Instagram has broken the magic of 1 billion active users a month. The number of users is constantly increasing and the space for each of them on this platform is decreasing. How to achieve more visagram profile visibility and get new followers faster without paid advertising? Welcome Instagram SEO!
Instagram is basically a photo and video search engine , which, like internet search engines, has an algorithm. Getting your posts to a wider audience is no longer as easy as it used to be. (Tip: Learn how the Instagram algorithm works ).
Just as websites are optimized for search engines to appear at the highest possible position in the SERP, so the instagram profile can be optimized to be more searchable by other users.
Will Instagram become a similar giant like Google? Maybe this is the right time to ask this question.
Gaining followers organically is hard work and it won’t be completely free . It will probably cost you more effort than running a paid advertisement. And if not effort, then at least time.
But remember that organic followers (those you get without paid support – we’ll call them that for the purposes of this article) tend to be far more active and loyal.
It is always necessary to build on solid foundations
Before you roll into instagram SEO practices to help you increase the visibility of your instagram profile and gain new organic followers faster, it’s a good idea to know the answers to the following questions.
1. For what purpose do I want to get new followers?
There can be countless reasons, such as:
- I am an e-shop and I want to communicate products via Instagram.
- I’m a blogger and I want to have more paid collaborations.
- I’m an influencer and I want to have more influence.
- I bet a friend I’d have 500 followers sooner than he did.
2. For which followers could my profile be interesting?
Do you know which target group you want to reach with your instagram account? It doesn’t matter if you have a corporate or personal account. Everyone has and should know their goal.
3. Why could these people start watching you?
What (ideally unique) do you offer them ? Why should they give their follow to you ? Again, I add a few examples.
I want:
- inform potential customers that a new collection has arrived in the e-shop,
- giving tips on the best cafes in Prague,
- Inspire your fitness routine and kick other individuals to start wearing makat.
4. What benefit will only you and no one else provide them?
What is your competitive advantage ? How is your profile different from hundreds of thousands more?
Welcome Instagram SEO: 28 tips to increase Instagram profile visibility and gain new followers
# 1 Instagram @username is your domain
Instagram username is your Instagram username that appears after the @ sign. For example, our agency account has username @evisions_advertising , and my personal account has @diankaella .
Your username serves as your most important keyword by which you want people to look for you primarily. This is basically your domain. For example, if I were looking for profiles that focused on social media, I was first shown the usernames @socialmediatoday and @socialmediaweek.
Key takeaways:
1. Think about the good searchability of your profile and customize your Instagram @username accordingly.
2. Avoid excessive generalization. For example, companies should keep their brand names because they are very likely to be found on Instagram in this way. # 2 Your name (Instagram name) can be compared to the top level title (H1)
Yes, your (instagram) name and username are not the same, although they perform a similar function when searching on Instagram.
For example, my instagram name is “Diana Zadáková • Diana Ella”. If someone searches for me by the name of my blog or my full name, my profile will “come out”.
If we go back to the original example, ie we search for the phrase social media on Instagram , then you can see in the photo below what other profiles would “work out” for you (notice the dark blue underline).
These profiles have the mentioned field in their name , respectively the mentioned keyword social media .
In addition, if a user enters your name or business into Google , they may see a link to your Instagram profile in their search results. It is your Instagram name that is copied to the search results .
Key takeaways:
3. Think about the names / phrases / fields under which people on Instagram could search for your profile.
4. Think of Instagram as another possible search engine.
5. Use delimiters to include more keywords in your name . # 3 It won’t work without good content
And not on Instagram at all. Shared photo’s first (and often last) what users fall eyesight . The photo must be interesting enough for them to read its caption and then visit your profile. It must attract you just so that users decide to give you their follow .
Your feed should show what content people can expect from you . These can be tips on recipes, tourist destinations, clothing stores… It’s up to you.
