Do I Need to Optimize My Instagram Business Profile for SEO?

Currently, there are a lot of social media platforms out there. But, the biggest mistake that most of the marketers do is that they push Instagram aside. They have a big misconception that Instagram is a well-known platform to share photos. It isn’t what you think! 

Nowadays, Instagram has become a dominant visual platform for digital marketers. It has better engagement rates when compared to other social media platforms. But, many marketers neglect the Instagram network without understanding its value for their businesses. One of the main advantages of the Instagram business profile is that you can reach your target audience with ease. For that, you will need to optimize your profile. Optimizing your Instagram business profile is not a complicated task, as you think. You do not have to do substantial SEO work; even a little help you yield higher results. All you have to do is consider your Instagram profile a bit more than posting and sharing pictures.

If you haven’t optimized your Instagram business profile, it’s the right time that you will need to consider it. To help you out, in this article, let’s discuss some of the ways to optimize the Instagram business profile to enhance your brand’s reach among the audience.

Instagram Being A Search Engine

Whenever you search on Google, you will see Instagram profiles ranking alongside the website and other Twitter accounts. It shows why optimizing your business profile is essential to inbuild higher engagement and reach among the audience. Search engines help in driving higher traffic to your social media profiles such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. While optimizing your social media profile, you will need to make sure that it contains all the relevant information to your specific target audience. 

Instagram has its search bar with an exclusive interface, where users can find people using their names, locations, and even hashtags. This feature allows you to make your brand visible for your target audience. All you need to do is optimize your profile, which, in turn, increases your chances of becoming well-known for your audience.

Let’s get started with how to optimize your Instagram business profile!

1. Set Your Instagram Profile To Public

By default, all Instagram profiles will be public. It means that anybody can access all your profile content. As a marketer, it is the best choice for you to maintain your profile in public. On setting it to the public, you can earn higher interaction and engagement with your audience. Whenever you create a business profile, it’s better to cross-check if your profile is in public. For that, all you have to do is to check if the “Private Account” toggle is set off which is under the “Account Privacy” option in your “Settings” category. If your profile is in private, then you are missing out on a lot of chances to improve your profile’s reputation and reach among the audience.

2. Employ Keyword In Your Instagram Username

Username for your profile will be automatically generated based on your profile information. On default, your created profile name will look like this My Name (@username). But, you can also edit your profile’s name after it’s generated. For that, you will only need to click on your profile button and click “Edit Profile.” Then you can update your profile name. Adding a keyword in your Instagram username is a great way to boost your brand’s reach. You can bring an essential keyword into your Instagram’s title by employing a primary targeted keyword in your username. It doesn’t mean that you will need to stuff keywords in your title. The only thing that you will need to do is to add an appropriate keyword that is relevant to your brand as well as your users. Though it takes only minimum effort, yet it generates a higher reach.

3. Build A Keyword Rich SEO

A Keyword Rich Bio is a great way to optimize your Instagram profile for higher results. Instagram’s bio is limited to only 150 characters. So, do make the appropriate use of it. If you are thinking about keyword stuffing, that’s a bad idea. Make use of limited target and hashtag keywords in your Instagram bio. The clickable hashtags take the audience to the relevant post or content. If you have a website, then it is essential to add its URL. It helps in increasing your site traffic. Optimizing your bio is the most significant way to boost your business. But, always make sure to keep your bio short and clear to the audience. 

4. Adopt Influencer Marketing

As we all know, content is the king of all social media platforms. One of the best ways to improve your social media presence through content is collaborating with influencers. They help you in pushing your brand message among the audience. An influencer can be a celebrity, well-known, and interactive person who has a higher following reputation. Before partnering with an influencer, you will need to search an influencer relevant to your niche on the Instagram platform. After choosing the right one, you can ask them to create and post your brand content. The only thing you will have to do in the influencer’s content is to ask them to add your brand hashtags, specific keywords, and link their content to your brand’s account. These are some of the most significant ways to boost your brand’s profile on Instagram.

5. Leverage Your Image Captions

Whenever we make captions for images, we treat it as a meta description. That’s not the way it has to be. Instead, it would be best if you treated it as a title tag. It doesn’t mean that you will have to cut short your caption. All you have to keep in mind is to keep your caption clear yet descriptive. Avoid using emojis in your captions. An emoji strategy is going to make your SEO even worse. Including a call-to-action is a great way to optimize your caption. You will need to avoid using a string of hashtags in your caption. Though it may pop up your content in search results yet it looks spammy. As of your caption, make sure it’s keyword-rich, descriptive, and clear for better results.

6. Cross-Promote Your Instagram Posts

In optimizing your Instagram business profile, cross-promotion plays an important role. It is because you can improve your Instagram presence only by promoting on the Instagram platform. Instead, you will need to promote your Instagram content via other social media channels. You will only have to copy the link of your post and publish them on your other social media platforms. In doing so, the people on other platforms will get to know about your Instagram profile, which in turn, results in enhancing your search results. It also improves your followers count on the Instagram platform.

Final Thoughts

With the above strategies, you can easily fine-tune your Instagram business profile for proper SEO. Instagram is all about text, unique content, and hashtags that render a story to the users on the platform. The more creative and compelling, the more will be your visibility on the platform. Remember that the more consistent and regular updating of your Instagram feed moves you towards success on the social media platform. 

Author Bio

A dedicated, detailed, and capable research social media blog writer with six years of experience. Extensively published in social media marketing technologies, with related expertise in Digital Marketing. You can subscribe to my blog. If you would like to keep up to date with my posts, you can follow me on twitter.

Bhanu Garg: