories to using action buttons, there are plenty of ways to drive traffic to your website using Instagram. Consider using a variety of methods and then track your results using analytics.

Published by Stormlikes.com

Stormlikes is the ultimate solution to your Instagram growth. We're the pioneers of viral Instagram marketing so make sure to explore our products or venture down the rabbit hole that is our blog. You'll find hours of learning materials related to Instagram marketing and other social media.

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