Linktree is a great little tool to get around Instagram’s rule of having ONE link in your entire account. You put the link to your Linktr.ee page in your bio, and it takes you to a list of all the links you might want to share with an Instagram visitor.  But Linktree comes with it’s own set of issues.  I’m going to talk about five of the biggest problems with using it, and the BEST alternative to using any third-party link service.

Five Problems With Linktree:

1. Linktr.ee is Off-Brand

Access to fonts and colors on linktree is very limited, and you probably won’t be able to find exact matches to your brand.   The Linktree logo is also displayed prominently on the page, and unless you pay the $6/month for their premium version, you’re stuck showing off their logo.

Using Linktree funnels traffic to the Linktree domain – all those clicks from YOUR instagram account are going to THEIR domain – meaning they get the SEO benefits (having more clicks to your website helps you rank higher in search engines).

3. Linktree May Not Always be Around

Instagram is cracking down on accounts using third party link services – labeling them as spam. This hasn’t been officially acknowledged by Facebook (the owner of Instagram, and our Tech Overlords), but a quick Google search confirms the issue is widespread. If Instagram identifies the link in your bio as spam, it will shut you down and/or prevent anyone from interacting with your posts, which, obviously, presents a problem. Making things worse is that you won’t get notified of this, your link will just stop working.

4.  Poor Analytics

If you want sophisticated analytics from Linktree you have to buck up for the premium version. The free version only provides extremely basic information that won’t be particularly useful if you’re trying to get a picture of visitors to your site and their behaviour.

5. Leads Visitors AWAY From You

Seriously – why are you sending people to someone else’s website instead of your own? Don’t you want to funnel people to YOUR site, not the Linktree site? The argument here is that if you want multiple links, you can’t do that using Instagram. Well there is a SUPER simple solution to this problem. When I heard this solution I couldn’t understand why ANYONE is using Linktree at all. Ready for it?  Drumroll please….

Build a Links page on your website!

Seriously, could this solution BE any simpler?

Using your website as a hub, instead of using a third party, means you can add whatever links (or anything else) you want. You can also have it match your brand perfectly.  The SEO clicks will be yours, Instagram isn’t going to target it as spam, and Google Analytics will give you far better information. Best of all, it brings visitors closer to YOU (after all, they clicked the link in YOUR bio). Once they’re on your site, you can direct them anywhere without any restrictions, and you’re in control of your own website traffic! 

If you want a simple example, this is my “Where to Find Me” links page.  Watch for another post this week with instructions on how to make your OWN links page!