Instagram SEO strategies for in-app and search engine discoverability

Traditional search on the likes of Google have dominated online search behavior for decades. But social networks are beginning to rival them, particularly for younger generations. According to Sprout’s Q2 Pulse Survey, social is the #1 place that Gen Z searches. Users aren’t passively scrolling; they are actively using Instagram and other networks as discovery engines for specific content, products, accounts and inspiration.

In early July 2025, Instagram announced the expansion of Google indexing for professional and creator accounts, sparking conversations on social media. By making more public posts eligible to be displayed in traditional search engine results, does this mean your Instagram marketing can now drive traffic from web searches?

Possibly, but likely not consistently. We’re in the early stages of this evolving relationship between social media and traditional search. They’re beginning to work in concert, creating new avenues for visibility, and have been doing so for years. Instagram content has already been appearing in search results, but web content remains the primary engine for consistent search engine visibility.

In essence, this isn’t really a “new” revolution in social or search. It’s just the latest evolution in the visibility game we’re already playing. As algorithms continue to change, a strong social media strategy will be your constant. Audience engagement will remain the ultimate ranking factor, regardless of platform. Creating great content while harnessing social search engine optimization (SOSEO) where it makes sense will position brands and creators at the forefront of discoverability.

This article will walk through our social and SEO teams’ advice on how to optimize your Instagram profile for organic growth within the network, which may also help you appear in search engines like Google.

What is Instagram SEO?

Instagram SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of optimizing your Instagram content—including profiles, posts, hashtags and captions—to increase visibility within Instagram and traditional search engine results pages (SERPs). At its core, Instagram SEO is about ensuring your brand surfaces when people search for topics, keywords or hashtags relevant to what you offer.

Instagram SEO is about intentionally aligning your content with what your audience is already searching for. Social search overall isn’t about gaming or hacking algorithms—it’s about understanding audience behavior.

Jamia Kenan
Senior Social Media Specialist, Sprout Social

A well-optimized post, profile or Reel has the potential to show up for someone searching on Instagram and Google—even if they’ve never interacted with your brand on Instagram before.

The importance of Instagram and SEO

Instagram’s algorithm leaning more towards discovery, and public content being indexed by traditional search engines is the latest iteration of an existing trend: audiences are using social networks to discover and make purchase decisions.

Social search, along with AI-driven search, is actively diverting customers from traditional SEO funnels, playing a greater role beyond brand awareness in the buyer’s journey. Instagram, and other networks like TikTok, aren’t just for entertainment anymore. They’re providing visual discovery of products and trend-hunting opportunities that influence our culture.

Social signals (likes, shares, engagement) are also directly impacting traditional SEO performance by amplifying content visibility, authority and driving backlink generation.

“There’s been discourse across social about this new update being a major catalyst in content discoverability, but it builds upon what has already been happening for some time now. If you’ve ever done a Google search over the past few years, you’ve likely seen Instagram, among other networks in SERPS,” Jamia says.

Expanding the indexing of public content across more regions presents a big opportunity. Your public content (meaning photos, videos, carousels and Reels posted on or after January 1, 2020, from account holders that are over 18 years old) could potentially be seen by an even larger audience.

“Instagram’s latest indexing update isn’t just another algorithm tweak—it’s a reminder for social and SEO teams of where the next wave of marketing is headed. Brands that proactively optimize their Instagram presence for search will be more likely to increase visibility, dominate discoverability, capture untapped audiences organically and command space in the attention economy,” Jamia adds.

According to The 2024 Content Strategy Report, 61% of social users are turning to the network for product discovery (more than any other network). As people continue to use Instagram and Google for search, your social content will serve multiple purposes. It’s not just increasing your reach and organic visibility across platforms, your Instagram content will also:

• Enhance discoverability: Tailoring your Instagram content to the network’s user behaviors and intents, including how they search, will drive high quality engagement, which helps fuel discoverability in the Explore page. While recency and virality of your posts will increase your chances of being visible in Google search.
• Improve engagement and conversions: Ensure that your content is highly relevant to your target audience. Understand what your audience searches for on Instagram and make sure that you use hashtags and keywords that are highly relevant to their buyer journey. Make sure that the content you create for the hashtags and keywords you optimize your Instagram content for matches the “intent” of what searchers are looking to discover. This intent-driven audience is more likely to engage with your content, visit your profile, follow you and ultimately convert into customers.
• Strengthen brand authority: Appearing in diverse search results, including those from a prominent social network like Instagram, provides social proof that validates your brand’s relevance. How people engage with your content also drives search demand by signaling your content is interesting and should be shown to others. This expanded presence, fueled by an engaged social following, further tells AI-driven search results your brand is relevant and trustworthy, boosting your content’s discoverability.

As Lauren Keudall, Director, SEO at Sprout puts it: “At the end of the day, the opportunity to foster social and search is all about distribution and listening. Using social to amplify your brand is a massive opportunity, when done intentionally. Creating a web experience on it’s own is not enough, creating a social post on it’s own is not enough. When you bring these spaces together in a connected way to draw in your audiences you gain the most value. Thinking of social as a demand generation opportunity as well as a bridge to your web experience is where the magic happens.”

Ranking factors in Instagram’s algorithm

Instagram uses a variety of signals from account metadata, text/post information (captions, hashtags, profile names), location tags and engagement patterns (likes, shares, saves) to determine relevance. Instagram aims to show users the content they are most likely to be interested in and its algorithm is constantly learning and adapting based on user behavior.

Understanding these signals gives marketers a blueprint to increase the likelihood of discoverability.

According to Instagram’s own explanation of how its search works, several key ranking factors influence content visibility:

• Search text: Instagram prioritizes results that closely match the text a user types. Keywords in usernames, account names, bios, captions, hashtags and more help Instagram’s system rank content relevancy
• User activity: Accounts your audience follows, posts they’ve viewed and how they’ve interacted with accounts in the past. Instagram considers what they’ve liked, commented on, saved and engaged.
• Popularity and recency: When there are many results, recency and engagement metrics like number of clicks, likes, shares and follows for a particular account, hashtag or place become important. At the end of the day, highly engaging content is favored by the algorithm, as it indicates relevance and interest to a wider audience.

In essence, the more relevant your content is to a user’s interests and search queries, and the more engagement it generates, the more likely it is to be seen. It’s about creating high-quality, valuable content that genuinely resonates with your audience.

How to use SEO on Instagram

To maximize in-app and search engine visibility, brands need a holistic methodology for seo and social media. As Jamia puts it, “Think of Instagram SEO as a digital magnet. The more strategically you optimize your content, the stronger your pull becomes—attracting not just followers, but valuable, intent-driven traffic.”

Incorporating these Instagram SEO practices can increase your organic reach by improving your visibility/rank on Instagram’s Explore and external SERPS. You’ll also enhance the longevity and relevance of your posts compared to ephemeral content (Stories, lives) on Instagram.

Optimize your Instagram profile

Your Instagram profile is your digital storefront, and it’s where users and search engines will look to understand what your brand is about. Use these profile options to optimize it for maximum visibility:

• Professional or creator account: Make sure you’re using a public Business or Creator account; only these are eligible for external search indexing.
• Username and name field: Your username (@yourbrand), and the name that appears alongside it, should be your brand name or a close variation. In the “Name” field, include relevant keywords that describe your business or niche. For example, instead of just “Acme,” use “Acme Corp | Sustainable Tech Solutions.” Also try to get your account verified to further underscore your authority and trustworthiness.
• Bio: Your bio has a 150-character limit, so make every word count. Incorporate your primary keywords naturally, highlighting your value proposition and what your audience can expect from you. Use clear, concise language and a call-to-action like a link in bio.
• Category: Select the most relevant category for your professional account. This helps Instagram categorize your profile and serve it to relevant users.
• Contact information and location: Include your contact details and location. Location tags help nearby audiences find your business on Instagram and in traditional search results.

Conduct keyword research

Instagram search works similarly to Google—users input keywords, expecting the most relevant results. So keyword research is the cornerstone to understanding what your audience is searching and how to align your content with those interests.

There are several ways you can discover relevant search queries:

• Leverage Instagram’s search: Start typing keywords in the Instagram search bar and note the suggested searches that appear. These are typically high-volume searches.
• Google Trends: Identify rising topics for your niche. Users are likely using similar keywords to search in Instagram as well.
• Analyze competitors: See which keywords your competitors include in their bios, captions and hashtags.
• Location-specific keywords: Use your city/region name to discover relevant keywords and hashtags.
• Audience insights: Use tools like Sprout Social to analyze the language your audience uses in comments, DMs and reviews. Look what your audience is saying about your content and listen to wider conversations happening around topics related to your brand. Pull out common themes and niche terms they use to describe things related to your products or services.

• Traditional keyword research tools: While Instagram-specific tools are emerging, traditional social listening and SEO tools (like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs) can still provide valuable insights into keywords and hashtags people are using.

Create engaging content

High-quality, engaging content is the ultimate fuel for Instagram SEO. Instagram’s algorithm rewards content that keeps users engaged and interacting on the network. And Google’s algorithm prioritizes fresh, viral content from social networks, especially for queries that indicate a desire for real-time information on trending topics.

So how do you create content that captures the best of both worlds? First and foremost, it should be built for your audience.

Conduct an audit of your current Instagram content, and compare it to competitor and creator content around similar topics to understand what your audience likes (and doesn’t like). Discover what formats they prefer and how they want you to show up.

Once you know what your audience wants, you can optimize your content for relevant searches. Going viral on Instagram can boost your in-app discovery and spill over to Google. Start optimizing your content by:

• Frequently posting on trending industry topics: Consistently posting about current, commonly discussed topics within your brand’s industry significantly increases your chances of discoverability. Identify what’s buzzing, what questions people are asking right now and create timely Instagram content that addresses these. According to our 2025 Content Benchmarks Report, brands average posting 9.5 posts per day across networks, but your industry may post more or less than average.
• Pinpointing search overlap across platforms: Identify searches occurring in Instagram and search engines, paying particular attention to search engine queries that include features like the “Short Videos” tab or are currently prioritizing Instagram in the results.
• Harnessing relevant trends: Integrate trending audio or visual effects that align with your content and industry, and add a unique spin.
• Collaborating with other brands, influencers or creators: Tap into the popularity of influencers or other relevant brands to help your content be entertaining, engaging and culturally relevant. This tactic also helps you tap into new audiences and niche communities within Instagram.
• Engaging with comments: Again, Instagram and Google reward high engagement, so interact with your audience and they’ll likely do the same with you. Show you care about them and want to have direct connection. This will help you create a stronger community while boosting your reach.
• Using compelling hooks and calls to action: Capture attention in the first few sections and use calls to action like “Comment below…” or “Click the link in bio”, as well as interactive elements (like polls or quizzes), to generate more engagement and views.

Don’t be afraid to experiment, or lean into what works. The more you bring value to your audience, the more they’ll reward you with engagements.

Lean into Instagram Reels

Instagram Reels are currently Instagram’s magnet for organic reach and discoverability. Reels are prominently featured on the Explore page and have a dedicated tab, allowing users to discover new content from accounts they don’t follow.

Our Content Benchmarks Report also found that 28% of a brand’s Instagram content is video. As other networks continue to prioritize video content, it’s clear this is what audiences want and therefore what you need to deliver.

On top of the optimization tips above, there are several additional tactics you can follow to optimize your Reels for search, including:

• Keywords in captions: Just like regular posts, include relevant keywords and hashtags in your Reel captions. Sprout Social Listening can help you identify hashtags and keywords being used in conversations relevant to your brand.
• On-screen text and subtitles: Add relevant keywords directly on to your video using text overlays. Always include subtitles to not only improve accessibility but also search visibility. But be sure to naturally incorporate keywords into the script and avoid stuffing.
• Trending audio: Using trending audio can boost your reach by trading on it’s popularity. Make sure the audio is relevant to your content, brand message and legally compliant for your brand to use.
• Concise and valuable content: Reels are short-form. Deliver your message clearly and concisely, providing immediate value to the viewer.
• Location tags: For local discovery, adding geo-tags can help users find your content when they search for specific locations. This is particularly useful for businesses with physical locations or those targeting local markets.

Craft SEO-friendly captions

Captions provide context but also serve as metadata for Instagram and external search engines. Consider this your formula for creating engaging and optimized Instagram captions:

• Including relevant keywords: Naturally integrate target keywords into your captions. Avoid keyword stuffing, which will hurt your engagement.
• Start with a strong hook: The first line of your caption is crucial, especially since only the first few lines are visible in the feed. Make it engaging and entice users to click “more.”
• Provide value and context: Use captions to elaborate on your visual content. The more valuable and informative your caption, the more likely users are to spend time viewing and engaging with your post.
• Encourage interaction: Add calls to action by posing questions, inviting saves or sharing incentives that stimulate sharing.

Use hashtags

Instagram hashtags remain a staple for discoverability and categorizing content on the network. They can also serve as keywords that help external search engines understand the context of your content.

There’s an art and a science to using hashtags:

• Be strategic: Focus on a few highly relevant hashtags rather than stuffing your posts with too many generic ones. Blend broad, niche, branded and trending hashtags (e.g., #VeganFashion, #NYCFashion, #BrandNameTips). Be mindful of relevancy; don’t use a hashtag if it doesn’t genuinely relate to your post.
• Research before using: Use Instagram’s search or tools like Sprout to check which hashtags are active and relevant to your audience.
• Placement: Place important hashtags in the caption (not in the first comment) for optimal indexing.
• Monitor hashtag performance: Use hashtag analytics within Instagram or Sprout to see which hashtags are driving the most impressions and reach for your posts.

