If you think about bounce rate and what it means, and then you look at which social media outlets are sending traffic to your website and what the bounce rate is for each, you'll likely find that Facebook sends the highest traffic volume (most traffic) to your website, while Instagram sends the most qualified traffic to your website - aka - the most likely to convert.

Bounce rate (the lower the better), indicates a level of user interest in your content, and according to our 2018 Data Download  - the traffic generated by Instagram profile links are the users most likely to make a conversion on your website.

Based on personal experience I know this is likely shocking to you, especially if you're a traditional marketer over the age of 35. The audience when I delivered the data download at our data party was definitely surprised.

But then we had a conversation about why this totally makes sense. When your business builds up a solid Instagram presence, posting content consistently that is entertaining, educational or personal, and becomes truly part of the community, Instagram users become interested in engaging with your brand.

But the key differentiator is limitation.

Instagram does not let you post links in your feed/posts. This limitation means that all referrals from Instagram that aren't marked "stories" in Google Analytics, come from the profile link.

Translation - users know where to find your link, and when you're posting consistently on Instagram, it will generate qualified traffic to your site - not the volume of Facebook - but higher quality.

So once again, the proof is in the data. There's reason to do both - Facebook for volume and freedom of content management (you can post as many links as you want and your videos can be as long as you want), and Instagram for limitations - no links in posts, but qualified users who view your brand's website via profile links.

Note: Some brands that have more than 10k followers or a verified Instagram account can add links to their stories (swipe up to URL capabilities). In Google Analytics, they aggregate together as Instagram referrals, but when you click "Instagram," it breaks them down into "profile links" vs. "Stories."

Punchline - if you're brand isn't on Instagram. Get there. It will help increase your web conversions over time.

More on the Data Download - our report - which aggregates data from more than 325 real Google Analytics accounts from real live active websites generating traffic from actual web users, provides insights into what works best in a variety of verticals, as well as overall web design and digital marketing best practices. Not based on opinions, but based on data.

Thanks for reading / watching - and have a great day!

Paul Hickey has created and grown businesses via digital strategy and internet marketing for more than 10 years. His sweet spot is using analytics to design and build websites and grow the audience and revenue of businesses via SEO/Blogging, Google Adwords, Bing Ads, Facebook and Instagram Ads, Social Media Content Marketing and Email Marketing. The part that he’s most passionate about is quantifying next marketing actions based on real data.