Today’s businesses know that Instagram is a key digital marketing platform for promoting a brand and attracting social engagement. There is no doubt that Instagram is one of the leading, if not the leading, social network . When it comes to the global picture, Facebook probably still has a slight advantage, but if we talk about the domestic and regional market, Instagram certainly dominates. Ultimately, Facebook would not invest $1 billion to become the owner of Instagram . In our new article, we will try to answer the question, how can Instagram improve SEO?

The offer of content on Instagram is very wide and there is practically no topic that is not represented on it. Instagram has it all. Basically a platform for photos and video content, Instagram today has over a billion active users, making it the second most used social network after Facebook . The average time a user spends on Instagram is 53 minutes per day. Of course, its popularity is too great for businesses to ignore, which is why more than 25 million brands have Instagram accounts today.

There is no doubt that Instagram has become a very profitable platform for businesses, and users are using it more and more to stay in touch with their favorite brands or to research the offer and discover new products. As a result, 83% of users discovered new products or services through this platform. Simply by being on Instagram , brands can make a positive impression on potential customers.

But does Instagram also have some SEO-related benefits that you might be overlooking?

How can Instagram improve SEO?

The potential benefits of Instagram engagement don’t stop at your profile, but can also extend to your website. Although Google denies that social networks influence search results , platforms like Instagram can benefit your SEO strategy by encouraging user engagement. Therefore, think carefully about the optimization of social networks , because the Instagram profile of your business can significantly change your place in the search results.

Is engagement on Instagram a ranking factor?

Google has repeatedly said that social signals are not a direct ranking factor. However, this does not mean that social channels are not useful for SEO. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Numerous studies have found a strong correlation between social media signals and search engine rankings. Websites that occupy the highest positions in search have significantly more signals from social networks.

The power of Instagram cannot be underestimated. It is unlikely to produce immediate results, but its comprehensive presence becomes one of the key factors in site promotion, brand awareness, content sharing and online reputation control. Here are some ways Instagram can be used to complement your SEO strategy:

Quality content always comes first

High-quality content was and remains one of the most important factors for SEO. Google rewards sites that contain quality content that responds to the needs of Internet users. For this reason, your site should contain as many quality pages with interesting and attractive content as possible. However, your Instagram content is also important for SEO purposes, as search results often direct users to social media profiles as well.

Instagram can increase a business’ online presence and increase brand awareness, which is very important when it comes to ranking on Google . People are more likely to connect with you or share your posts when they are familiar with your business. Google also likes pages that attract traffic from different sources – direct visits, social networks or email marketing.

Keywords are key

An integral part of your content are, of course, keywords for which you want to position yourself. Keywords are a fundamental part of SEO. Once you’ve identified the most relevant and useful keywords for your brand and audience, you need to include them in your content so users can find your site in organic search. It’s not always easy to identify the best terms to target, which is why professional agencies can offer guidance by conducting keyword research for your business and discovering the phrases that will have the most impact on your business’s SEO. Once you’ve identified your target keywords, look for opportunities to include them in your Instagram profile.

Keywords should also be used in the biography on your Instagram profile. Since it’s practically the only text on your page, you should think about how to best use the 150 character limit. You can include keywords as plain text or as hashtags . Hashtags can redirect users to other relevant posts and are therefore considered useful for the user experience. Hashtags thus help users find your content on Instagram itself. Using them with standard text clearly highlights your business while highlighting valuable keywords, increasing the likelihood that your profile will be indexed for these keywords and thus attract more traffic.

Links still matter

When starting a business Instagram account, the most important thing to consider is how to present your brand in the most interesting way to Instagram users. You must take care that the brand values are not violated or changed during the presentation on Instagram. Instagram profiles are indexed by Google , but this social platform blocks search engines from indexing individual posts. This makes it unlikely that your images will appear in search results, but there is a way around this. Since links from Instagram accounts are not taken into account by Google , try to link to the coveted post from as many other platforms and channels as possible. The more sources linking to a post, the higher the chance it will be indexed.

Use all the elements available on Instagram , from your bio to the photos you post to reflect and strengthen your brand image. When your brand is presented on Instagram in an attractive way, it will lead to more engagement and real Instagram followers. Boosting social signals will lead to better SEO results.

Optimize images for search

Also consider how meta tags will look in Google ‘s search results. Meta tags are snippets of text that can have a huge effect on SEO. Google only displays up to 70 characters for the title tag, which is certainly too short to provide a description that will drive engagement for the post. Instead, try to make your title as keyword-rich as possible with the most important information, so that it communicates the most relevant information before the tag is clipped. Remember that your title tag should act as a call to action, so it should look as attractive as possible to the users who see it.

Another important thing is alt -text or alt-tag . This is the text that appears in search results instead of an image that won’t load or can’t be seen. Its original and basic purpose is to describe an image to visually impaired people using screen readers on their phones or computers. However, this is also useful for SEO purposes. As search engines cannot yet fully interpret visual information, alt text can help them understand the content of an image. If your alt text contains one of the keywords, Google will take that into account when indexing the image alongside the rest of the content on the page. Alt text is set in the Advanced Settings option and then select Write Alt Text.

Although there are no official confirmations that social networks, and therefore Instagram, directly affect SEO, many indications indicate that this is not quite true.