5 Instagram SEO Tips to Increase Your Reach
What is Instagram SEO?
Instagram SEO is the process of optimizing your digital content in order to rank your profile higher in the Instagram search results. And though it may not have the same appeal as live streams or carousel ads, it’s as worthy of your time as anything else. By following Instagram SEO best practices, you improve your chances of being discovered by users who are searching keywords related to your marketing business. That means more views, more likes, and more followers!
Why is Instagram SEO important?
Instagram SEO is important because it enables you to connect with people who are actively searching for content related to your marketing business—not just anywhere, but on one of the most popular social media platforms in the world.
Think of it this way: Each time a user types in a keyword that’s related to your business, you have an opportunity to make a positive impression and drive high-quality traffic to your profile (and your website). Instagram SEO is the key to capitalizing on these opportunities — the key to engaging prospective customers who are more likely than others to convert.
Instagram SEO Tips you should definitely know
Use the Right Hashtags
It’s easy to see hashtags as a punchline about modern media usage. But they can be an extremely useful tool, especially when it comes to wider conversations around your product or service. But nobody likes to see a huge block of text that’s just fifteen hashtags in a row. Strike the balance by tagging what you need and not going overboard. A good rule of thumb is to only use between three and five hashtags per post.
Follow Instagram Guidelines
It may seem like a no-brainer, but Instagram likes to promote accounts that play by their rules. Avoid hate speech, obscenity, conspiracy theories, violent images, and you should be golden. I know what you’re thinking; you’re a small business, not some big vendor or political commentator. You won’t be posting anything that goes against Instagram’s rules. But you can never be too careful. Because Instagram uses software to detect violations a lot of the time they can flag posts that don’t exactly violate their terms of service. So in that case, it’s good to play on the safe side!
Research your Keywords
On that note, make sure you’re doing your homework on what keywords work best for your business. Keyword search is one of the main ways users find what they’re looking for on Instagram. It’s good to know what your consumers are looking for when they search on social media, and tailor your content to suit their search terms. Take some time to look up your most common industry keywords to see what pops up first and what yields the closest results to your competitors.
Utilize Geo Locations
Similar to hashtags, geotags are another factor that Instagram’s algorithm takes into account when determining what content to push out to users’ Explore pages. If someone engages with a lot of content tagged with Buffalo, New York geotags, for example, that user is much more likely to discover your content organically through their Explore page if you also tag your digital content with a Buffalo, New York geotag— even if that user doesn’t follow you.
Encourage Tagging
Another way to boost discoverability on Instagram is by getting tagged. When people tag your account in their posts or Instagram Stories, others will be able to click through to your profile. So, there’s a good chance you can attract an even bigger audience the more you get tagged.