9 Best Tactics For Adding A Link In An Instagram Post (2025)

Adding a link in an Instagram post is essential to drive traffic to your website or shop. However, Instagram doesn’t allow clickable links in captions or comments. So, how can you direct people to the destination page from Instagram? This article provides the best tactics to achieve this in 2025. The good news is that most of them are free to use. Let’s learn what they are.

Can You Add Clickable Links To An Instagram Post?

To put it shortly – no, you can’t attach clickable links to Instagram post captions anyway. Every URL that you insert will be nothing more than plain text. Your followers will see it, but they will not be able to click on it to access the link. If users want to access the link, they will need to copy the link manually and paste it into the browser or retype it to access. This is a deliberate move by Instagram in order to prevent users from leaving the site and to make sure their engagement remains high. Though it sounds like a small thing, but it truly bring the friction to the user experience.

Crack The Code: Why Is My Link Not Clickable On Instagram Posts?

As we briefly mentioned in the above section that Instagram doesn’t allow you to post links on Instagram. The main reasons Instagram does not allow clickable links in post captions are to prevent the platform from becoming overrun with spammy links, which would degrade user experience.

Reasons why Instagram links are not clickable

Besides, there are also have some possible reasons that can explain why your link on Instagram is not clickable like:

• Links in the wrong areas.
• Cache errors.
• Using an Instagram personal account instead of a business account.
• Links blocked due to explicit content, illegal goods, etc.
• Broken links.

Adding A Link On Instagram: Where Can You Achieve It?

If you are looking for guides on how to add clickable links in Instagram comments or captions of organic posts, unfortunately, Instagram doesn’t allow this at the moment. However, there are some workarounds to achieve it.

Below are some areas where you are possibly adding a link in an Instagram post. 

• Your Bio
• Feed Posts
• Stories
• Reels
• Profile page
• Ads
• Direct Messages

I will go into detail about how to add links to each place now as well as additional tips for this.

7 Tactics Method to Adding A Link In An Instagram Post

Now that you know whether you can add a link in an Instagram post or not, the reasons why your link is not clickable as well as the best place that you can bypass to adding a link. Now let’s go further to explore the detailed instructions to add a link to those places.

How to add a link to Instagram bio

The simplest way to add a clickable link on Instagram is to place it in your Instagram bio. Link in bio refers to the clickable URL that you can add to your profile page to redirect your followers to your other sites and platforms. Normally you can see many brands and influencers are adding a link of product page, landing page, ‘About Us’ section, other social media pages, etc  and  call to action in their posts that reads Link in bio.

To add links to your Instagram bio, follow these steps:

1. Open your Instagram app and go to your profile. 
2. Tap Edit Profile.
3. Tap Links > Add external links.
4. Enter the URL and the Title for the link. 
5. Tap Done or the blue check icon to save this change. 
6. Tap the checkmark in the right corner of the screen to save the changes.

By doing so, you can provide more relevant info about your post and lead your followers to your main website, product landing pages, and other platforms. You can even add up to 5 clickable links for free.

How to add a link to an Instagram post 2025

Here are some suggestions for adding a link to an Instagram post for organic content.

Use a URL shortener

Make your link more memorable with the help of URL shortener services like Bitly. Your URL will become shorter and easier to remember and retype manually. 

URL shorteners are highly beneficial for Instagrammers because the platform doesn’t allow clickable links and text copying on feed posts.

Now I will instruct you on how to add Bitly links to Instagram posts.

1. Access Bitly.com and log in to the website.
2. Under Make It Short, select Go To Links.
3. Copy the link in the destination, then click Create Your Link.
4. Copy the shortened link and paste it into your post caption. 

Some of the best URL shorteners you can use in 2025: 

• Bitly
• Rebrandly
• Short URL
• BL.INK
• Dub
• Sniply.io
• Polr
• TinyURL
• Ow.ly
• Short.io
• is.gd
• T.LY

Use Instagram product tags

If you are running an online shop, you can host your products in Meta’s Commerce Manager or partner platforms like BigCommerce, Magento, Shopify, Squarespace, Wix, WooCommerce, etc.

Then, add clickable product tags in your Instagram feed posts to send people to your shop.

According to an Instagram 2020 survey, 44% of Instagram users use shopping features like product tags and the Shop tab on the platform to shop every week.

Here is how to add product tags to Instagram posts:

1. Create a feed post with images displaying your products.
2. Tap Tag Products. 
3. On the image, tap on the product you want to add a product tag.
4. Search for the product in your catalog.
5. Tap Done.

Add your link while boosting an Instagram post

If you have an Instagram business profile, you can always pay for an inexpensive Instagram ad with a linked call-to-action at the bottom of the post. These post ads will be delivered in front of your target audience, even to users who don’t follow you.

In case your profile on Instagram is a business one, you can continually, even for a small amount of money, purchase an Instagram advertisement with a link directing to your profile and it will be placed at the end of the post. These advertisements of your posts will be shown to your target group, even to the people who do not follow you.

How to add links to Instagram stories

Adding a link to an Instagram story is one of the simplest methods to drive traffic from Instagram to your website.

Add A Link Sticker

You can add only one clickable link in each story. They are added as stickers and the sticker text can be customized to replace the URL.

Links on stories only stay visible for 24 hours on Instagram, but you can save them in your highlights permanently. 

Here is how to put a link on an Instagram story:

1. Create a new Instagram story.
2. Tap the Stickers button, it‘s the square-shaped smiley face on the top of the screen.
3. Select Link.
4. Enter the URL of your website or destination page and customize the sticker text if necessary. 
5. Select Done.
6. Tap Your Story to show it to viewers.

