By Judit Hernán, on 27 August 2024
SEO on Instagram is a technique that involves optimizing your content and profile to appear as high as possible in search results.
Just like search engines such as Google, Instagram also has a search section where users can enter keywords to get related results. To access this section, simply click on the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the app.
If you want to improve your results on this social network, working on SEO on Instagram is a must. In this article, we'll explain why and how to do it.
Why Should You Use SEO on Instagram?
Did you know that there are over 2 billion active users per month on Instagram? This shows that Google is not the only place where users make inquiries, and therefore, it is not the only place where you can position your content.
Source: about.instagram.com
If Instagram is an important channel in your strategy and you want to increase your visibility and attract more potential customers organically, working on SEO on Instagram should be part of your plans.
10 Techniques to Start Working on Your Company’s SEO on Instagram
By now, it's clear that working on SEO on Instagram is very important if this platform is a significant channel for your brand. Here are 10 ways to optimize your content to appear well-positioned in relevant searches.
1. Have an Instagram Business Account
Having an Instagram Business account won't directly help you boost your SEO results on Instagram. However, we recommend it because this type of account gives you access to deeper analytics on your content's performance, allowing you to see if your SEO strategy on Instagram is paying off. One of the first things we recommend if you want to enhance the SEO of your Instagram content is to have this type of account.
2. Bio and Name with Keywords
On Instagram, you can search for posts as well as accounts. Therefore, if you want to appear at the top of this section, it’s important to optimize your profile text for SEO.
We recommend including industry keywords in both your name and bio.
Remember, there are two types of names on Instagram: your profile name that starts with an "@" and the name that appears in your bio. It’s beneficial for both to contain the keyword you most want to rank for. However, we understand that this is often not possible with the @name.
Therefore, focus on the name that appears in your bio. A good practice would be to structure your name like this: (personal name or brand name + industry/product/service).
3. Add Links in Your Bio
Adding a link to your bio is also highly regarded by Instagram's SEO algorithms. Therefore, it's advisable to include one. It can be to your website, ecommerce, or blog. Many profiles use tools like Linktr.ee to add multiple links to their bio so they don’t have to choose just one.
4. Work on the Alt Text
Alt text is designed to help visually impaired users use the platform and understand the content. Only those with a screen reader will access this text, but it’s also a resource to boost SEO on Instagram if you include keywords. To add it, go to the "Advanced Settings" section when editing a post.
5. Treat Hashtags as Keywords
Hashtags on Instagram are like keywords on Google. However, they function a bit differently. In this case, you don’t need to include the hashtag multiple times in the text; instead, choose several and place them at the end of each post’s description.
Choosing the right hashtags will help your post rank in Instagram’s search and increase your visibility. You should and can include hashtags in any type of post you upload, whether images, carousels, videos, or Reels, as all can appear in search results.
6. Avoid Black Hat SEO Techniques
Black Hat SEO techniques are unethical and illegitimate practices aimed at manipulating search engine algorithms to achieve a better ranking in the short term.
However, in the long term, algorithms penalize these practices, severely affecting SEO. Instagram is no exception, and practices like paying for bots, buying followers, following too many accounts in a short time, or passing off others' content as your own can have serious SEO consequences on Instagram.
7. Use Instagram Search as a Search Engine
The best way to find hashtags in your niche? Search for them on Instagram. By pretending to be your target audience, you can perform searches and see the volume of posts for each hashtag, get ideas, and get inspired by the top profiles in the accounts section.
8. Work on Geolocation
In Instagram's search, users can also search by location. By entering a specific place name in the “Places” section, they can see content tagged in that location. Therefore, it’s helpful to include the location in your posts and stories (which can also appear in search results).
9. Use the Reels Format
Reels are the most consumed format on Instagram, hence they have their own section in the platform’s search. This means Instagram gives this format a lot of visibility, and it’s beneficial for you to do the same.
In summary, if you give more prominence to Reels in your strategy and include the right hashtags in their description, your SEO results on Instagram will improve.
10. Measure Your Strategy
Finally, an SEO strategy cannot be improved and optimized if the results are not tracked, both for your individual posts and your account overall. In the next section, we’ll tell you how to do this monitoring work.
Tools to Work on SEO on Instagram
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a social media management tool that allows you to post and schedule content, analyze the performance of your posts and profile, interact with your audience, and assign tasks to different team members.
Additionally, it offers free tools like their Instagram SEO tool, which helps you generate optimized captions.
Instagram Insights
Instagram’s own Insights section offers a wealth of data on your performance, both overall and for each post. It’s very useful and quite comprehensive, so we highly recommend using it.
You can access this section by clicking the “View Insights” button below each post or by clicking the hamburger menu in the top right corner of your profile.
Hashtags for Likes
This tool helps you refine your hashtag search process and provides more data about your Instagram profile.
