Improving your Instagram SEO can get your brand just where you want to be and help you reach your social media goals. You can increase your brand awareness and visibility, make your Instagram account more discoverable, and reach new users on the Gram.
With a user count of over 1 billion, you definitely want to optimize your Instagram account, and working on your SEO is the best way to do this.
This is a guide on Instagram SEO- what it is, how to optimize your profile for SEO, and some other handy tips for your brand or business account. Ready? Let’s go!
What Is Instagram SEO?
Instagram SEO is exactly what it sounds like. If you know about Search Engine Optimization for search engines like Google and Yahoo, then you can understand the concept for Instagram, too. You can use similar SEO methods for Instagram as you would when optimizing your digital platforms for search engines.
If you think about it, Instagram has its own search systems much as Google does. You can search for accounts on the Explore page, and in the different search bars all over the platform. All these in-app search capabilities mean that users can search for specific results and account types. Like Google, the suggestions that will show up are those that have good visibility and discoverability.
5 Ways To Make Your Profile Instagram SEO-Friendly
Your Instagram profile is like your website homepage. So, when it comes to getting your account noticed, you have to make sure your profile is the way you want it to be.
Prime your profile to attract users, encourage engagement, and turn visitors into die-hard fans. This is how you can optimize your profile for Instagram SEO so you can get your account noticed by the right people.
1. Switch To A Business Account
To get the most out of your Instagram account for your brand or business, you definitely want to have a business account. A business account offers you additional features that can help you see the effectiveness of your Instagram SEO strategy. These features include things like Instagram Ads, Shopping, and Insights.
The Instagram Explore page has a specific category for Shopping, where users can find new businesses and products. With Ads, you can promote your business directly to your users’ feeds.
Insights gives you the right data and metrics to help monitor the progress of your Instagram SEO plan. With a business account, you also become a little bit more discoverable on Instagram’s marketplace-like platform.
2. Find Relevant Keywords
Before, users could only make searches on the gram using hashtags. Now, the social media giant allows you to make searches using keywords. This makes it easier for users to find exactly what they’re looking for.
What does this mean for your business? Well, it simply means that you should find out what keywords your target customers are searching for and incorporate them into your content – on your profile and other Instagram spaces like your captions.
That way, even when Instagram makes recommendations to users of content, your content will show up as you’ve proven its relevance to that topic.
P.S. You should also use a hashtag or two on your profile!
3. Make Your Name and Username Searchable and Catchy
If there’s a keyword that you really want to show up for in searches, then it’s a good idea for you to include it in your username or Instagram account name – or both. Both your username and name can be searched for on Instagram.
So, for example, if you sell skincare products then you might want to use a keyword like ‘skin’ in your name. But don’t go and create a super long and hard-to-remember name like @mississippiskincare4u. Nobody will remember that!
Create a catchy, short name/username that will make it easy for users to remember and that will come up easily in searches.
4. Get Your Instagram Bio Right
Your Instagram bio is an important part of your Instagram SEO for your profile. As with your name and username, you must use keywords and common search phrases in your bio. This is also where you can add a hashtag or two so that if users search this hashtag, your business comes up.
Instagram also uses bios to get a sense of what accounts are all about and, of course, include them in user recommendations.
5. Include A Vibrant and Attractive Picture
It may seem a bit out there but the picture on your profile matters. It doesn’t necessarily make you more or less discoverable, but a good and vibrant profile picture might encourage users to pick your account to check out during a search.
Other Tips To Boost Your Instagram SEO
It’s not just your Instagram profile that holds power over your visibility, discoverability, and reach. There are other elements of your Instagram use that you can use to boost your Instagram SEO.
Use The Right Captions
Think very carefully about your captions. Use keywords and phrases relating to your products and services. Instagram creates and shares suggestions using ‘word embedding’. It picks up keywords in your content to get a sense of what your account is about.
#Everything
Again, wherever you can, include a relevant hashtag! Just make sure that the hashtags you use are relevant to your business, brand, and content.
Connect By Tagging and Getting Tagged
Finally, social media is all about engagement so get involved with other accounts. Tag other users, and share posts where you’ve been tagged. The more engaged and active you are, and the more your content gets shared, the more effective your Instagram SEO becomes.
Start Optimizing!
Search Engine Optimization is all about making it easier for users of a digital platform to find your brand or business content. Whether this is on Instagram or Google, the basic idea and approach are the same. Include your target audience’s interests in as much of your content as possible. Basically, talk about what they like and want to talk about.
Use SEO techniques to help you organize and optimize your content strategy. And if you’re already using SEO to get your business high up on those Google results, then IG should be oh-so-easy!
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