• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
The Whole Smiths
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Recipes
    • Cooking Method
      • 5 Ingredients or Less
      • 30 Minutes or Less
      • Easy-to-Make
      • Instant Pot
      • Make Ahead, Keep on Hand
      • One Dish, Pan, Pot or Sheet Pan
      • Weekend Living
    • Dietary Guidelines
      • Dairy-Free
      • Gluten-Free
      • Grain-Free
      • Paleo
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
      • Whole30
    • Meal Type
      • Breakfast + Brunch
      • Dinner
      • Lunch
      • Soups, Stews, + Chilis Too
      • Vegetables, Sides + Salads
      • Smoothies + Beverages
      • Dessert
      • Snacks + Appetizers
  • COOKBOOKS
    • Good Food Cookbook
    • Real Food Every Day
  • Podcast
  • About
    • Meet Michelle
    • Food Philosophy
    • Michelle This Month
  • Resources
    • Discounts
    • Shop
    • Cooking Staples
    • Better Beauty
  • Contact
    • Work with Me
    • Contact
The Whole Smiths

The Whole Smiths

Whole Eating + Happy Living

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Recipes
    • Cooking Method
      • 5 Ingredients or Less
      • 30 Minutes or Less
      • Easy-to-Make
      • Instant Pot
      • Make Ahead, Keep on Hand
      • One Dish, Pan, Pot or Sheet Pan
      • Weekend Living
    • Dietary Guidelines
      • Dairy-Free
      • Gluten-Free
      • Grain-Free
      • Paleo
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
      • Whole30
    • Meal Type
      • Breakfast + Brunch
      • Dinner
      • Lunch
      • Soups, Stews, + Chilis Too
      • Vegetables, Sides + Salads
      • Smoothies + Beverages
      • Dessert
      • Snacks + Appetizers
  • COOKBOOKS
    • Good Food Cookbook
    • Real Food Every Day
  • Podcast
  • About
    • Meet Michelle
    • Food Philosophy
    • Michelle This Month
  • Resources
    • Discounts
    • Shop
    • Cooking Staples
    • Better Beauty
  • Contact
    • Work with Me
    • Contact

how i doubled the instagram traffic to my blog in one easy step

Time and time again I hear people complaining that there is no easy way to convert Instagram followers to customers and loyal blog readers and Instgram is a wasted platform for bloggers and sellers alike. I’m here to tell you that just isn’t true. Instagram is an incredibly valuable tool in not only building relationships with your readers / audience but in turn converting them to customers who use and love your products and devour your content.

But first, let’s take a step back on how you can build a strong loyal audience that is interested in what it is you have to say and provide. Because if your audience isn’t engaged then it doesn’t matter WHAT you’re doing, they aren’t going to click over. The secret doesn’t lie in following and unfollowing as many accounts as possible in one day. What a waste of time! You could be creating great content in that time. And it certainly doesn’t lie in leaving obscure comments and emojis on as many accounts as possible or purchasing followers. At the time of this writing I have approximately 36,000 followers and counting. I’m no Kim. K or Bieber (thank God), but it’s a sizable enough audience. I didn’t attract that number of followers by utilizing sleezy click-bait methods. I put out valuable content that helps my followers and I engage with them. I took note and found other accounts that were n the same niche as I and left thoughtful comments. I took a genuine interest (and still do) in what others are doing and saying. I’ve also built strong relationships with other bloggers, Instagrammers, and brands that have reposted and shouted out my content. Reach out to them, ask what they’re doing to be so successful. Share their content to your audience. Despite what other blog groups will tell you, there’s no way around the hard, SMART, work in order to build a quality audience that will ever trust and like you enough to buy what you are selling, click over to your link etc. Time and time again I hear from more and more brands that they don’t care as much about the quality of ones readership but the quality. They’re on to all of the behind the scenes nonsense that goes on in blogger circles, linky parties (seriously, who came up with that term?) and fluff. Brands and readers alike are looking for quality. So make it happen.

Ok, we’ve got that out of the way. So now what? You’ve built an audience that loves you and you love them. How can we EASILY get them over to your site? As things currently stand, the only way to create a clickable link in Instagram is through the one STATIC link they provide you in the bio. The problem with that is you have lots of articles, lots of products and lots to share that just one link can’t provide the means to get to all of those places. I used to just have my main site in that bio link and tell people to “Click the link in my profile and search _____, it will pop right up for you.” But the truth of the matter is that people are lazy and cell phone (what most people use these days) interfaces for most sites are a bit clunky. So by the time they click over and can’t find your tiny search feature you’ve lost them. And if you keep changing that link to reflect every post, you severely limit people getting to your earlier posts.

Until now. Link in Profile is an interface that let’s you create one static link on your main Instagram bio page that will drive people to a landing page that hosts all of your Instagram posts and their corresponding link. You can see the example HERE on my own Instagram account, make sure to click that link through to see just how it works. From there, they can click directly on the image that they are interested in and head straight to that page. In two taps Instagram users can now go straight to the post or product that you want them too. No more hunting around, no more changing that link to reflect each post. You simply add the link that you want to direct readers / followers to into the body of your post as illustrated in the second screen cap. I typically do it at the very end of my post. Link in Profile will then pull that link and use that to drive your traffic.

