Instagram is a photo-sharing social media site to promote your website, the platform with over one billion monthly active users. It means several users want to view your content. Then, how you can ensure more online visibility, reach out to your targeted audience, as well as build opportunities for your followers to engage with your business? The answer is SEO or optimization of your website. You might be wondering how to use SEO to optimize your business website for a social media platform like Instagram.
According to an article published on Searchenginejournal.com, you can search using keywords (KW) and Instagram is making this possible. IG keyword search functions when users enter words like home décor inspiration instead of a hashtag such as #homedecorinspiration. In this article, we are going to walk through some of the best Instagram SEO methods to improve your site’s reach.
First things first, optimize your IG account
This is the first step you need to take to boost your Instagram reach by optimizing your account. Traffic generation towards your IG profile will give you rewards in the days to come. That is why you need to optimize your profile for SEO benefits.
You need to make your account public, think of a searchable and identifiable @username, select an on-brand and colorful profile photo, sign for an IG business account, create a business name that is searchable, and integrate a trackable URL in the bio section of Instagram.
Though these steps may seem obvious, it is essential to build the foundation before making optimization changes. Once you are through with these basics, you can start working on the technical SEO steps.
Use relevant primary KW in your @username and display name
For being visible for the right terms in the search tool, you will have to work within Instagram to attain the preferred, top search engine positioning. Start by identifying your primary KW. For instance, if you have a café, use related KWs. You can use terms like café, or related ones. Once have these KWs in the display and @username, your business will appear in the search for recommended accounts.
If you are new to Instagram, research relevant KWs that you can use for your business, especially in the display and @username. Make sure you include the primary KW in both the places to enhance the possibilities of being chosen by the Instagram algorithm.
Consider your hashtags as KWs
After you have optimized your Instagram account, it is high time that you post content and optimize your posts. It is a continuous process calling for your focus and attention. When more people can see your IG posts, they will start liking them. Initially, you can buy 20 Instagram likes and increase it later on. The majority of the people will not look for your business directly, but find you through an Instagram hashtag related to a particular post.
That is the reason why all your IG posts must have a hashtag strategy. You must treat these hashtags just like secondary KWs.
When you include several post-related hashtags, you can increase the possibilities of reaching out to a larger and diverse audience. These people look for your kind of business; it could be healthcare, pet shop, food business, or anything. It provides visitors with more opportunities to discover your business than when you have used the same hashtag on all the posts. The key to success on Instagram is relevance and variety.
Include secondary KWs in the bio section
After primary search phrases, it is essential to focus on secondary KWs. For example, if your primary KW is café, the secondary KW is coffee shop, sandwich, cookie, and things like that. You need to make your bio fun as well as informative, including a couple of search-optimized KWs.
Secondary KWs are beneficial because they help in reaching out to those people who look for your business using your secondary search terms, and not the primary KW. An individual looking for a café will like your business if he finds his favorite sandwich and not essential coffee. Your secondary KWs must match a user’s search intent.
Make the most out of Instagram Alt Text
Instagram Alt tags help you write relevant captions for your images. It was developed to assist visually challenged people to take delight in using Instagram. You can also use it for SEO purposes and IG would populate Alt Text options for your pictures in case you forget this step by mistake. Try to include the Alt Text so that the caption is relevant to your Instagram photo. Alt Text is nothing but an apt description of your Instagram photo.
When you have included the Alt Text, share your photo as usual. The SEO benefits are the same as when you use Alt Text for your website images.
Conclusion
Though SEO is meant for websites, it does not mean that you cannot use it to improve your online presence through social media sites like Instagram. Use these tips and you will benefit.