Did you know that you can use SEO to optimise your Instagram account? While it works a little differently than SEO for search engines, you’ll need the same skills to implement it. From hashtags to alt text, here’s how you can use SEO on Instagram so that you can get your business in front of more eyes.
Why do you need to optimise your profile for Instagram?
With over one billion active users, SEO plays a significant role in both reach and discovery on the platform. Optimising your Instagram profile for SEO can help create more opportunities for your business. Whilst there’s no exact formula to get your account at the top of search rankings on the platform, there are some things you can do to give yourself the best chance. When the platform ranks an account in the search feature, here’s what it takes into consideration:
Search text:
This is what people type in in the ‘explore’ tab. Based on the search terms, Instagram looks for relevant usernames, bios, captions, hashtags, and locations. As a business, you should have a good understanding of what search terms people use to look for content like yours. Platforms like google analytics will give you a good insight as to what keywords you should target.
User Activity:
This includes hashtags and accounts a user is interacting with. Even if two people type in the same keyword, the search feature will bring different results depending on what accounts and hashtags they’ve interacted with in the past. That’s why it’s so important to do your research and understand what your customers are engaging with as well.
Tactics to increase your reach with SEO on Instagram
1. Optimise your Instagram bio
From a business standpoint, the most important part of your profile is your bio and username. These are the first things people will see when they log into your account. They’re also likely to be the first things they type into their search bar if they want to find your content on Instagram. To really make an impact, include the most improtant keyword you want people to find you with, and also look at adding your location if you’re a local business.
2. Use the right hashtags
It’s important to have a clear and well-crafted hashtag strategy. Using relevant, targeted hashtags on posts and stories is still one of the best ways to get discovered by new audiences on Instagram. Keep in mind however that Instagram will use a range of different factors when ranking your post in hashtag search results, one of the main ones being engagement. So, the more engagement you get, the more likely your post is to show up in relevant hashtag searches. That’s why you should always keep your content strategy at the forefront.
3. Add Descriptive Alt Text to Your Instagram Posts
Instagram alt text is a feature that allows you to write custom alternative text for a richer description of your photos. It was originally added to increase accessability on the app, but you can use it for SEO purposes as well. This is because it helps search engines understand the content of the image and include it in relevant image search results.
As you can see, with only a few minor tweaks and improvements, you can easily take advantage of Instagram searches and suggested posts!
