Instagram started as that platform where you can snap and share your dopest photos for likes and get comments from your close circle of friends. Fast forward a decade and a half, and it has become much more. A marketplace, a community hub and quite efficiently, a search and discovery engine. Over 2 billion people use Instagram every month, and an eye-opening 36% of users now treat it like a search tool (akin to Google) when looking for content. This shift makes Instagram SEO essential. A Hootsuite experiment showed that posts built with SEO techniques earn roughly 30% more engagement.
As a media firm at the forefront of trends, we know these numbers are of utmost importance because search engine optimization on Instagram can significantly expand your reach and engagement on the platform and beyond.
3 Surefire Ways to Grow Your Account with Instagram SEO
While there are various ways to leverage Instagram SEO and get seen by more people on the platform and Google search engine, here are the major ones to focus on:
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Optimise Your Profile for Search
Your Instagram profile is like a business card in a search engine. Instagram indexes your username, display name, and bio, so include relevant keywords in them.
For example, if you want to rank for a certain topic, put that keyword into your profile name or username. (As a clear example, Paper Magazine put “magazine” in its name and handle so it appears in magazine-related searches).
Instagram Search
Also switch to a Business or Creator account to unlock features like contact buttons and location tags. Tagging a location in your profile/posts signals Instagram the geographic context of your content, helping local audiences discover you. By optimising these profile fields, you make yourself visible the moment someone searches related keywords.
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Create SEO-Friendly Content
Once your profile is sorted, infuse keywords and phrases that relate to your post/topic or niche via your caption. To quickly understand what your audience is looking for, start with keyword research–type a keyword or phrase into Instagram’s search bar and see the suggested topics and tags. Then use those target keywords naturally in your captions. Write clear, descriptive captions that answer your followers’ questions (remember Instagram only indexes captions, not comments).
Another important SEO feature people ignore is the Alt text, which you will find in your advanced features at the point of every post. At the alt text field, write a brief description of each image when you post. This not only improves accessibility and visibility, it also gives the algorithm extra keyword context.
Hashtags still remain a powerful discovery tool. Add several relevant hashtags in each caption to tap into those hashtag feeds, but keep it simple. Experts recommend about 3–5 focused tags per post. Choose tags your audience follows and mix broad and niche/industry ones (for example, #travel and #businesstravel). Using relevant hashtags on posts is a great way to get discovered by new audiences.
In practice, each caption should flow naturally but include the key phrases and hashtags your target followers search for. Together, well-researched keywords and hashtags will help your content surface in search results and tag pages, beyond Instagram.
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Build Engagement and Consistency
Regardless of the social media platforms you run your business, staying consistent is important. Instagram’s algorithm favours content that people enjoy and that is timely. In other words, engagement and relevance matter.
In practice, posts with higher engagement tend to show up more on. Therefore, encourage your followers to engage by ending captions with questions or calls-to-action, and always respond to comments. Each like, comment, or share signals to Instagram algorithm that “people enjoy a particular content,” making the platform more likely to recommend it.
Equally important is defining your niche and flexibly sticking to it. First, determine your content pillars (e.g. fashion, wellness, cooking recipes), then create and post content around them consistently. Over time, this trains the algorithm to understand what your account is about.
For example, a fashion influencer/creator might focus on outfit ideas and styling tips. By consistently sharing these topics, Instagram will match the profile with users interested in fashion. This focused approach means when someone searches for related keywords, your profile is more likely to pop up.
Finally, optimise your videos and Reels. Always add subtitles or captions to video content to increase accessibility and visibility.
In a Nutshell
Instagram SEO is no longer optional – it is a core strategy to your digital marketing campaign. As a brand if you want to achieve organic visibility, don’t sleep on Instagram SEO practices, such as keyword-rich profiles and captions, relevant hashtags, and engaging, niche content, especially if you don’t have enough budget to run paid ads.
But we understand that it might be overwhelming catching up with these never-ending social media trends. Fortunately, we are well-equipped to execute these strategies seamlessly and get your business its desired results with proven social media management services. Reach out to DottsMediaHouse to learn more.
