What is Instagram SEO?
Many wonder if search engine optimization can be implemented for social media platforms like Instagram. Well, there is.
In simple terms, Instagram SEO is the implementation of search optimization techniques that can help improve your content’s discoverability.
It focuses on improving the choice of content, images, and hashtags to ensure your account resonates with your buyer persona.
Is it worth investing in Instagram SEO for your business? Here are a few compelling points in its favor.
Benefits of Doing Instagram SEO
1. Massive Brand Visibility
With an active user base count well into the billions (2 billion monthly users in 2024), Instagram has more than 1.4 billion accounts. These are staggering numbers, so most businesses are on the platform to connect with their customers.
Assuming that your business can connect with at least 5% of the total monthly users, that is a massive 100 million pairs of eyeballs on your content.
Doing well on Instagram can attract your business to an influx of needed customers. More than just these numbers, being on social media has a ‘humanizing’ effect on brands, encouraging people to follow and connect with them on the platform.
2. Funnel Traffic to Your Website
As a business owner, you’re always looking for more ways to get people to your website. While paid ads exist, social media platforms like Instagram can considerably improve your throughput.
Businesses can direct Instagram followers from their accounts through the link in the bio and convert them to visitors.
You could also add shopping links to your posts for business accounts, which is another great way to get more people to your website. While it may not have the highly targeted tools available in PPC, it makes up for this through a sheer number of users. And the best part is that it is much cheaper than paid ads.
3. Generate High-Quality Leads
Instagram is the ultimate treasure trove of leads for businesses in any niche.
With the business tools and analytics on Instagram today, marketers can create a high-performing campaign for a brand relatively cheaply. The standout point is that these can perform on par or outperform traditional marketing methods like paid ads.
Leads from social media are high-quality, meaning they are people looking to buy rather than just inquire.
The content creates a feeling of trust for the buyer, making them much more comfortable with the brand. Plus, the visual nature of Instagram encourages people to buy, which is great for businesses.
Step-by-step Process to Optimize Your Instagram Profile
1. Outline Your Requirements
The first step is to set your expectations for an Instagram marketing campaign. This is where you will do the bulk of your research, such as understanding your target audience on social media and what they’re looking for in a brand.
Creating a checklist is a great idea when starting.
Find out what your competition is doing better on their Instagram feed. It’s a good idea to note their keywords and hashtags. This is also a chance to bring yourself up to speed on the current market trends for your industry.
Depending on the nature of your business, trends can shift dramatically over a period or remain the same.
2. Define Your Business Goals
This step is where you identify your business goals and how they can align with what Instagram can do. It is important to set realistic goals for your Instagram campaign.
For example, expecting a ten-fold increase within a month can be unrealistic if your account has about a thousand followers.
Aim to create brand/product awareness within your social circle. Remember that word of mouth is always faster.
“Keep things interesting, and soon enough, people will begin to share your content, leading to more followers and better metrics,” says Lucy, a marketing manager from a Leading SEO Agency in Houston.
3. Choose a Username and Display Image
The most important thing to start with on your Instagram account is your Instagram username and profile picture. Ensure that you keep this as relevant as possible to your business.
Space cannot be used, but you can use underscores instead of them. Before you decide on an Instagram username, check your other social media accounts.
Try to keep them as consistent with them as possible, which can help with brand recall. For example, having ‘abc_industry’ on Instagram while your YouTube handle is ‘industry_abc’ can cause some confusion for your user base. A display picture with a logo or a professional image is a safe choice.
4. Work on a Compelling Bio
This is arguably the most important space on your Instagram profile, and you need to work on this part the most! The bio is possibly the make-or-break proposition of every business. It should be catchy, enticing, and the right keywords for your industry.
A bio’s goal is to ensure that the user understands the unique value proposition of your brand. Using flowery words and long-running sentences is not the way to go here.
Your bio should be short and clear while pushing a subtle message through your CTA. Don’t forget to sprinkle in a few emojis because they profoundly affect today’s audience!
5. Choosing the Right Link on the Bio
As we touched on the importance of your Instagram bio, there is another vital piece of information about it that people tend to forget. The bio is the only place on your profile where you can add a link.
While you can add shopping links to your posts, the bio should have your website’s most important link.
Ideally, you should use a tool that can monitor this link because you can draw important metrics from it. Even using a simple link shortener like bit.ly can help you with analytics.
6. Selecting the Right Business Category
Every business account on Instagram needs to choose a category.
While there are advantages to keeping it as open-ended as possible to attract the maximum number of users, you should opt for something that exactly defines your business.
The category choice should reflect your niche. It helps probable customers understand what your brand is about. The category directly reflects on Instagram’s search algorithms and is integral to the performance of your campaign.
Getting the category right can mean more followers and brand visibility quickly.
7. Develop Your Design Theme
While it is true that Instagram is restrictive in its design, elements can still be customized.
Businesses tailor their Instagram feed through visual elements like logos and filters, which can be customized to your unique needs. Ensure you focus on the chosen brand colors to keep your feed cohesive.
High-quality images are the only option, so investing in a quality device will pay dividends to your business. Plan your layouts and carousels and tweak them before you post them to your feed.
8. Fix a Content Tone and Voice
The voice of the brand is an important part of the package. The content team must develop a baseline for your business’s customer demographics.
The content’s tone can be formal or conversational, depending on the brand. But of late, more brands are leaning towards the latter because it makes engaging the audience easier.
Brand content should reflect brand values and long-term goals while maintaining a unique personality that can help customers identify them against other competitors.
9. Create a Strategic Hashtag List
One of the most important aspects of an Instagram campaign is using the right hashtags. Research important hashtags related to your business and create a list of hashtags you can use.
Hashtag usage should lean towards more popular hashtags along with a few low-competition hashtags.
The popular hashtags get your post in front of many people, while the more unique hashtags can help filter them further.
Keep away from generic hashtags, no matter how popular they are. The same goes for hashtags that are banned or irrelevant to your business.
10. Maintain a Posting Schedule
A popular adage on social media is ‘Regardless of what you post, post consistently,’ which could be truer here. However, It doesn’t mean that you keep putting out low-quality content!
The takeaway from the statement is that posting schedules are vital for social media success.
With billions of posts daily, posts can get lost in the depths of the Instagram void. Sticking to a schedule tells the algorithm you are a reliable content creator. Choose a schedule that you can stick with, either weekly or monthly.
11. Learn About Instagram Business Tools
Almost all social media platforms come with their business tools, and Instagram has its own Instagram Analytics. It comes with numerous metrics and reports that you can leverage to improve your Instagram feed for your customers.
Along with Analytics, Instagram Shopping is another tool that helps create an engaging experience for direct sales on your posts. Social tools like Highlights and Carousels are great for showcasing content on your feed.
12. Unleash Your Instagram Account!
You’re ready to take charge of your Instagram Business Account when all is done. Review every part of your account, including the bio and images.
Creating an announcement post is a great idea.
Cross-promote your Instagram content to other social media platforms like Facebook and X. Don’t forget the most important thing – engage with your followers regularly!
See how Walmart is replying to comments on their page.
Conclusion
- Use Tools to Take Data-Driven Decisions – Many tools are available on Instagram and with third parties that can give you a much more granular look at your metrics. These can help you make better decisions for your business.
- Consistency Is the Key to Success – Create a posting schedule you can keep up with initially and then build on. Consistent posting can build trust and brand authority.
- Create an Impactful First Impression – Ensure that everything aligns with your business when a user visits your profile. The profile picture, bio, and pinned posts should be curated and accurately reflect your business’ image.