Include alt text

Alt text (or alternative text) describes images for users who may be blind or have difficulty seeing. It’s an often overlooked SEO element. It can provide valuable context to Instagram’s algorithm and external search engines about your visual content.

Incorporating descriptive alt text with your images increases the likelihood of your content being discovered through image searches.

When adding alt text, provide a concise yet descriptive explanation of your image, incorporating relevant keywords naturally. For example, instead of “dog,” write “Golden Retriever puppy playing in a green field with a red ball.”

It’s important to prioritize social media accessibility in your alt text over optimizing for certain types of searches. If it’s difficult for your audience or the platform to understand what your image is about, then your post will likely receive little engagement and visibility.

With Sprout’s Generate by AI Assist, you can automatically create alt text for your image posts. Enabling you to remain agile and move quickly while keeping your content accessible.

Connect your Instagram and web content

As Instagram becomes more integrated into other digital marketing spaces, this also means the content you post there doesn’t just have to stay on the network. Reinforce search signals by bringing your Instagram content to your other channels and vice versa. This isn’t just about sharing links; it’s about strategic alignment and amplification.

Use your link in bio as a bridge between your social and web presence. Use it to direct users to specific web content that directly relates to your most recent or relevant Instagram posts. If your Reel explains “5 tips for better sleep,” link directly to a comprehensive blog post on your website about sleep hygiene. This creates a seamless user journey and reinforces topical authority.

Aligning your content is also an opportunity to bridge your social media, SEO and content teams. Unify your content calendars where social posts are intentionally created to amplify and support web content, and web content expands upon and amplifies your social posts.

Repurposing content across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube Shorts is already a favorite tactic in the social media manager’s playbook. With external search engines bringing in more social content from other networks, there’s even more opportunity to repurpose your Instagram content for other search-friendly mediums, such as:

• Using compelling Instagram visuals for Pinterest pins, linking back to your website or blog
• Embedding Instagram content directly into relevant blog posts or website pages
• Adding canonical links or references back to your original Instagram posts when repurposing for the web

By coordinating these efforts, you’re creating more touch points and opportunities for discoverability, increasing your likelihood of capturing user attention in-network and in SERPs.

Analyzing Instagram analytics for SEO insights

Like all marketing strategies, Instagram SEO isn’t a one-and-done situation, but an iterative process that involves a continuous feedback loop. By frequently analyzing your Instagram analytics and using social listening, you can refine your content strategy, optimize your keywords and adapt to search behavior changes, so your brand remains discoverable within Instagram and across the web.

With Instagram analytics, analyze the performance of your posts, so you can identify patterns in content types, keywords and hashtags that lead to higher reach. What are users engaging with most? Are any of your posts appearing in SERPs? This will help you optimize your content for better visibility and engagement, ultimately boosting your SEO performance over time.

Social Listening will further help identify trending content and hashtags on Instagram, enabling brands to proactively engage with relevant trends. This will not only boost engagement and viral potential but also significantly increase the likelihood of your Instagram content appearing in Google SERPs. You’ll also gain access to a wealth of data that can inform the entire buyer’s journey by providing granular insights into your target audience’s interests and conversations. For SEO teams, this can inspire more long-tail keywords that appeal to AI-powered search platforms.

The more your social search and traditional search strategies intermingle, you’ll also need a holistic approach to your performance analysis. Leveraging Sprout Social will enable you to transform insights into action by:

• Unifying analytics data with other channels through our integrations with Google Analytics and Tableau.
• Tracking the performance of your Instagram content and hashtags alongside your other network profiles, like TikTok, YouTube and Reddit.
• Generating detailed, customizable reports that provide actionable insights tailored to your specific KPIs.
• Visualizing competitor performance benchmarks and comparing your performance against theirs, identifying their successful strategies and uncovering gaps or opportunities in your own.
• Analyzing your audience’s activity to pinpoint the best times to post for maximum engagement.
• Monitoring the conversations and sentiment around your brand and content, helping you refine your messaging and identify trends.

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Embrace the shift with Instagram SEO

For brands, Instagram SEO presents a significant opportunity to extend their reach beyond the app. By integrating in-app SEO best practices with external search engine optimization, brands can maximize discoverability and engagement, regardless of where their audience is searching.

Achieving synergy between these two approaches will be paramount for maximizing long-term online visibility and engagement. It’s about ensuring your content can be found by anyone, anywhere, at the moment of curiosity or intent.

Like traditional SEO, Instagram SEO is an evolving field. You’ll need to stay attuned to updates, particularly as Meta and Google further refine their search functions.

To stay on top of performance trends and how your strategy stacks up, check out The 2025 Content Benchmarks Report. This report details performance trends across various industries and networks, and the type of content and engagement audiences currently crave.