Key takeaways:
6. Content (photo) always in the first place.
7. Think "globally." You get to follow if you are interested in the feed .
8. Be recognisable . It is ideal to use the same preset or filter on all photos.
9. Share regularly . But there is no need to exaggerate - rather less often and with quality.
10. Share consistently . You should not deviate too much from the topic. Your followers expect a certain type of content from you. And if you have shared motorcycles so far and suddenly your profile would be full of puppies, they would probably be surprised. # 4 Alt lyrics (image optimization) now on Instagram
If you have at least a little experience with SEO, then you have certainly come across the term alt text .
The search engine (or robot) cannot “crawl” the images, but reads the alt attributes . You must enter a keyword in the image name and the alt tag so that the robot can find the appropriate image for that keyword.
In addition to the SEO function, Alt texts also perform an informative function . If you have a weak internet connection and the images cannot be loaded, alt texts will be displayed .
In addition to the mentioned functions, it also serves the visually impaired . In addition to the article itself, special readers also read to them what is shown in the photos.
However, the Alt text should already be of interest to all social media specialists or those who want to excel in socialism. Alt text can be added to photos on Instagram and Facebook .
According to the official statement, it serves the visually impaired . Personally, however, I believe (and this information is also confirmed by many foreign sources) that it also fulfills other important functions.
- Alt text helps Instagram algorithm understand what’s in the photo. Instagram uses technology to recognize what is in your photo. This will make your post visible to multiple users who are interested in this type of content. (This is one of the reasons why relevant photos are recommended, even though they do not have hashtags in the caption.) With alt text , your post may be even stronger and it will be easier to “solve” the Instagram algorithm. This means that your contribution will reach more people in an organic way.
- Alt text allows you to display your photo on Google as well . Just as a robot goes through alt texts in images on websites, so it can go through alt texts in instagram posts. So if someone enters a “blueberry cheesecake recipe” into a Google search engine and you have it in the alt text of the instagram post, they can find your intagram post in Google images.
How do you fill in alt lyrics on Instagram? If you share a completely new photo, you will fill it in in the so-called advanced settings (it is displayed in the area where you are adding the location, tags and other attributes of the photo) – see the photo on the right. Just edit the older post – so see the photo on the left.
Key takeaways:
11. Thanks to alt texts , people with visual impairments will learn what is shown in the photos using a special reader.
12. The Instagram algorithm makes it easier to recognize what is in your photo and recommend it to relevant users.
13. Your Instagram photos containing alt texts will also be available on Google . # 5 Don’t underestimate “reports”
Although Instagram does not provide extensive analysis of posts or profiles, they are completely sufficient for our purposes.
You will only get analytical data (you can find it in Instagram under the name reports) if you have your profile in business profile mode . You can find overviews of your profile on Instagram according to the instructions in the photo.
Each separate instagram post then offers its own reports , where you get data related to the post (eg what was its impact, how many people visited your profile through it, how many people later clicked on your site, etc.).
The work of a social media specialist is quite analytical. (I also wrote about this on my blog in the article What does the work of a Social Media Manager entail ). You need to constantly evaluate what type of content your followers have responded to best and which is most interesting to them.
Key takeaways:
14. Track which shared posts had the greatest impact and impressions (hit the most people), or which had the most interactions, and think about what they have in common.
15. Get to know your followers (demographic reports) and serve them content when they are most online. # 6 It’s better in two
Find a partner who focuses on a “niche” like you. For companies, it is basically influencer marketing (a combination of brand and influencer who have a common niche).
Do people think of “connected partnerships” or maybe friendships? Online creators are not afraid to refer to someone else’s work and support each other . They go together to take pictures, link to their blogs, create videos.
Key takeaway:
16. Connect with those who focus on the same or similar market niche. # 7 Don’t sit in the corner, the doll won’t find you there
If you just share photos and wait for followers to find you, it won’t work. Instagram is a social network , not a gallery of nice photos, which requires not only replying to the comments below your photos and responding to messages.
The ideal way to make your instagram profile known is to actively “like” and comment on other people’s profiles . Praise the girl a nice figure, a nicely photographed dessert or a photo at the Eiffel Tower. Thank you for the travel tip, don’t be afraid to follow someone, react to other people’s stories.
