How to add a link to your Instagram Story, post, or IGTV video (guide 2023)

The number of things you can do on Instagram has grown exponentially since the app was launched in 2010. You can add a GIF of Taylor Swift winking to your Story, do a live Q&A with your followers, and even curate your grid to be one giant photo.

But the one thing that seems to still elude Instagram users is URLs.

Adding links to your Instagram used to be impossible, and even now, it requires a little maneuvering (or a lot of followers). But by the time you finish this guide, you’ll know everything you need to know about how to add a link to your Instagram Story or post.

How to add a link to Instagram Story

For years, the only place to share a link on Instagram was in your bio, which led to the ever-common caption-ending phrase “link in bio.”

Thankfully, Instagram has caught on to the need for easy URL placement and, in 2017, made it possible for some (though not all) accounts to add links to their Stories. If you have access to this feature, here’s how you use it:

1. Open your Instagram app.
2. Press the Story Camera at the top-left corner of the screen.
3. Upload a photo or video or take one using the Story Camera.
4. Press the chain link icon at the top of the screen.
5. Enter the link.
6. Press Done.
7. Share your Story.

Once your Story is posted, people will be able to visit the link by swiping up on your Story.

Who can put a link on their Instagram Story?

As stated before, not everyone has access to the URL feature in their Instagram Stories. You earn the right to Story Links by meeting the following requirements:

• You have over 10,000 followers.
• Your account is verified.

There’s no real method for getting a verified account (other than requesting the coveted Verified Badge), so the only real way to earn this feature is by growing your followers — or by using what seems to be the only workaround.

How to get the swipe-up feature on Instagram without 10k followers

Fortunately, there is one trick that allows you to get the coveted “swipe-up” feature without accumulating 10,000 followers. Unfortunately, you have to pay for it.

When you create a paid Story Ad, it comes with an option to add a link no matter what your follower count is.

Here’s how to create an Instagram Story ad:

1. Open Instagram and post the content you want to promote to your Story.
2. Press your profile picture to access that Story.
3. Tap the three horizontal dots at the bottom-right corner of the screen.
4. Then tap Promote.
5. Next, press Edit underneath the Your Website option.
6. Delete the link to your website.
7. Add the new link you want.
8. Press Done.
9. Fill in the rest of the details for your ad.
10. Press Create Promotion.

Story ads can cost anywhere from $1 for one day to $1,000 for 30 days. It all depends on the parameters you set for the budget and duration.

At this time, this is the only way to get Story Links without meeting the verified account or 10,000 followers requirement.

How to put an IGTV link on your Instagram Story

There is one other way to get a URL link on your Instagram Story, and that’s by posting an IGTV video, also known as Instagram TV. In order to share an IGTV link to your Stories, you need to have at least one video posted on IGTV.

1. Open Instagram.
2. Press the Instagram Camera button at the top-left of the screen.
3. Take a photo or video in the camera or upload a photo or video.
4. Press the link icon at the top of the screen.
5. Press +IGTV Video.
6. Select the video you want to link to.
7. Press Preview.
8. Press Done.

Doing this will link your Story to your IGTV video, and people will be able to swipe up to access it for the 24 hours your Story is live.

How to add a link to an Instagram post

Outside of linking to Instagram Stories and adding a website URL to your bio, posts are the only other area on the platform where you might want to add a link. Unfortunately, it’s even trickier to add a link to a post.

Can you add a link to a post natively?

Yes and no. You can add a link to a caption on a post — but no one will be able to click it. So if someone wanted to visit the URL you added, they would have to copy and paste it into their phone’s web browser. It’s possible, but it’s a hassle.

That is why many people utilize the link option available in your bio. After adding the desired link to their bio, they simply tell their users where to access the URL by ending their post’s caption with “link in bio.”

Here’s how to update your Instagram bio link:

1. Open Instagram.
2. Press the person icon at the bottom-right corner of the screen to access your profile.
3. Press Edit Profile.
4. Delete your old URL.
5. Add your new one.
6. Press Done.

You can update your bio link as many times and as often as you’d like.

How to add a call to action link to an Instagram post

The only other way to add a link to an Instagram post is by paying to promote it. Once you’ve decided to promote a post, you get the option to add a call to action link, which you can use to direct your followers to any (approved) site of your choosing.

Here’s how to promote an Instagram post:

1. Open Instagram.
2. Press the person icon at the bottom-right corner of the screen to access your profile.
3. Locate and press the post you want to promote.
4. Tap Promote.
5. Press Edit underneath the Your Website option.
6. Delete the link to your website.
7. Add the new link you want.
8. Press Done.
9. Fill in the rest of the details for your ad.
10. Finally, tap Create Promotion.

Like Story Ads, Promoted Posts can cost anywhere from $1 for one day to $1,000 for 30 days. You get to choose what you pay in the Budget and Duration tab.

How to add a link to an IGTV video

Since IGTV rolled out in 2018, it has become the ultimate place to post long-form videos. However, one of the little-known facts about Instagram TV is that you can actually add clickable links to the description box.

Here’s how to add a link to an IGTV video within the Instagram app:

1. Open Instagram.
2. Press the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the screen.
3. Then press the IGTV button at the top-left corner of the screen.
4. Tap the + sign at the top-right corner of the screen.
5. Locate and select your video, which must be at least 1 minute long.
6. Press Next.
7. Choose your cover and press Next.
8. Fill out the Title.
9. Add your link to the Description box.
10. Press Post.

For users to see and click on the link, they first need to click on the title of your IGTV video to display the description. From there, they can view and click any URL you’ve posted.

Instagram has come a long way in terms of allowing users to add URLs on the app. However, it’s still not the easiest feature to use. Until Instagram allows us to simply add a URL in our captions — or at least make the Stories swipe-up feature accessible to all — we hope these workarounds help you link your content properly.