Website setup

Add a CoverCount booking link to your Instagram profile

Add a tracked CoverCount reservation link to an Instagram profile or link-in-bio page so guests can book from Instagram.

Updated 2026-06-23

Use this guide to add a CoverCount reservation link to an Instagram profile, profile links list, or link-in-bio page.

For most venues, the simplest setup is a normal profile link that opens the hosted CoverCount booking flow. Instagram Business profile action buttons can be useful when available, but they depend on Instagram-supported action button partners. If a CoverCount action button is not available in your Instagram account, use a normal profile link instead.

Before You Start

You need:

  • Access to edit the Instagram profile
  • Your CoverCount tenant slug, such as oak-and-vine
  • One or more optional experience slugs, such as dining, lunch, or wine-tasting
  • A phone for testing the public Instagram guest path
  • Staff app access to confirm source attribution after a test booking

If the profile uses a link-in-bio tool, you also need access to edit that tool.

Build The CoverCount Link

Use this format for the venue's main public reservation page:

https://explore.covercount.io/oak-and-vine/reserve?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reservations

For one specific experience:

https://explore.covercount.io/oak-and-vine/reserve?experience=wine-tasting&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=summer-tastings

To show more than one specific experience from the same link, join the experience slugs with commas:

https://explore.covercount.io/oak-and-vine/reserve?experience=lunch,dinner&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reservations

Replace oak-and-vine and the experience slugs with your CoverCount values.

Recommended tracking values:

Parameter Recommended value
utm_source instagram
utm_medium social
utm_campaign reservations, or a campaign name such as summer-tastings

If you have multiple Instagram placements, use utm_content for the specific placement:

utm_content=bio-link

Example:

https://explore.covercount.io/oak-and-vine/reserve?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=reservations&utm_content=bio-link

Test The Link Before Adding It

Open the link on a phone before adding it to Instagram.

Confirm:

  • The correct venue appears.
  • The correct experience or experiences appear, if the link has an experience value.
  • Available dates and times appear.
  • The booking form works on mobile.
  • Deposit or card-hold notices appear when expected.
  • The link does not require a website login, password page, or preview mode.

For a full checklist, see Test your CoverCount booking flow before launch.

Add The Link To Instagram

Instagram's current help describes this profile-link workflow:

  1. Open your Instagram profile.
  2. Tap Edit profile.
  3. Tap Links.
  4. Add an external link or website link.
  5. Paste the CoverCount booking URL.
  6. Save the profile change.

If Instagram lets you add a title or label, use a guest-facing label such as:

  • Reserve a table
  • Book a tasting
  • Make a reservation
  • Book wine tasting
  • Reserve brunch

Avoid labels such as Link, Website, or CoverCount because they do not tell guests what action they can take.

Use A Link-In-Bio Page

If the profile already uses a link-in-bio page, add the CoverCount booking link there.

Recommended setup:

  • Put the reservation link near the top.
  • Use a clear label, such as Reserve a table.
  • Keep one link for general reservations.
  • Add separate experience links only when guests need distinct actions, such as Book a tasting or Private dining inquiry.
  • Keep the same Instagram UTM values on each CoverCount link.

For experience-specific links, add the experience parameter and use a campaign value that matches the experience.

Instagram Action Buttons

Instagram Business profiles may support action buttons such as booking or reserve buttons. Instagram's available buttons and partners can vary by account, region, and integration.

If Instagram offers a booking or reserve action button that can use your CoverCount booking URL, test it the same way as a normal profile link.

If CoverCount is not available as an action button option, use the normal profile link or link-in-bio option. Do not remove the ordinary booking link until you have confirmed the public action button opens the expected CoverCount booking flow.

Test The Public Instagram Guest Path

After saving the link, test it from the guest side.

  1. Open Instagram on a phone.
  2. View the public profile.
  3. Tap the booking link, profile link, or link-in-bio button.
  4. Confirm the CoverCount booking flow opens in Instagram's in-app browser.
  5. Select a real available date and time.
  6. Complete a test booking if appropriate.
  7. Confirm the guest success page appears.
  8. Cancel or clean up the test reservation afterward if it should not remain active.

Also test after publishing a story, post, or ad that tells guests to use the profile link. Guests should not have to guess which profile link starts reservations.

Confirm Source Tracking In CoverCount

After a guest books from the Instagram link, CoverCount should read the UTM values.

Expected attribution:

BookingSource: instagram
BookingSourceDetail: utm_source=instagram;utm_medium=social;utm_campaign=reservations

For a grouped view, open Reports > Reservations by source.

For row-level detail, use Reports > Reservations export and inspect:

  • BookingSource
  • BookingSourceDetail

For more detail, see Track where CoverCount bookings come from.

Common Problems

Guests cannot find the booking link

Move the reservation link higher in the profile link list or link-in-bio page. Use a clearer label, such as Reserve a table or Book a tasting.

The link opens the wrong experience

Check the experience value in the URL. Remove it if the link should show all public booking options.

Bookings show under the wrong source

Check that the link uses:

utm_source=instagram

Use utm_content for placement detail such as bio-link, story-link, or paid-ad. Do not put every placement detail into utm_source.

Instagram's action button is not available

Use a normal profile link or link-in-bio button. Instagram action buttons depend on account type, available partners, and regional support.

More Help

Related guides:

Official Instagram references:

For the correct CoverCount tenant slug, experience slug, or source-tracking values, contact support@covercount.io.