Link-in-bio page or landing page: where to send your ads

A familiar situation: the ads are live, the budget is going out, and barely any enquiries come in. I check where the ad points - at a social profile. The person clicked a specific offer, landed in a feed of posts from different years and left. Here is what to put in place of the profile, and when the simplest option is enough.

What is a link-in-bio page and how is it different from a landing page?

A link-in-bio page is the everyday name for a multi-link page: a small page with an avatar, a couple of lines of text and a set of buttons - message on a messenger, call, open the catalogue, look at the price list.

A landing page is a full page that explains the offer: what you do, who for, how you are different, what it costs, why you can be trusted, and with an enquiry form.

The difference is not the size, it is the job. A link-in-bio page distributes: the person has already decided and only needs to pick a channel. A landing page persuades: the person is still hesitating and needs arguments.

Why is a social profile a bad landing spot for ads?

Because the ad promises one thing and the profile shows another.

The ad talks about a specific service and a specific price. The person goes across and sees a feed: the latest posts, stories, reviews mixed in with greetings. What was in the ad is not on the screen. To find the answer they would have to scroll, and they came for an answer to the ad, not for a feed.

The second problem is that it is unclear what to do. A profile does not collect an enquiry for a specific ad: the person has to start the conversation themselves and wait for a reply. That is friction where there should be none.

More on the difference between a profile and a website: Website or Instagram: what should a business choose.

When is a link-in-bio page enough?

When the decision is already made and all that is needed is a way to get in touch.

This works if:

The service is simple and needs no explanation: food delivery, a manicure, a car wash, a taxi.

The ads go to people who already know you - you are known to the audience, it is a repeat sale.

There is no ad budget yet - you are only starting out and testing demand.

The price is low and the decision is impulsive.

In those cases a link-in-bio page beats a profile and costs less than a landing page. It is an honest intermediate step, not a disgrace.

When do you need a landing page?

When there is a doubt between the click and the enquiry that has to be removed.

The signs:

There is a paid budget. As soon as you start paying for clicks, the price of every visit makes a landing spot worth building.

The service needs explaining - the person does not know how it works and what is included.

The price is noticeable - the bigger the ticket, the more arguments are needed.

There are competitors you are compared with.

You need search. A link-in-bio page barely works for search traffic, a landing page does.

A simple rule: if you pay for traffic, the landing spot has to answer questions. A link-in-bio page does not answer them - it only shows buttons.

What do ads lose on a link-in-bio page?

Four things, and each of them costs money.

Arguments. On a multi-link page there is nowhere to explain why you, - all that fits there is a list of buttons.

Analytics. You do not see what the person looked at and where they dropped off. On your own landing page you see all of it.

Trust. Someone else's domain instead of your own reads as a temporary fix.

Search. A multi-link page does not collect search traffic, which means it will never bring you free visitors.

Plus a hidden dependency: the page lives on someone else's service under someone else's rules, and moving its contents over to yourself is usually not possible.

Can you use both?

Yes, and that is a normal arrangement.

The multi-link page stays in the profile header: that is where followers come who need to get in touch quickly. The landing page becomes the destination for ads: that is where the paid traffic goes that has to be converted.

Sometimes they are merged: a compact block with messenger buttons is put on the landing page, and a separate multi-link page stops being needed. That option is usually better - one place, one set of analytics, one domain.

What has to be on a landing spot for ads?

The main rule: the landing spot has to continue the ad, not start the conversation over.

The same offer as in the ad. If you promised a discount on the first service, it has to be visible straight away, not hunted for down the page.

A clear next action - one button, one form.

Answers to the usual objections - the price, how long the work takes, guarantees, who you are.

Proof - photographs of the work, reviews, the face of the person doing it.

Fast loading on a phone. Paid traffic is almost all mobile.

How the top of the page that the traffic lands on is built: The hero section: what belongs on the first screen. And the wider topic - there are clicks but no enquiries: Why Your Website Gets No Leads.

How much does an ad landing page cost?

A multi-link page you can put together yourself for nothing or next to nothing - you do not need a contractor for that, and I see no sense in selling that work.

A landing page for ads is from $190. This is the case where the spend is easy to compare: add up what you pay for ads over the period and set it against the one-off price of the landing spot. A landing page usually pays for itself through the difference in conversion, not through abstract benefit.

A multipage website from $490 is what you need if there are several lines of work and each of them needs its own landing spot. What the price is made of: How much does a website cost in Tashkent.

Tell me where your ads point right now through the form on the contact page - I will say whether a multi-link page is enough for you or you need a landing page.