Ever wondered what is SEO on Instagram?
If you’re not a blogger or make websites, chances are that the word SEO is alien to you, let me break it down, hold on a second.
SEO stands for search engine optimization. When you apply SEO strategy to your content, you are essentially making your content more visible.
More visible how? You use the keywords that your target audience would be searching for. You use the language that they can relate to.
So basically, quality-SEO content makes sure that your efforts behind creating the content aren’t going to waste.
Search engines will be able to understand what your content is about better and as a result, it will show your content at the right time and the right place.
By learning about SEO your Instagram profile will become more search-friendly > get more eyes on you > build a greater following.
I’m already elated by the fact that you read the article up to this point. This means that you’re serious about building your profile on Instagram and are already ahead in the game.
Because most people just post content, put together a few hashtags, and expect wonders to happen. Social media is more than that.
You need to be good at multiple things to become even moderately successful and here in this post, we’ll tackle – the importance of SEO on Instagram.
Table Of Contents
Does SEO matter for Instagram?
Instagram’s algorithm goes through all of the content shared on the app and decides which post is about what and who might like to see it.
There are over 1 billion users on Instagram, so it can be tough to get your Instagram profile to stand out. For this reason, SEO matters on Instagram and is important to think about.
All this happens automatically.
Although you’ve no direct control over the process, there are some things you can do to ensure that your content is optimized and reaches people who might be interested in it.
Instagram’s explore page is curated in such a way that it shows you the posts on the basis of a variety of factors like- posts you engage with the most, posts that you scroll through the most, posts that you’re more likely to share, or save.
The explore page also pushes new posts that are similar to the ones shared by the people you follow.
As you might have already seen, using the search tab on the explore page, you discover accounts, hashtags, locations, and audios.
With a strong Instagram SEO strategy, you can ensure your posts are surfaced in relevant search results on the Explore page and in suggested content feeds.
Also Read: Decoding The Photo Dump Trend On Instagram Reels In 3 Steps
Factos that affect SEO on Instagram
Now that you know what is SEO and what importance it plays on Instagram, let’s move on to the next part.
How to apply SEO on Instagram, how it works, what things it depends on, and how you can use it to your advantage!
1. Search queries
Instagram’s algorithm takes into account your search history and common behavior on the app when you search for something using the search tab on the explore page.
Things like accounts, locations, and audios are shown to you based on the kind of content you’ve previously engaged with.
In simple words, Instagram is your best friend who knows what you liked yesterday and what you might like seeing today by learning from it.
2. Metrics such as likes & shares
Because there is so much content on Instagram, when results are shown for a search query, metrics are also taken into consideration.
What percentage of people are engaging with that particular post, how many comments it has, saves, etc.
3. User behaviour
If Instagram’s algorithm thinks that you are more likely to engage with post A rather than post B irrespective of the number of likes each of them as it will show you post A.
Also Read: Earn From Instagram Reels In India: BOI Creator Course
5 Ways to use to SEO on Instagram and improve your discoverability
1. Write SEO-optimized captions
Earlier, you could only search in the explore page via usernames, hashtags, and location tags.
After a recent update on Instagram, you can search using keywords too!
This means that if you want to see posts from, say, for example, croissants, you can simply type in croissants and hit the search button.
Instagram’s algorithm will find the posts relevant to croissants & show you the posts.
Use this latest update to your advantage by writing descriptive captions which have the keywords related to your content and the keywords that you want to show up for on explore page.
2. Add some keywords in your Instagram username
You can apply SEO on Instagram by optimizing your Instagram profile itself, in addition to your individual posts.
Choose your top keyword. For example, if you are a product photographer, your top keyword can be product photographer or product photography.
Here’s an example of how I’ve done this on my Instagram profile:
3. Choose the right hashtags on Instagram
Use only the hashtags that are relevant to your post and profile as a whole. Just because a hashtag is trending or popular doesn’t mean that using it will be good for your organic reach.
Hashtags are like keywords. They should clearly describe what your post is about and not be a clickbait keyword.
By using the right keywords, you will make it easier for Instagram’s algorithm to understand the context of your Instagram posts.
Keep in mind that if you have a private account, then hashtags don’t work the same way for you.
New people, who don’t follow you can’t discover your posts using those hashtags because your profile isn’t public.
4. Use the alt text feature
Instagram’s alt text feature lets you write an alternative text for each photo that you post. The main goal of this feature is to make the platform more accessible.
Alternative text doubles up for SEO purposes too.
If you don’t add alt text for your post, Instagram auto-generates one for people using a screen reader on their phone.
Naturally, if you write your own alt text, it would be richer in meaning and will constitute the keywords.
Here’s how you can add alt text on Instagram-
Also Read: How To Build A Strong Personal Branding On Social Media in 5 Steps
5. Be consistent
Be consistent in the ways you apply SEO on Instagram and stick to your niche.
As your start following the rest of the best SEO practices for Instagram I shared above, Instagram’s algorithm will correctly recognize your niche and therefore, your reach will increase.
By being consistent, you’re telling Instagram that you’re an expert in your niche.
