Get Noticed on Instagram: 5 Social Media SEO Tips to Boost Your Discoverability
Let’s face it - getting your social media content noticed by people in this day and age isn’t as easy as it once was. With that said, it’s not impossible, and one of the best ways to get noticed by people who are interested in the content you post is through social media SEO.
Keep reading to learn more about exactly what social media SEO is, why it is so important, and how you can use it to increase your discoverability on Instagram!
What Is Social Media SEO?
To understand what social media SEO is, you first need to have a grasp of SEO, or search engine optimization. Search engine optimization is a set of practices that improve the position of your website in organic search results. The term search engine optimization is over 20 years old, and it’s largely associated with the search engine Google.
Social media SEO works similarly to traditional SEO except that it is being done on - you guessed it - social media platforms! Even though social media platforms aren’t technically considered search engines, you can still look for content on them via search bars. Captions, hashtags, and alt-text are a few of the text based features that are being used to help people find your content on social media.
Why Is Social Media SEO Important?
Social media SEO can vastly improve the likelihood of people discovering your profile. With nearly 40% of Gen Z using TikTok and Instagram to search for things instead of Google, it’s more important than ever before to implement an effective SEO strategy on social!
For Instagram specifically, SEO can be used to help ensure your posts show up in search results on the Explore page as well as in suggested content feeds. Users can search for specific keywords and hashtags via the search bar on the Explore page, which is essentially a directory to all accounts on the app. Users can also discover new accounts through suggested posts. Instagram suggests this content based on posts from accounts similar to the ones you follow and posts that are like the ones you like or save.
5 Social Media SEO Tips to Improve Your Discoverability on Instagram
So how do you go about actually improving your discoverability on Instagram using SEO? Here are five ways to optimize your profile and posts!
1. Include Relevant Keywords In Your Captions
For a long time, you could only look up hashtags, usernames, and location tags on the Instagram Explore page, but that’s no longer the case. You can now use keywords to search for things too!
Why is this important? Well, you can make your content more discoverable by including relevant, descriptive keywords in your captions instead of solely relying on hashtags. These keywords will let Instagram know what your post is about and increase the likelihood of it appearing on the Explore page when users search for those keywords.
For example, if your post is about common social media mistakes to avoid, you should include that information in your caption so that Instagram knows the subject matter of your post and can show it accordingly.
2. Put Keywords In Your Instagram Profile Name
Another place you can optimize your Instagram SEO is in the “name” section of your profile. This bolded section that appears directly beneath your profile picture is a great place to add keywords you’d like to rank for.
Some keywords you may want to add to your Instagram profile name include your niche and, if you have the space for it, your location.
3. Add Up to 30 Hashtags
Even though hashtags may not hold quite the same importance as they once did, they are still vital to Instagram growth. You can drive more engagement and get more followers by including relevant, long tail hashtags in your posts.
In terms of the ongoing debate about whether you should put fewer or more hashtags in your posts, Later analyzed over 18 million Instagram feed posts and found that posts with 20-30 hashtags had the best reach and engagement rates. We think the proof is in the pudding on that one!
4. Put Descriptive Alt Text in Your Posts
Alt text is a short description that explains the content of a post through a screen reader. This accessibility feature is automatically generated by Instagram, but you have the option to write your own alt text that is more accurate and SEO-friendly!
To add alt text to your posts, you’ll need to:
Select ‘advanced settings’ when you’re on the new post screen.
Scroll down to the accessibility section of the advanced settings screen.
Tap on ‘write alt text’.
From there, write a description of your picture that includes relevant keywords.
5. Add Topics to Your Reels
We can’t conclude these tips without talking about Reels! In the latter half of 2022, Instagram added a new ‘add topics’ option to Reels. Users now have the option to pick up to three topics when they post their Reels, and Instagram specifically states that these topics will ‘help match your reel with viewers’.
It’s pretty evident that Instagram is prioritizing social media SEO and wants to refine its Reel recommendations. If you haven’t already started adding topics to your Reels, there’s no time like the present!
There you have it - five tips to increase your discoverability on Instagram! Now that you know the ins and outs of Instagram SEO, you’re well equipped to optimize your profile and all your posts going forward. Happy SEO-ing!
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