What is SEO on Instagram and Ways to Boost Your Instagram Visibility

The title of this post speaks for itself, don’t you think? And yes, #inhouser, you should be applying SEO on Instagram from now on!

With the rise of Tiktok and its use as a search engine, many social networks tend to position content like Google or Bing would. This way, your content will have more visibility and be easier. Let’s go there!

What is SEO on Instagram?

Let’s not start the house with the roof… To start applying SEO techniques to your profile, you must understand what it is and why it is necessary.

SEO on Instagram is a way to position your content to appear in as many locations as possible, from the Explore section of Instagram to the content feed as a recommended account. This tactic is essential to increase your account discovery.

The more people discover your content, the better your chance of growing your following, establishing a strong community, and making them want to buy your products or services. Who would buy from a brand they don’t know?

How does it work?

The Instagram algorithm reviews, processes, and examines every content you post. The goal is to determine what it’s about and, based on that, establish who may find it relevant based on their activity and interactions on the app.

This is an automatic process, but we can always help Instagram streamline that process by guiding you in which direction to take.  

Why do I recommend applying SEO to your Instagram content?

23.8 million users are on Instagram. Of these almost 24 million, I am more than sure that part or most of your audience is among them.  

The Search and Explore sections of your Instagram are the perfect directory for

So that your account can be found and discovered without being searched.

Through the Search section (Lupita), you can search by:

• Keywords, for example, “digital marketing,” “hairstyles,” or “dog meme.”
• Accounts-related to the term you are looking for
• Sounds to use in reels
• Hashtags
• Locations

The probability that you will appear among the results of these searches and in the Explore section, as in Google, will depend on how well-worked your SEO strategy is.

And I go further: you can even appear in the feeds of people who do not follow you but show interest in similar content. You will be able to recognize it because they are accounts that do not follow and have the headline “Because you follow @… [Follow]”

Therefore, by following a solid and constant content strategy, along with SEO tactics on Instagram, you will increase the chances that your posts will be among the first search results, explore section and suggested accounts.

The 6 SEO actions for Instagram that you should be applying now

Let’s take an in-depth look at five ways to boost your discovery:

Action #1: Descriptions with keywords

It seems obvious, but many times we forget the essentials. This action is especially relevant now that we can search by keyword (before, we could only search by hashtag).

Therefore, you must carefully choose the keyword you want the publication to be positioned.

Action #2. Add the keyword to your profile

The keyword can also be used in your account name, username and bio. With an optimized profile with the most important word of your business, you will spectacularly boost your account, especially when searching for accounts.

Action #3. Use relevant hashtags

Even though hashtags have less and less relevance, they are still a positioning aid tool.

Using the right hashtag can position you in front of your target audience without them knowing you beforehand.

Use hashtags related to :

• Your brand: #marketinghouse
• The industry or sector to which you belong: #marketingdigital, #marketingonline
• The content that the post is about #seoparainstagram #instagramseo
• The benefit it reports: #increasefollowers
• The niche of your business (if any): #agenciademarketing #agenciademarketingidigital, #agenciademarketingdigitalmadrid… The more specific you are, the less likely you are that other accounts will use that hashtag and the more likely you will be the first or only one to appear.

Action #4. Use the Alt Text

Surely one of the least used and perhaps least known actions. The Alt text allows you to add descriptive text to your images and is the perfect excuse to sneak in your keywords.

Action #5. Give your niche and your audience what they want

Sometimes the simplest is the most effective. Don’t waste time looking for mega-different content to stand out. Keep in mind your objectives in your products and services and focus on them to create content that educates and entertains your audience.

Of course, use the top formats of each moment.

Action #6. The power of reels

We have already seen that for Instagram to know what you are talking about: we have indicated both in our profile, in the copy, and in the alt text what the content is about. And now we also have the opportunity to help you “read” the video.

As? Relying on the editor to add keywords as text in your reel from the Instagram interface itself.

Not only are you reinforcing the video by giving it visual support, but you’ll also be letting Instagram know what it is talking about.

Extra trick: Activate the subtitles of the video for extra positioning!

To conclude, what you have to keep is that once you have established your sustainable content strategy over time, you can boost the visibility of your account and its discovery through 6 SEO actions on Instagram: use descriptions, profile, alt text and hashtags with keywords, create relevant content for your audience and help them read the reels.