What is SEO on Instagram?
Instagram SEO is about customizing your content to show up in various locations, like search results and the Explore Page. It’s a crucial strategy to enhance your chances of being discovered. When more people find your content, you increase your opportunities to expand your followers and create an active Instagram community.
Why is Instagram SEO Important?
When you tailor your Instagram content, you can create things that your target audience is looking for. SEO also affects what shows up in suggested posts, which are posts from accounts similar to the ones you like or save.
By having a good Instagram SEO strategy, you can make sure your posts appear in relevant searches and get more visibility. This is a great way to reach the right people and get your content noticed.
How Instagram SEO Works: 3 Key Factors
Making your Instagram posts easier for people to find is important. Instagram looks at all the content on the app to figure out what it’s about and who might like it.
Instagram uses information from accounts, hashtags, and places to decide how to rank search results. There are a few important things to consider:
- The words you use: When you search for something, Instagram tries to match your words with relevant accounts, hashtags, and content.
- What people do on Instagram: Instagram looks at what people have done on the app before deciding which posts to show. For example, if someone has looked at similar posts or follows certain accounts, Instagram will show them posts that they might like.
- How popular something is: If many people are interested in something, it’s more likely to show up in search results. The number of clicks, likes, shares, and follows for an account or post can affect its ranking.
To improve your Instagram search ranking, it’s important to help Instagram understand what your posts are about. That way, when people search for something, your post has a better chance of showing up.
5 Tips to Get More People to See Your Instagram Posts
Understanding how to use SEO on Instagram can help more people find and see your content.
Here are five simple tactics to increase your discoverability:
1: Write Descriptive Captions With Keywords
In the past, searching on Instagram Explore was limited to hashtags, location tags, usernames, and profile names.
But now, you can also search using keywords.
This means that using relevant and descriptive captions with carefully chosen keywords can greatly affect how easily your content is discovered.
While some keywords can be derived from your account’s name or username, the majority of them come from the captions (and hashtags) you write.
2: Add Keywords to Your Instagram Profile Name
If you want more people to follow you and make the most of your Instagram search, you need to improve your Instagram bio.
If you want to rank for a specific word, it’s a good idea to include that word in your name or username because people can search for it on Instagram.
For example, let’s say there’s a magazine called Paper Magazine. They have included the word “magazine” in both their name and username.
If you can’t include a keyword in your username, adding keywords to your name field can be just as valuable.
3: Include up to 30 Relevant Hashtags
Using hashtags that make sense and relate to your posts is a great way to get discovered by new people on Instagram.
If you have a public Instagram account and use a hashtag in a post, your post will show up when people search for that hashtag.
Hashtags help categorize and find new content, so using the right ones can help you reach the people you want, even if they haven’t seen your posts before.
4: Add Descriptive Alt Text to Your Instagram Posts
Instagram alt text is a feature that lets you write a detailed description of your photos.
Although it was created to make the platform more accessible, it can also help with SEO.
But remember, accessibility is the main goal, so avoid stuffing keywords just for the sake of it.
Currently, Instagram generates alt text for your photos automatically, but you can also add your own descriptions manually.
5: Stick to Your Niche
Another important and easy way to get noticed on Instagram is by consistently using good SEO practices.
When you follow the recommended tips, the Instagram algorithm will learn more about your account and what it’s all about.
Being consistent helps Instagram understand who you are and what you offer. This means your profile and posts will be shown to people who are interested in them.
For example, when someone searches for “sunglasses,” posts from Shevoke show up on the Explore page:
With a few small SEO changes, you can take advantage of Instagram searches and suggested posts.
Using the Instagram SEO tips mentioned above, you can attract followers who engage with your posts. They might leave comments, share your posts with friends, or click on the link in your bio.
Good luck with your Instagram SEO!