Why People Tap Your Instagram Link in Bio but Don't Sign Up

These posts are my working notes, drafted with AI and edited by me so I can share them quickly. My client work gets far more hands-on attention. If you want that, here’s how I work with clients.

If people tap the link in your Instagram profile and then drop off without signing up or booking a call, the problem usually isn't your content. It's the page they land on after the tap. On most coaches' link in bio pages, a stranger can't tell who the page is for or which link to tap first, so they close it and go back to scrolling.

I wrote this for clinicians turned coaches (dietitians, nurses, therapists, physical therapists, physicians) and other health and wellness coaches who post on Instagram and already sell a program. Fixing this page takes words more than design, and it's the same buyer language that sits under the messaging work I do for coaches.

Below you'll find why people leave after they tap, a five-second test, five checks that fix the page in about 10 minutes, and how to see where your visitors drop off.

Why do people tap your link in bio and then leave?

Your posts have one job, and most of the time they do it. Someone finds a post useful, taps your name, reads your bio and taps your link. That's real interest from a person who found you a minute ago.

Then they land on your link page, and that interest has to turn into an action. Grab the freebie, book the call, join the program. The page is the last stop between "this was helpful" and "I want to work with you." When it doesn't make the next step obvious, they leave, and it looks like Instagram doesn't work.

Clinicians who coach describe the result like this in public posts, forums and podcasts.

More followers won't fix a page that loses the ones you have. Fix the page first, and every post you already publish sends people somewhere that works.

What do people see after they tap your link?

One dietitian's page I looked at for my free guide (details changed) had eleven buttons, all the same size and color. The free call and the food list sat near the bottom. Two buttons said "Website" and "Blog," which tell a stranger nothing about what they'd get.

Most link pages I see share the same problems.

• Every link looks equally important, so the visitor has to choose.
• Links are named for what the thing is ("Free Guide," "Work With Me," "Podcast") instead of what it does for the visitor.
• The paid offer or an application sits at the top, before a stranger knows whether you can help.
• The bio lists credentials instead of saying who you help and with what.
• The freebie at the end of the link leads nowhere after the download.

Each of those made sense to the coach who built the page. None of them help someone who found you 30 seconds ago, on a phone, between two other things.

How can you tell if your link page is losing people?

Run the five-second test from my guide. Open your link page on your phone, pretend you've never heard of you, give yourself five seconds and answer two questions.

1. Who is this for?
2. Which link should I tap first?

If either answer is "um," the page is losing people. For a tougher test, send the link to a friend who doesn't know your work and ask them the same two questions. Their answer is closer to what a new follower sees.

How do you stop people dropping off after they tap your link?

Five things, and you can check all of them in about 10 minutes. Give your page one point for each one it passes.

1. One link leads. Your most important link sits at the top and is labeled "Start here." A list of equal links makes people choose, and many of them choose to scroll back to Instagram.
2. Each link is named for the problem it solves, in your buyers' words. "Free Guide" says what the thing is. "Why you're still bloated when you eat well" says what it does for them.
3. Links run from first step to biggest commitment. Free thing first, something small next, your program last. Someone who found you a minute ago isn't ready for an application.
4. Your bio promises what your top link delivers. If your bio says you help women heal their gut and your top link is a podcast, the promise breaks. The bio makes the promise, and the top link is where they collect.
5. Your freebie leads somewhere. The thank you page and first email point to one next step. Otherwise people download, think "nice," and you never hear from them again.

A score of 5 means your page is doing its job. A 3 or 4 means pick one fix this week. A score of 0 to 2 means start with the second check, because the words move the needle most.

See these checks on real pages. My free guide, The 10-Minute Instagram Links Fix, turns the five checks into a scorecard you can tick and shows three before and after link pages from a psychologist, a dietitian and a physical therapist turned menopause coach.

What should the links on your link in bio page say?

Name each link for the problem it solves, in the words your clients use, not the words from your clinical training.

Clinicians are trained to be precise. "Hashimoto's thyroiditis," "vasomotor symptoms" and "evidence-based nutrition counseling" are accurate. A follower scrolling at 10 p.m. is thinking "I'm exhausted and my hair is falling out" or "I haven't slept through the night in months." The link that matches what they're already thinking gets the tap.

Here's the difference, with examples I wrote for this post.

• "Free Guide" becomes "Why you're still bloated when you eat well."
• "Book a Call" becomes "Find out why you're tired all the time."
• "Work With Me" becomes "The 12-week program to sleep through the night again."

For a free resource, this pattern works for a lot of health topics.

Why you're still [the problem they complain about] when you [what they're already doing right]

The words come from your DMs, comments, discovery calls and intake forms. Copy the exact phrases people use to describe the problem before they knew what to call it. I cover more places to find them in Does Your Program Sound Like Everyone Else's?

Which links should you keep, and in what order?

You don't need new offers. Sort the ones you already have into three moments a visitor might be in.

1. Right now. They want relief today. A quick tip, a short video or a free list fits here.
2. Figuring out why. They want to understand what's going on. A free guide, a quiz or a free call fits here.
3. Fixing it for good. They're ready for help. Your program, membership or coaching fits here.

Put them on the page in that order and label the first one "Start here." Every before and after in my guide uses this same three-link order.

Your podcast, blog, shop and website can move below those three, or off the page. A podcast serves someone who already trusts you. For someone who found you a minute ago, it's a detour.

Do you need a redesign or a new freebie?

No. In the before and afters in my guide, the design barely changed. The fonts, colors and photos stayed close to the original. The bio, the link names and the order changed.

The one part that may need work is what happens after the download. If your freebie's thank you page and first email don't point to one next step, people take the freebie and drift off. My 10-minute funnel check covers that part of the path.

What if people still drop off after you fix the page?

Follow the path one step further. If your link page needed your buyers' words, so does everything it leads to. That means your freebie, your welcome emails and your sales page. A lot of premium programs lose buyers there. The offer is good, but it's described in clinical words instead of the client's.

Start with the page people tap first. Get the free 10-Minute Instagram Links Fix, run the five checks tonight and fix the one your page fails first.

Frequently asked questions

Why do people click my link in bio but not sign up?

Usually because the page behind the link doesn't tell a stranger who it's for or which link to tap first. When every link looks equally important and is named for what it is ("Free Guide," "Work With Me"), people choose nothing and go back to Instagram.

How do I see where people drop off after tapping my link?

Compare three numbers for the same week. "External link taps" in your Instagram Insights shows how many times people tapped your profile link, your link tool shows clicks on each link, and your email platform shows sign-ups. The biggest drop between two numbers is where to look first.

Is Linktree bad for coaches?

No. Linktree, Stan, Beacons and similar tools all work. What loses people is the words and the order on the page, not the tool.

How many links should be on a link in bio page?

As few as your three moments need, often three to five. Instagram lets you add up to five links right on your profile, but a stranger still needs one link that clearly comes first.

Should my Instagram link go to my website instead?

Only if your homepage gives someone from Instagram one clear first step. Most homepages are built for every kind of visitor, so a short link page that matches your posts tends to work better.

Sources

• TechCrunch, Instagram takes on Linktree and others with support for up to 5 links in bio (April 18, 2023)

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