What Is Instagram SEO?
Instagram SEO refers to the process of optimising your Instagram profile and content to enhance its discoverability within the platform’s search and discovery features. While Instagram is primarily a visual social media platform, effective SEO strategies can help users find your profile, posts, and stories more easily. Hence, the need for maximising Instagram SEO is essential!
7 SEO Tips for Instagram
Encompassing a range of Instagram account components, here are our foolproof SEO tips for Instagram that will ultimately help you increase your reach:
All in your (Username)
Altering your Instagram username is a good first step to undergo SEO optimisation. Keep the username concise, easily memorable, and consistent with your brand identity across all social platforms. Make sure your business name is clear in your handle without the use of special characters if they are not already a part of your business name.
From here, you may like to incorporate relevant keywords that describe your business, industry, or products and services within your handle. Particularly if your brand name is similar to other ones on Instagram. For example, if you are a gym you may like to add ‘fitness’ or ‘gym’ at the end of your handle if it is not already a part of your business name. This touches on a relevant keyword and can further help potential customers find your profile when searching for related terms.
Keyword Research
Keyword research is of course an important aspect of SEO, and this is no different for Instagram SEO. Create a keyword bank using tools such as Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush.
Optimise your Profile
One of the key aspects of profile optimisation is writing your bio using relevant keywords. Your bio is a concise description of your business, and including keywords that are related to your industry, products, or services can significantly enhance your profile’s SEO. Taking the gym example again, you might include keywords like “gym,” “fitness centre,” and ‘classes,’ the latter you can specialise to be more specific to what type of classes you offer.
Additionally, selecting the appropriate business category is essential. Instagram provides specific categories for businesses, which can further improve your visibility. This category helps Instagram understand your business better and can lead to your profile being recommended to users interested in similar businesses or content.
While hashtags might seem like a surefire way to gain traction on Instagram, they actually must be used more pragmatically in your content to truly increase your SEO efforts. Instagram has actually shared hashtag tips such as:
- Use only relevant hashtags.
- Use a combination of well-known, niche, and specific hashtags.
- Limit hashtags to around 3 to 5 per post.
- Don’t use irrelevant or overly generic hashtags like #explorepage or #foryoupage.
To get a sense of which hashtags are already driving traffic to your posts, take a look at your Instagram Insights. Instagram will not be able to tell you which hashtag was the most popular if there are multiple, but trial and error will allow you to see which ones fares well. But if you’re sticking to the recommended 3 to 5 hashtags, you should be able to determine which ones consistently drive traffic over time.
Similar to Instagram SEO keyword research, you can use the Instagram search bar for some hashtag research. Type a keyword into the search bar, then tap Tags to see the top hashtags for that keyword and use them accordingly.
Create Compelling Captions
Creating engaging captions through content writing for Instagram SEO involves more than punching in keywords; it’s about telling a story that resonates with your audience. Effective captions should spark curiosity or emotion, prompting users to spend more time with your post, which can positively impact its visibility on the platform. Asking questions or including calls-to-action within your captions can significantly increase user interaction, as it invites followers to engage in a dialogue. Well-crafted captions, rich in relevant keywords used tactfully can enhance discoverability in Instagram’s search algorithm.
Geo-Tagging
Geo-tagging on Instagram involves adding a specific location to your posts, making them discoverable to users interested in content from that area. This is a great way of capitalising on local SEO strategy as geo-tagging on Instagram can significantly enhance the visibility of your posts to users interested in specific locations.
When you add a location tag to your posts, they become discoverable in location-specific searches, thereby increasing the chances of your content being seen by a local audience or people interested in that area. This feature is particularly beneficial for businesses or influencers looking to target audiences in specific cities and neighbourhoods.
User Engagement
User engagement is a key factor in Instagram SEO efforts. Responding to comments and actively engaging with your followers not only fosters a strong sense of community but also significantly increases your content’s visibility. When you interact with your audience, it encourages more users to participate in the conversation, leading to higher engagement rates. This increased activity signals to Instagram’s algorithm that your content is relevant and engaging, which can boost its ranking in followers’ feeds and on the Explore page.
Moreover, regularly engaging with your followers helps to build lasting relationships, turning casual viewers into loyal fans who are more likely to share and promote your content. This user-driven promotion is invaluable, as it naturally expands your reach and strengthens your presence on the platform, further augmenting your Instagram SEO efforts.
Increase your Reach Online Today
Here they are! These SEO tips engage a range of Instagram account components, so you can utilise SEO efforts in a range of ways. Our top 7 SEO tips for Instagram will allow your business to reach a vast pool of potential clients on the platform.
