Did you know that you can use SEO techniques to reach more people on Instagram? The platform has a search box similar to the ones you find on search engines.
Although the target market may be slightly different from regular search engines, there are similarities in the search results. For example, Instagram will give you a list of options, similar to search engines, after typing the keyword and pressing enter.
SEO Instagram Techniques
Optimising your Profile
There are over a billion people and businesses that are on Instagram. All users have an Instagram profile that helps you find them. When you search for a person, the Instagram algorithm picks the most relevant results according to the search term used.
If you’re a business that wants to get discovered on Instagram, change your user name and profile name to the product or service you want your firm to be associated with. Then, include the same keywords in your bio. You can also add hashtags of the keywords in all your posts for the best results.
Working on Captions
The explore page on Instagram is one of the most visited. Users love the explore page because it takes them beyond their followers. They get to explore the Instagram community without too much hassle.
There’s something very interesting about the explore page. According to Instagram, the algorithm uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to learn the user’s behavior according to their likes, who they follow, their posts, captions, and interests on the bio page.
The algorithm matches that user with other accounts of similar interest and displays them on the explore page. If you want to be on the user’s explore page, use descriptive captions. The caption should clearly explain what’s in the post for it to be visible to the user.
Using Hashtags
Since Instagram is not a blogging app, you cannot fill your page with content full of keywords. The next best thing to keywords in SEO Instagram is hashtags. Some people refer to hashtags as content labels while others call them keywords with the pound sign in front of them.
Different people have diverse interpretations. However, they all agree that hashtags are very important on Instagram. They’re the quickest way for you to find information related to that hashtag. Therefore, if you want people to see your business on Instagram, use hashtags in your posts.
Getting ‘Backlinks’
In SEO, backlinks are powerful because they build authority. If other websites link back to your content, it shows that you have useful information. SEO Instagram is slightly different. Instead of other accounts linking back to you directly, you can be tagged.
Tagging is whereby a person mentions you in their post. The user will add the ‘at sign’ at the beginning of your user name when mentioning you. When someone clicks on the tag, they’re redirected to your profile. The best way to get tagged is to post quality and engaging content worth sharing.
Maximising your Efforts
Instagram has an analytics feature that lets you learn more about your page and visitors. Through analytics, you’ll know how many people clicked on your video. There’s also data on the route that visitors took to reach your profile.
Checking the analytics table allows you to know which areas you need to work on to boost engagement and discoverability. However, there’s a catch. With SEO Instagram, you have to upgrade to a business profile to access the analytics feature.