In the past, search engine optimization (SEO) was something only online publications like websites and weblogs cared about. Yet, search engine optimization for Instagram is essential nowadays.
If you want greater exposure, optimising your social media accounts is a wonderful place to start. Simply said, more people will see your content if you make an effort to draw their attention to it.
Furthermore, with Generation Z favouring Instagram and TikTok over Google, it’s high time you ensure your content is towards the top of the search results on the photo-sharing app.
How, exactly, does Instagram optimization work? In today’s post, we’ll explore this topic and others like it. We’ll explain what Instagram SEO is, why it’s useful, the factors Instagram considers when ranking content, and what you can do to improve your Instagram search engine rankings.
So what is Instagram’s version of SEO?
When you optimise your Instagram profile and its content, you may increase your reach and engagement on the network.
It’s very much like tailoring something for Google’s search engine. Working with Instagram’s algorithm is all it takes to increase your content’s visibility.
Use appropriate tags and hashtags to boost your Instagram presence. In this method, your Instagram profile or individual posts might rise to the top of search results when users type a keyword into Instagram’s search bar.
Whether you’re an influencer or a brand, it’s important to remember that Instagram is a crowded platform with lots of competition.
To what end is Instagram SEO Necessary?
When it comes to social media marketing, Instagram SEO is crucial for a number of reasons.
To begin, when someone searches Instagram for a certain term or hashtag, your profile will be more likely to appear towards the top of the search results if you have optimised it properly. Those with the goal of monetizing their Instagram accounts should take note of this as well.
Second, if your Instagram profile is properly designed, it will be included in Google’s search results whenever someone conducts a web search for your name.
How to Improve Your Instagram SEO and Get Found?
Now that we’ve covered the basics, we can get to the good stuff. Here are ten tried-and-true methods for optimising your Instagram profile for search engines:
Be sure your profile is as strong as possible
One of the first steps in becoming noticed on Instagram is picking out a name for your account that may be found in a variety of different ways.
Ensure that your username is:
- In a nutshell to spell
- Simple to recall
- To the point, and in the language of your audience
Your username should be the same as on your other social networking accounts. This will facilitate the discovery of your Instagram account by your other network followers.
Apart from that, you should have a striking profile image. Choose a bright motif that corresponds to your field. Your company’s logo might double as your profile image.
If you want to be found across all of your social media accounts, it’s important to have the same profile photo across all of them.
Before you start publishing, take sure to complete your profile. Last but not least, your bio should succinctly and clearly identify your work, specialty, and company.
Put your target term front and centre
If your username and profile name contain your primary keyword, your profile will appear higher in search results.
Remember that it’s not always feasible to utilise your primary term as part of your username. This is due to the fact that the username you want could already exist, or else it would be too long if you included your major keyword. Therefore, it is recommended that you avoid making your whole user name a term.
Include secondary keywords in your bio
You may improve your search engine rankings for terms related to your core keyword by including them in your bio.
But, avoid the urge to cram your bio full of irrelevant terms. Doing so will degrade the overall quality of your account and might make your bio difficult to read.
It’s possible that you have a general understanding of the terms people use to find accounts like yours. Instagram SEO tools might help you narrow down the specific phrases people use to find businesses like yours on Instagram if you’re still unsure.
After compiling a set of short- and long-tail keywords that people really use, you may utilise those phrases in your bio.
When marketing a new service or product, you may update your bio to incorporate the appropriate keyword.
Create a caption with hashtags
Instagram hashtags serve a similar purpose as Google search terms.
To increase the exposure of your content, always use relevant hashtags. Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per post, but suggests using no more than 3–5.
Wait a minute: which hashtags should you use? This is a valid concern. Put to use a variety of different but still pertinent hashtags in your updates. In this way, you may entice several subsets of users to join your account.
Type # and the initial letters of what’s relevant to your image to locate hashtags. You’ll see a selection of options from which to pick. Explore your Instagram stats and use Hashtagify to discover which hashtags are generating the most interest for your posts.
Put relevant terms in captions
There was once a time when hashtags were more important than keywords on Instagram. In those days, hashtags were the only way to get your search results to show up.
Now that Instagram scans your captions for relevant keywords, your photos will appear higher in search results.
That’s why it’s important to not only discover the most effective hashtags for your Instagram posts and highlights but also to research relevant keywords for use in the descriptions.