LinkinProfilePost

LinkinProfilePost2

Once you understand how it works, it amazingly simple. Like I said, give it a try on my own page and see how it works.

You’re able to try Link in Profile at no cost for 30 days to see if it’s something you find valuable. They don’t even require a credit card to start your trial period, which is quite refreshing! After that it’s $10 per month, which has more than paid for itself. To give it a try simply head over HERE to sign up. I’ll be forever grateful if you choose to use my affiliate link! Or don’t! I’d recommend this service to anyone whether I got a small bonus from it or not.

I began my trial of Link in Profile back in January 2016 and found a huge jump in my traffic coming from Instgram. Because I was putting a direct link in each post, there’s no way I can weed out which was from Instagram other sources as it all fell under “direct”.  I’m fairly certain most came from IG, but there’s no way to tell. Even so, let’s just say all of them were from IG, I had 2,986 sessions for the month of December 2015 prior to using Link in Profile. After implementing Link in Profile sometime in January, my stats show 8,510 sessions directed from Link in Profile. (You will now see them as a direct referral source thus able to accurately measure your IG traffic.) A huge jump. Some may think I had such a spike because I have a clean eating blog in January, a prime time for people to be searching for clean recipes… However for the month of April I had 6,621 sessions driven from Link in Profile. That number has been steady, roughly double from my 2,986 sessions back in December prior to Link in Profile.

Now that I’ve implemented Link in Profile I also find that I can post several recipes in the same day without having to compromise the earlier posts’  links since we can now have multiple links to drive people to.

It truly kills me when bloggers say Instagram doesn’t drive customers or traffic as if done correctly it can be your biggest source and new best friend.

If you have any questions below, please feel free to ask away!

the whole smiths

0 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
Previous Post: « Thai Basil Beef Kebabs
Next Post: Apple + Almond Butter Sandwiches »
Note: I only work with companies and products that I feel passionately about and that align with the Whole Smiths’ views and that this post contains sponsored content. While I am compensated for the work I do, my opinions and bad jokes are always 100% my own.
Real Food Every Day Book

available now

my new cookbook

  • 100 simple recipes designed to keep things easy in the kitchen
  • Health and wholesome, family-friendly recipes labeled for your dietary needs
  • Chapters such as 30-Minute Meals, 5-Ingrediends or Less and Meal Prepping

take a peek

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. Melissa Falk says

    May 20, 2016 at 6:08 pm

    Hi! I set this up according to your this link you provide and the short video tutorial but after I dropped the linkedinprofile in my Bio, none of my Instagram photos show up. What did I do wrong?

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      May 21, 2016 at 2:46 am

      So you need to have the links added into the post for them to populate. I did the same thing when I started. Go back to one post and add a URL to the body and you’ll see it!

      Reply
  2. Ashley says

    May 26, 2016 at 8:45 am

    Ooooh this is neat! I might have to sign up for the trial but until my blog actually starts making money I can’t justify any more monthly payments on it.

    Reply
  3. Michelle says

    May 26, 2016 at 4:07 pm

    Hey Michelle! (twinner names!) We had signed up for “Link in Profile” service for the free trail in January as well and totally LOVED it! But since our blog is only a year old and we don’t have any “monetizing” products or affiliates on it, we just aren’t sure that spending the $10 a month makes sense right now? My daughter and I are feel like blog newbies (which we are) and are just coming up on 2K followers on Instagram…so still relatively very small & are still suing a free WordPress format, so it has it’s limiations! I know we totally miss the luxury of not changing our link each time we post a new recipe on Instagram…gah!! Would love your thoughts and insight! Have a most wonderful day 🙂

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      May 26, 2016 at 9:34 pm

      Hey ladies! Ok, so here’s my take on it. I was the same way for the first two years of my blog. I figured if I just kept posting recipes and blogging that the rest would follow. But in November / December I had this epiphany that if I wanted it to grow more I was going to have to treat it like a business and make that happen. So I started investing in it and things have totally started shaking! So I have a new attitude on things and it’s served me well. Even a far as hiring the right designers, web people etc. taking courses. It was also killing me that all of the work I put into growing on IG wasn’t getting people where they needed to be easily so it was pointless as far as blog hits. Hope that all makes sense!

      Reply
      • Michelle says

        May 27, 2016 at 3:57 pm

        Thanks so much for the response Michelle…I know what my “gut” had been telling me for months and was just not listening and kept rationalizing away my feelings of wanted to push through and make a jump! Clearly…those feelings are trying to tell me something. Taking a leap as of now…thanks so much! Your advice and words of wisdom are greatly appreciated! Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!! Oh, and fun fact: We lived in Dublin when Miss Makenna was born, she’s our CA girl…loved it so much! I think you live in Pleasanton ~ it’s grown soooo much since we lived there! Hope it’s an amazing Memorial Day weekend for you there in the Bay Area! 🙂 thanks again XO

        Reply
  4. valerie hansen says

    May 26, 2016 at 9:59 pm

    wow Michelle this is amazing info! I don’t have anything to sell yet and no lead magnet yet either..I so suck at techy stuff…so that has been a challenge. I do have almost 3000 very engaged followers…so I am trying to think of ways to monetize on that…not easy. I do shopstyle on my blog for fashion posts but its not that easy to use for Instagram…

    Loved this post!

