Even before you think about marketing your business on Instagram, you must focus on increasing your following list first. After all, the more people you manage to reach, the better are your chances of driving the sales. This means Instagram optimization is inevitable.
However, Instagram SEO isn’t as similar as the regular Google SEO that we are aware of. So, the whole process of getting used to Instagram SEO will definitely take some time. And to help you in the process, we have assembled this blog some best ways on how to optimize Instagram.
So, let’s see what they are.
1- Optimize the profile for search
Instagram search works very similar to Google search. It delivers details of the most relevant profiles based on your search term. In fact, the search result depends on various factors like accounts you follow and are connected to.
Similarly, even the posts you like and keywords influence the search relevance.
So, it is best to optimize your Instagram profile with keywords so you can show up on the searches easily.
For instance, you can incorporate primary keywords in your username or even add the keywords in your bio.
2- Write a keyword-optimized caption
One can easily search for content on Instagram by using location tags and hashtags. Besides, Instagram also offers content recommendations personalized for every user based on their interactions and likings.
For instance, if you regularly “like” travel posts, then your explore page will display content that aligns with the content you have previously shown interest in. And this is where the post caption comes in.
The explore page on Instagram uses an account embedding framework that helps in identifying accounts similar to each other. This framework interprets what the words represent as per the context. This is how writing descriptive captions with relevant keywords increase the chances of your post being featured on the explore page of relevant users.
3- Use hashtags for keywords
On Instagram, the role of the hashtag is similar to that of keywords. They help the users discover relevant content. When you search for a certain hashtag, you will come across all the posts that are tagged with similar hashtags.
This means, by tagging your post with a certain hashtag, you increase the chances of that post being showed up when someone uses the particular hashtag.
This is why tagging all your posts with relevant keywords is important to attract the right audience to your profile.
4- Use alt text to your advantage
Instagram offers a feature where you can write alternative text to briefly describe your photos in detail. The app then reads the image description by using a screen reader that lets the user hear what the photo contains.
The notion behind introducing this feature was to help the users with visual impairment to comprehend Instagram’s visual content. Besides enhancing your post for the visually impaired, you can use alt text to help the Instagram algorithm understand your image content better, therefore allowing it to show to relevant users.
5- Stay away from black hat SEO
It is common to be tempted by quick fixes when you have been struggling to gain visibility for longer. But remember that quick fixes in the form of black hat SEO will offer temporary results and even do more damage.
As black hat SEO doesn’t offer authentic visibility on the platform, this, in turn, hurts your performance for the long term.
Besides, Instagram is taking measures against accounts that employ questionable tactics.
Wrapping up
Well, there you have it. These are some effective ways of optimizing your Instagram smartly. But, if you are finding it hard to keep up with the process, then ensure to work with a reliable Instagram management service provider.
