Too Many Links in Your Bio? Use One Link Instead
"Most people have too many clicks in their links in their bio." That's our soapbox rant. If you want a business, it starts with one click and an easy system after it. Here's how we'd set it up.
Watch on YouTube: Too Many Links in Your Bio? Use One Link Instead
How many links should you have in your bio?
One. Every link goes to one destination: your most profitable click. Clicks are the lead domino. You don't get the clicks, nothing's going to happen. So don't hand people a menu of every platform you're on. Give them one place to go.
This isn't just our opinion. In a Columbia and Stanford study, shoppers who stopped at a tasting booth with 6 jams were far more likely to buy than those who stopped at one with 24: nearly 30% bought versus 3%. Same paper: when Procter & Gamble cut Head & Shoulders from 26 versions to 15, sales went up 10%. More choices, fewer buyers.
Leland's take: "Don't talk about how you are on all of the social media platforms. It doesn't help your business. Just get them from one social media platform to a place where they can buy."
What is your "most profitable click"?
It's the one place that makes you the most money when someone lands there. Your offer, your shop, your list. Not your YouTube link. Not your other socials. Don't have Instagram link to YouTube or YouTube link to Instagram. Pick the one place and point everything at it.
Where should your link go on YouTube?
DJ's checklist: a link in your video description, a link pinned in the comments, and a link in your bio. "Typically you want those links to all be the same link." If one product needs its own link, change it, but you should be able to find one platform where most of your stuff lives.
| Spot | What goes there |
|---|---|
| Bio | Your one link |
| Video description | Same link |
| Pinned comment | Same link |
What if you don't have a link page yet?
Use a Google Doc that anyone can view. Simple links, pictures if you want. Put the highest-return items at the top and the lowest at the bottom, so people see what helps you most first. You'll get a nicer page later. "For now, got to have a link."
Start with one item. Leland: "Just get one for now... That Doc will get improved, it'll get built on, you'll have more options for people to buy."
Why does a broken link matter so much?
Because your best video is the one people click from. DJ: "You don't want to have a broken link with a successful video and then now you're not getting the sales because people are clicking on the link and it's not working anymore." Check your link often, especially when a video starts taking off.
Free training
Know where your one link should go?
We walk through the one door every post points to.
Watch the trainingHow do you set up your channel before adding the link?
Get four things right one time: a clean profile picture, a short bio, 3 to 5 keywords, and your one link. It's low-hanging fruit. It's not the stuff that moves the needle, but people make assumptions about you from it. You want them to make the correct assumptions.
- Profile picture: a clean headshot, face filling the frame, not blending into the background. It should match your niche. (We teased a new fashion creator for a fishing photo: "Is it fishing fashion?")
- Bio: who you are, why people should follow you.
- Keywords: pick 3 to 5 words people search for (DJ's examples for fashion: "men's fit, men's outfit"). Use them in your bio, channel keywords, and videos so people connect you with them.
- One link: your most profitable click.
Should every post have a call to action?
We think so. DJ puts it in the middle of the video, "where it's starting to get juicy." Mix "follow me" with "go get this." Leland: "If it blows up, it blows up, and if you don't have a place for them to go, they're gone forever." On Instagram, a comment keyword with an automation ("comment FALL") works too.
FAQ
Should I link my other social accounts in my bio?
No. Linking Instagram to YouTube or YouTube to Instagram sends people away from where they can buy. Send them to one place.
Is a Linktree-style page okay?
Only if it's short and your most profitable option is at the top. Too many choices is the problem we're solving.
What if different videos sell different products?
Change the link when you have to. But try to keep most products on one page so the link stays the same.
How many keywords should I put in my bio?
Three to five. Use the same ones across your bio, channel keywords and videos.
One link. One destination. You're off to the races.
Free training
Make your one link count
The business should free you up to do what you love, more coaching or more running the business, your choice.
Watch the trainingAbout the authors
