Instagram SEO: Everything You Need To Know

When it comes to boosting Instagram reach, Instagram SEO is a great place to start! Instagram SEO refers to Search Engine Optimization on the platform to increase searchability and discoverability.

While SEO is a defined science and complex topic online, when it comes to Instagram it can be quite simple! Try these steps to optimize your profile:

1.) Include keywords in your Instagram Bio

Keywords are words or a group of words that an audience would search for to find what they need. For instance, if you were a customer looking for a travel agent, you might search "travel" or "travel agency." So, as the travel agency, you will want to include those commonly searched keywords right in your profile, so you can be seen when they search the same phrases.

2.) Add Alt Text

Alternative text is a description of the content, when the image fails to load or when a screen reader is used. Alt text is also a great place to build on SEO. When creating an Instagram post, you'll see an option for "Advanced Settings," once clicked. Under these settings, find the section for "Write Alt Text" and add text containing keywords to describe your graphic or photo.

3.) Use effective hashtags

There have been so many conversations about hashtags over the years, considering how much Instagram has changed its algorithm. Currently, we know that we should place effective hashtags in the caption of our posts. But, what exactly are effective hashtags? We want to use hashtags that have a variety of posts and avoid using descriptive hashtags that don't actually relate to our target audience. For example, if you're a payroll accountant and you're working out of Starbucks for the day and you post that. Don't use describing hashtags such as #coffee #coffeeshop #starbucks because that will be reached by people who enjoy coffee and Starbucks, rather than someone probably looking for payroll accounting help. Instead, you could use hashtags with a variety of posts, so your post doesn't drown in the oversaturated tags, that include your industry keywords and location keywords.

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