Key takeaways:
17. Always respond to comments and direct messages (that is, of course, non-annoying or non-spamming ones).
18. Like and comment on other people's posts. Don't skimp on compliments.
19. Don't be afraid to follow someone . # 8 Sharing is caring…
Did you like someone’s article? Are you inspired by someone’s instagram profile? Share and link to third-party creations and profiles – especially in your Instagram Stories.
The new function allows you to repost other people’s stories if someone marks you in it. Therefore, there is a high probability that the person you mark in it will redirect it to their Instastora. Your profile can be discovered by someone new .
Of course, you can also link to other people’s work and profiles in the title of articles or in articles on your website. Take advantage of that opportunity!
Key takeaways:
20. Don't be afraid to tickle someone's ego ! 21st referencing foreign accounts Instastories, posts on social networks or on the Web. Don't forget to tag the person . # 9 Hashtag is the king
Again those hashtags – a buzzword that half people can’t feel. Unfortunately, they are important for gaining new organic followers. They can be likened to keywords , which are mainly used in the field of SEO.
People can search Instagram based on the hashtag . Instagram also monitors what hashtags you use for posts. The photos are then shown to people who watch and use similar ones.
You can also think of hashtags as filtering aids that organize all shared content on Instagram into thematically relevant units.
Hashtags are of different types and serve different purposes:
- Industry Tags – the widest hashtags that put your photo in the appropriate box, according to which users can discover photos or profiles (#Restaurant, #Blogger, #Digitalmarketing, #SEOagentura).
- Niche Tags – these hashtags will shortlist your photo. People searching under these hashtags usually already know what they want to find (#fitnessblogger #brownie #italianfood #travelinspiration).
- Branded Tags – branded hashtags are used to identify your company, person or your products on Instagram. They can be the name of your company, your blog, campaign, etc. We at eVisions use the following, for example: #Copypes (an important member of our team who participates in all copy training), #SEObakers (we do not bake only in online marketing, but also in the kitchen) , #klucizeVisions (so that the girls can filter out how nice and handy the guys on the team we have).
- Community Tags – you will become part of a closer community of people. Community profiles usually share the best photos in their account (#travelawesome #dnescestujem #bloggersre).
- Location Tags – think globally, act locally! Don’t forget to attribute the hashtags of the location of the given post (#praguerestaurant #liberec #vyhlidkamaj).
- Event Tags – are you organizing an event? Conference, party, workshop, festival? Create a special tag for it, under which people will be able to share posts and find others at the same time. If you are a participant in the event, you have a chance that your photo will attract new followers (#mktfest #KVIFF #Socialrestart).
Don’t forget to evaluate again . In the reports of a specific instagram post, you can find out how many people saw the photo thanks to hashtags .
Key takeaways:
22. Hashtags are key to gaining organic followers .
23. Hashtags are not evil, thanks to them they are "cleaned up" on social networks .
24. Combine different types of hashtags for optimal results.
25. Analyze which hashtags have hit most people. # 10 Not a single box wasted!
Be sure to fill in all the fields you can before sharing the photo. Especially:
- locality
- tags (tag profiles of people, places, businesses, communities, etc. – they can share photos)
- labels
- hashtagy
Key takeaways:
26. Always fill in the location of the photo. People often look for posts at sites to be inspired to create photos. 27. Mark foreign profiles in your photos (of course the relevant ones!). Ie. profiles of places, events, communities, etc. 
# 11 Instagram puts where the devil can’t
If you have a website, don’t forget to include your instagram profile on your site and invite you to follow it . Tell people what you want them to do!
When writing an article, use the option to insert an instagram post . This will increase the chances that readers will click through to your profile through it. When they are interested, you have won.
Of course, don’t forget the multichannel. Link to your profile in e-mail, on your profiles on other social networks. Don’t forget offline channels either (especially if you have a stone shop, organize trainings, give lectures, etc.)
Key takeaway: 28. Link to your instagram profile on other social networks and on the web. Use multichannel. The post Best tips on how to get followers
