First of all, let’s start with what the heck S. E. O. stands for.
Search
Engine
Optimization
Search Engine Optimization is the process used to optimize content relevance and link popularity so your website pages, blogs, social media content, etc… can become easily findable.
Instagram SEO is very similar! It’s the process of optimizing your Instagram page with relatable and searchable content so that it ranks higher in the Instagram search results.
Did you know that there are TWO different types of SEO?
- On-page SEO
- Off-page SEO
On-page SEO refers to the optimization that you can do yourself such as utilizing keywords or phrases strategically placed in your bio or the captions of your photos.
Off-page SEO refers to the things you can do outside of your profile such as linking outside websites, tagging other brands so they can share your content with their followers and commenting on similar brand posts.
How Do You Search Engine Optimize Your Instagram?
This may sound obvious, but try using relevant and popular keywords and phrases in your industry.
Think about trending words and phrases your audience uses to find brands like yours and use them in your post content. For example, if you are a skincare professional, some trending keywords and phrases you might try to use would be;
- My Favourite “Clean beauty products”
- “Smokey Eye,” “Makeup tutorial”
- “Acne scars cover up makeup tutorial”
- My Top 5 “Mineral makeup” products
To get a bit deeper, by optimizing your Instagram profile and the written content properly, you will rank higher and be more visible to your target audience in the Instagram search engine.
Best Instagram SEO Practices:
Don’t underestimate the power of hashtags! Hashtags are literally CLICKABLE keywords and phrases that Instagram uses to decide who will want to see your content. Instagram allows anyone to search key terms, keywords, keyphrases and hashtags which can broaden your opportunity as a consumer or business owner, making it easier to explore topics of interest for yourself or your customers.
Optimize for search by interests or services. What is your targeted audience’s interest? What are they searching for? What does your product or service offer them and how can it help them? Your title and bio are one of the best ways to optimize your profile, it’s the first thing people will see when your account shows up or when they go to visit your profile. Make sure your title and bio have relevant keywords that describe precisely what you offer.
Example #1: When we take a look at our client’s account (below), you can see just how we have included SEO in her page.
- Her Instagram handle: it clearly states her industry, what she offers/sells
- Her title: This is what shows up when people search for her directly, or when people search for real estate agents in Squamish or the Squamish area.
- Her bio: You can see in her bio that it again mentions that she is in real estate in the Squamish area, but it also lists the real estate agency that she’s partnered with so when people search Engel & Volkers, her account could appear as well.
Example #2: The power of optimizing your search results! As seen below, when you include your industry keywords in your title, it helps generate results when people search for that specific product or service. Most of the time when people create their Instagram page, they don’t include specific keywords in their Instagram handle (ie. @swtchhouse), so utilizing your title to help increase your search results will help bring you to the top of the page when people search for what you offer.
Lastly, be Consistent! Yes, posting regularly has its value, but maintaining a consistent theme in your posts and using consistent keywords or key phrases or hashtags will offer you the most long-term benefits.
Keep in mind you should never copy and paste hashtags and use the same ones for every post, this could actually negatively impact your account from appearing, instead, use hashtags that are relevant to your post, service and/or product while also keeping it unique for each individual post.
What are the two main benefits of optimizing your Instagram?
Well, to state the obvious, it can help you reach a much larger audience, which in return, can help increase your visibility and your followers (although, most people call that a vanity metric, which we will talk about another time!).
- Increase your reach: When your ranking is higher in search engine results, you’ll be increasing your audience reach because more people will be seeing your content when they search for specific keywords and phrases that you will be using.
- Increase your followers: As we mentioned above, most people consider this a vanity metric and just because an account has 100,000 followers doesn’t mean their daily sales are through the roof. With that being said, when you are getting your content in front of the right people, you’re bound to increase your followers which over time could potentially help increase your sales.
Can you use SEO Tools to help?
YES! Doing this alone can take much work and many trials and errors. Although it’s not impossible, it would certainly be exhausting!
Using SEO-specific tools will take the work out of identifying your magical keywords while also tracking your impressions, reach and engagement and comparing them to your competitors!
Here are three SEO Tools you can try:
So, Why make sure your Instagram page is being optimized? Because search engines such as Google will search all websites AND social media platforms, meaning when people are searching for something specific that you may offer, Google could crawl YOUR profile and show potential customers your account!