Are your Instagram posts not performing lately, or you’re even losing followers? If you want to “make it big” on this social media platform, you need to become visible. Instagram has been putting a lot of effort into SEO, pushing the content to people that will most likely want to see it. Therefore it’s likely that the right people who would love your content, just haven’t discovered it yet! The good part is that you actually have a lot of influence on this.
So, how exactly can you make Instagram SEO work for you? Read the post and in less than 10 minutes you’ll find out what Instagram SEO is, how it works and how it can help you grow.
What is Instagram SEO?
Instagram SEO (Search engine optimization) is the process of optimizing your Instagram profile and content in order to improve your visibility and ranking in the search results of the Instagram app.
With the help of Instagram SEO your profile appears as the top result of search results when people search for keywords or hashtags related to your business and content.
Just like in Google or YouTube, you can type in a specific keyword in Instagram explore bar to find posts, accounts and hashtags related to it.
How is content ranked based on Instagram SEO?
Information like posts, hashtags and tags like places from different accounts on Instagram are called “signals”. These influence your search results.
Your search results are based on the type of content you are interacting with the most. Search is therefore very personalized, and two people searching the same term are unlikely to get the same results.
What matters for algorithms?
- The algorithms behind Instagram match what you type in the search bar with relevant usernames, places, bios, captions and hashtags.
- Your previous activity determines the type of content you’ll see, meaning that people you follow and interacted with in the past will rank higher.
- The number of clicks, shares, likes and follows of the account serve as a “popularity score” for the most popular search terms.
How can Instagram SEO work for you?
There are some SEO tactics that can help your content appear near the top of the list.
1. OPTIMIZE YOUR KEYWORDS AND LOCATION
The description in your bio is one of the most important factors for Instagram SEO. Adding the location and some specific keywords will help you rank higher and show up in search for people in this location.
2. USE A KEYWORD IN YOUR NAME
Instagram SEO is very heavy on the right words. Use a specific keyword in your account name and you’ll get discovered faster.
3. INCLUDE KEYWORDS IN HASHTAGS AND CAPTIONS
Last but not least, use specific and business-related keywords in every post. Moreover use them in hashtags, to make sure your posts will appear on the explore page.
Remember that you need to provide context for both humans and bots that return search results. So make sure your bio and name provide all the necessary information. This includes who you are, what your business is about and what kind of content you’re providing.
Don’t forget about Instagram Alt text
Just like the alt text on the web, Instagram uses text description of a photo or video to make it accessible to people with visual impairments. Yet this isn’t its only purpose. In fact, Instagram is using alt text to better understand what is in your content.
Why is Instagram SEO so important?
Firstly, if you want people to know about your brand, they should be able to discover your content. Secondly, discoverability is a prerequisite for achieving greater engagement on your post. Thirdly, and most importantly, the more popular the content, the more likely to rank higher in search results.
This is why it’s also very important that you engage with other accounts that rank for your target keywords. By doing so, you’ll help Instagram to better understand what niche your account fits in.
Last but not least, posting consistently about a related topic will help you build an authority within that specific niche. Consequently you’ll gain a significant audience that’s interested in your content and want to engage with it. This is an important signal for the Instagram SEO algorithm.
By the Hootsuite research, SEO optimized posts achieved 30 % greater reach and twice as many likes. (source: https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-seo/)
To conclude
There are several tactics that can help you boost your Instagram SEO. Use them to get your account and content in front of the right audience. We’re sure you’ll quickly gain visibility and be able to grow your account and business.
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