Is SEO for Instagram important? Someone, out there is actively searching for content related to your products and services – not just anywhere, but on Instagram – the app with over two billion active monthly users!
Instagram is a search engine, just like google, Pinterest, and TikTok. Millions of people post content in forms of images and videos daily. These users add captions and hashtags with different keywords.
Instagram is a place for discovery and inspiration, whether you are posting on your feed, reels, or stories, there are many things you can do to rank higher on Instagram search results.
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Things to Know About Instagram
- Instagram was launched on 6 October 2010.
- Instagram’s biggest markets are India and the US, each at 140 million users, followed by Brazil -99 million, Indonesia – 85 million, and Russia with 56 million users.
- Over 70% of Instagram users are under 35 years old.
- Instagram is owned by Facebook (now known as Meta).
- Instagram generated an estimated $24 billion revenue in 2020, which was 36.9% of Facebook’s total
Does SEO apply for Instagram
Yes, Instagram Search Engine Optimisation is the practice of optimising your Instagram account with selected keywords with the goal of increasing your reach and profile visits.
Instagram SEO Tips
Ranking Factors on Instagram
- Your Name: choose a handle or profile name that’s related to the content of your posts is your best bet for showing up in relevant searches. Create an easily searchable business name and Use the same social media handle on all platforms.
- Your Bio: Your bio is also a great place to add in primary and secondary keywords that you want to rank for.
- Add your location to your bio: This makes it easier for people in your area to find you. I also recommend that you listen to my podcast on Local SEO to learn more.
- Likes, Comments, Save to Collection: Also considered as “Link Building”, the accounts you follow, the accounts you tag in your posts, the posts you like, and the comments you post on have an impact.
- Hashtags are Keywords: Use relevant keywords and hashtags in captions. For a post to be found in Search, put keywords and hashtags in the caption, not the comments.
- Add your Instagram alt-text: Alt-text feature allows you to write captions for images. This feature was designed to help visually impaired users enjoy their Instagram experience, but it can also be used for SEO.
Black Hat SEO techniques for Instagram
Black Hat SEO refers to a set of practices that are used to increase a site or page’s rank in search engines through means that violate the search engine’s terms of service.
Just like implementing Black Hat SEO tactics and strategies can get your site banned from search engines, these techniques are also bad on Instagram.
- Don’t use bots or buy followers
- Don’t steal content
- Don’t keyword stuff
- Don’t follow too many accounts too fast
SEO is a key part of your content marketing strategy. Whether you are creating posts for social media, sending out press releases, or writing blogs for your website.