    Val

    Reply
  5. Allie @ Miss Allie's Kitchen says

    June 9, 2016 at 6:07 pm

    This is really helpful. I have been enjoying your sound advice through your posts. My blog is really young (like a month old) but I’ve been floored with the amount of feedback I’ve reached and the relationships that I’ve been able to create in my niche. I invested up front in a host site, layout, logo, headshots/brand photos , etc. ,but I think a link in profile would be a great next step. It is also really refreshing to hear that you can do well and build contacts just by being kind and genuinely interested in what others are doing. Thanks again for this!

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      June 14, 2016 at 5:38 pm

      Thats fantastic! It is such a great endeavor, you will rock it!!!

      Reply
  6. Celiac on the Road says

    September 28, 2016 at 9:44 pm

    Thank you for this! I am getting ready to start a blog and have wondered how the “link in profile” thing works, this is super helpful. When the blog is up and I’m ready to link I will come back and use your affiliate link 🙂

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

available now

my new cookbook

Real Food Every Day Booktake a peek

welcome!

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the internet, I’m Michelle and welcome to the Whole Smiths. These days I’m a mother to two smiley girls, a happy wife to one fantastic dude and we live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

don’t miss a recipe!

Keep your kitchen tasty with a new recipe delivered to your inbox each week as well as our latest cooking tips, event information and favorite food finds.

REAL FOOD FOR REAL PEOPLE.

don’t miss a recipe!

Keep your kitchen tasty with a new recipe delivered to your inbox each week as well as our latest cooking tips, event information and favorite food finds.

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
These Lemon Pepper + Parmesan Brussels with Caper These Lemon Pepper + Parmesan Brussels with Caper Aioli are one of the December recipes ready for you! Fancy enough for Christmas dinner, easy enough for a Wednesday evening. Bada bing, bada boom.Grab the recipe at the link in my profile. ✨
GF Egg Nog Sheet Pan PANCAKES! Sneak peek at jus GF Egg Nog Sheet Pan PANCAKES! Sneak peek at just one of the recipes coming to you next month.Can I suggest these may be *the* perfect Christmas morning breakfast? No flipping, no batches, no time at all! Not to mention, NO COLD PANCAKES WHILE YOU WAIT FOR THE OTHERS TO COOK! 😳Join us at the link in my profile to get the recipe.
#thankful 📸: @angelaspillerphotography 🤍 #thankful📸: @angelaspillerphotography 🤍
Regular sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving? BO-RING! Regular sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving? BO-RING!CHAI SPICED Sweet Potatoes?? Way cooler.Seriously, chai anything just sounds way cooler than plain anything. Not to mention obviously tastier too. Recipe on www.TheWholeSmiths.com, use the search bar to search “chai sweet potatoes”.
I love these guys so much. That’s it. That’s t I love these guys so much. That’s it. That’s the post. #sundaysnuggles
Obsessed. Let’s talk...🛌🥱 In early 2020 I Obsessed. Let’s talk...🛌🥱In early 2020 I polled my audience because we were on the hunt for a new mattress. You overwhelmingly recommended @avocadogreenbrands. And then we all got locked down and I put our mattress hunt on hold. I bought a cheapie mattress online instead since we couldn’t try things out and none of us had any clue what was happening. Big mistake. HUGE. It was the worst mattress ever. So earlier this year we decided it was time to get a PROPER GROWN UP MATTRESS and went with @avocadogreenbrands.I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous about ordering online and not being able to “test” it in person. I’m here to tell you it’s one of the best things in my life. It is THE MOST comfortable mattress I have ever laid my pretty little face on. And Brad agrees.Not to mention is green and environmentally friendly.Legit, slipping into bed at night feels like a hug from heaven and I can’t even handle it. I told Brad that, God forbid, we ever divorce I’m taking the mattress with me. So, if you are on the hunt go with @avocadogreenbrands. We went with the Avocado Green mattress with pillow top. And I just looked and they’re having an early cyber/Black Friday Sale. Anyways. Obsessed and eagerly awaiting my next nap. ✌🏼
Gluten-Free Cranberry Bars Personally, one of my Gluten-Free Cranberry BarsPersonally, one of my fave desserts ever is pumpkin pie. I wish it was a year ‘round thing. BUT! If you aren’t pumpkin crazy, not into pies and need something DIFFERENT to bring to Thanksgiving this year, let it be this. Think a lemon bars more festive friend. In fact, it’s great for a Christmas too. It’s available now to my community a the link in my bio. ❤️

© 2023 · The Whole Smith · Privacy Policy · Website Design by Anchored Design