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3 Simple Steps To Make Your Instagram Account SEO-Friendly

Have you ever wondered how to make your Instagram profile SEO-friendly and attract the right followers? Here's a look at 3 simple tips.


Have you ever wondered how to make your Instagram profile SEO-friendly and attract the right followers? Here are three simple and effective steps you can take to setup your Instagram account for SEO success.

 

1. Define your social media goals

What are your social media objectives? How can Instagram help you meet those goals? As author and life coach Tony Robbins suggests, “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”

In order to achieve social media success, we must define goals we will work to accomplish. Here are three questions to help you define (or refine) your objectives for your social media strategy:

  1. Are you trying to establish a brand?
  2. Do you want to establish yourself, your personal brand, as an influencer?
  3. Do you sell products and/or services?

These questions will help you think about tactical steps you can take to refine your Instagram presence.

  • If you are establishing a brand, do you have a link to your website in the bio?
  • Becoming an influencer? Do you have a means (e.g., personal website, personal blog, or lead page) to capture leads and referrals from Instagram?
  • If you are selling products and services, is your Instagram account shoppable?

All of these goals and accompanying tactics require different calls to action (CTAs). Consider your goals carefully and how Instagram can help you reach them effectively.

Instagram Action Steps

Implement one of the following steps that best meets your business and social media objectives:

  • Add a company or personal website URL
  • Add a lead generation form or lead magnet landing page
  • Add a shoppable product and/or service feed using your Business Profile or third-party app

 

2. Make your Instagram account SEO-friendly

Now that you have clearly defined goals, it’s time to integrate a search engine optimization strategy into your Instagram account. This means refining your username, biography, keywords and Instagram handle.

Photo: Jakob Owens, Unsplash
Photo: Jakob Owens, YFS Magazine

Let’s start with your bio. The Instagram biography field is a space where you want to tell users what to expect when they follow you. Here are a few key points to consider when drafting your biography in 150 characters or less:

  • What type of content will you share? Business, style, health and wellness, politics, lifestyle? Define your niche, stick to it and ensure your bio clearly communicates the overall theme of your content.
  • Do you want to establish industry credibility? Do you have experience, credentials, or notable press mentions? If so share it. Give users a reason to trust your recommendations.
  • Do you rely heavily on a local marketing strategy? If so, reference your location. This will help ideal customers, brands, and local influencers find you, which can lead to local market collaborations. When people develop an online relationship with you, they will feel more connected (especially if you live in the same area).
  • How can you be reached? This is essential. So many businesses do not have a preferred method of contact on their profile. If it’s your website, then make sure it’s prominent in the Website field.

If you want to increase sales, brand collaborations, or provide customer support, you need to provide an easy way for users to contact you. Either place a business email address in your bio or switch to a Business profile on Instagram, so users can contact you with the click of a button.

 

3. Make your Instagram username and name SEO-friendly

Tell people exactly who you are and what you are about. Give them a reason to follow you. This will also help you improve your SEO strategy and Google search results.

Source: @yfsmagazine

Instagram Username

Does your Instagram handle (a.k.a., username) clearly indicate who you are and what you are about? For instance, is it Vanessa123487 or is it StylistVanessa? Instagram handles are searchable. What does that mean? If a user is looking for a Stylist, and you have the keyword “Stylist” in your username, your profile will rank in search engines.

Take a moment to think about how to increase the visibility of your username in Google search engine results pages (SERPs)? What keywords do your ideal customers (e.g., target market) use to find information on Instagram?

Notice how health and fitness expert Emily Skye (@emilyskyefit) has “fit” in her username? That is no coincidence! She is making her username more SEO-friendly.

Instagram Name

This also applies to your Instagram name. My Instagram personal profile name is Aerialist Vanessa. Why? Because I want people to easily find me when searching for Aerialists or Aerial Arts.

If you need to find keywords use AnswerThePublic, a free visual keyword research and content ideas tool you can use to brainstorm keywords in your niche. Find out what questions and queries your audience has in mind by getting a free report of what they’re searching for in Google.

Instagram Action Steps

Optimize your Instagram username and name for search engines.

  • Integrate keywords into your Instagram name and username when possible. (You can also include keywords within your bio).

 

Vanessa Barthelmes is the founder of digital marketing agency The Socialite Media. Vanessa has over a decade of experience in digital marketing, fundraising and event management. She loves volunteering, performing acrobatics while 10-feet in the air, everything to do with dogs, and has a mean aerial split. If you want to grow your Instagram account access a free Instagram Growth course here.

 

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