When someone taps on the sticker, they will be directed from the Instagram site or app to visit the website that you’ve linked to. 

Instagram Stories Ads

Brands and businesses can always pay for Instagram Story ads via Meta’s Ads Manager. However, before moving on with the campaign details and selecting the ad placement though, you have to make sure that the purpose of the ad is in line with your marketing goals.

Add a link to Instagram reels

Similar to adding a link in an Instagram post, you can use product tags for Instagram Reels to send viewers directly to your online shop.

Here is how to add a link to Instagram reels:

1. Upload a reel.
2. Tap Tag Product.
3. Add a product or a collection from your catalog.
4. Tap Done.

Add a link to an Instagram profile via the action button

Another useful way to add a link on Instagram is by leveraging the action button feature that is exclusive to Instagram business accounts. 

You can choose from the available CTA buttons such as Order food, Book now, Reserve, Learn more, Apply now, Get Quote, Sign up, etc.

Action buttons are directed to third-party platforms where consumers can make purchases. 

To add an action button, follow these steps:

1. Go to your Instagram profile page.
2. Select Edit profile > Action buttons.
3. Select a suitable action button. 
4. Select a 3rd-party partner if required and follow Instagram instructions to add the action button to your profile.

When others view your profile page, they will see the action button next to the Message button. 

Add links in paid ads

If your marketing budget allows, you can consider paid ads if you are badly in need of adding a link in an Instagram post. Instagram ads provide a straightforward way to include clickable links in your content. You can boost existing posts or create new ads and include a linked CTA button at the bottom via several ad formats with different linking options:

• Feed ads: Appear in users’ regular feeds with a call-to-action button
• Story ads: Full-screen ads that appear between user Stories
• Reels ads: Short video ads that appear in the Reels feed
• Explore ads: Appear when users browse the Explore page

Keep in mind that creating effective social media ads can be very challenging. If you decide to go down the road of paid Instagram ads, remember to focus on factors that will affect your success like high-quality visuals, pair eye-catching images with concise, compelling copy and don’t forget to include a direct CTA. Embrace paid ads as a powerful tool to reach potential customers who don’t follow you yet.

Share links in Instagram direct messages

Finally, you can add clickable links on Instagram via direct messages. This is the easiest way to send links on Instagram and it’s not limited in the number of links you can send.

To share links in Instagram direct messages, you just need to paste the link in any DM conversation and tap Send. 

To make the most of links in direct messages, you can set up Frequently asked questions and automated responses on Instagram Chats, and add a link to your website in your responses. Customers can click on it to learn more about your products or services.

>>> Read more: Guide To Adding Multiple Photos To An Instagram Story: 3 Easy Ways

2 Additional Tips For Sharing URLs On Instagram

Now that you know where and how to add links on Instagram, let’s continue with additional tips to direct users to your website effectively. 

Use a link-in-bio tool

Instagram limits the number of clickable links you can share. For example, you can only add one link to a story, and the bio allows a maximum of five links.

If one or five links just aren’t good enough, consider using a link-in-bio tool. These tools let you create a personalized and customized landing page with many more links.

Below, I’ve curated some popular link-in-bio tools to house all of your links on a landing page:

• Linktree
• Flodesk
• Tap Bio
• Lnk.Bio
• ShortStack
• Shorby
• Taplink
• Linkin.bio by Later
• Campsite.bio
• Instapage
• Bio.fm

Use QR codes on Instagram posts

Another trick for adding a link in an Instagram post is using scannable QR codes. 

QR codes eliminate the hassle of manual typing on mobile devices. Users can simply screenshot the QR code and scan it to open a link that may send them to promotions or product landing pages.

You can use any QR Code Generator to create a QR code for free. Simply search free QR code generator on your browser and click on the top search results. Then, paste your URL to create QR codes.

You can add these codes to your images or videos, post them on Instagram, and instruct people to scan the QR code in the caption.

Previous post: How To See Recently Added Friends On Instagram: 5 Easy Steps (2025)

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I add a clickable link to an Instagram post?

A: No, Instagram doesn’t allow clickable links in post captions. You can use your bio link, story stickers, shopping tags, reels, button, paid ads, …

Q: Why is my link not clickable on an Instagram post?

A: Instagram does not allow clickable links within captions or comments of standard posts, which is likely why your link isn’t clickable. The platform does allow users to add five clickable URLs to the link-in-bio section on their profiles and via Instagram Stories.

Q: How do I share a link to my Instagram?

A: If you are wondering how to share a link on an Instagram post, you can add it to your Instagram bio, include it in your posts via a link shortener or Instagram ads, post it to your stories using a ‘Link’ sticker, etc.

Q: How do you put a link on an Instagram photo?

A: To put a link on an Instagram photo, either use Instagram Stories or paid advertising, as Instagram does not support direct clickable links on regular photo posts. Just upload your photo to your Story, tap the sticker icon, select the ‘Link’ sticker, and enter or paste your URL. For advertising, create an ad and include the link as part of your campaign setup.

Conclusion

Adding a link in an Instagram post can be a bit tricky, but it’s achievable. By applying my tactics, you can bypass this issue and drive Instagram users to your page effectively. 

For those wanting to boost links to websites or landing pages with Instagram ads, agency ad accounts can be your powerful solution. They can assist you in launching stable Instagram ads, reducing the risk of account suspensions, optimizing ad metrics, and driving maximum ROI.

GDT Agency – Your Trusted Agency Account Provider

Follow if you find it useful