Algorithms are changing y’all. Sometimes us social media professionals get a little whiplash when it comes to changing algorithms. I know what I know. and what I know works,.. oh what, you’re changing things again. Whiplash.

One question I hear a lot is if social media and SEO work together. the short answer is KIND OF.

Because depending on who you ask, you might hear two different answers. Let’s talk about how Google takes Social Media into consideration - because one thing EVERYONE wants is more website traffic and HIGHER rankings.

Here’s the thing - Google does NOT take into account social media, HOWEVER, brands that have more engagement often times see higher rankings. The Google Algorithm does notoriously take social signals into account (though they’ll never admit it). Some SEO experts have stated the three signals when it comes to social media and SEO are:
1. Link sharing
2. Audience size & following
3. Tags/Mentions

Why do these matter? Link sharing is similar to backlinks - especially when someone shares YOUR content. Regarding audience size, the more followers you have, the more eyes on your content. The audience following tells Google that people know and (hopefully) like your brand. It’s the credibility factor that many SEO professionals will tell you is a factor when it comes to the Google Algorithm. Same with mentions or tags. The more people tag you or mention you, the more trustworthy (or popular) you become to Google and thus, better rankings.

So now that we know, that more followers and likes kind of help our your overall Google ranks (unofficially). How do we get more followers?

Wellp, many social networks are moving towards a more “SEO” like algorithm. So think about SEO on a platform such as Instagram. Your goal is to get more eyes and engagement on your content. Instagram wants to show relevant content that its users will engage with. So YOU need to improve your discoverability. The more people who find your content, the more you can attract new followers. Win, win, right?

SEO & Instagram

Those pesky algorithms process content to determine WHAT the post is about and WHO might want to see it. While we can’t CONTROL the algorithm we can steer it with a little social media optimization.

Late last year, Instagram recommended using 3-5 hashtags on posts - despite allowing up to 30. This goes against their best practices, however, they have also moved their algorithm to focus on keywords and SEO. With the recent changes to the feeds, they want to be able to provide more suggested content (similar to the Reels tab), and in order to do so, they want to be able to categorize it accurately giving YOU more of what you want to see. The idea here is fewer hashtags will lead to more reliable self-categorization.

Lesson? Make sure you’re optimizing your posts. BUT don’t neglect the other information Instagram takes into account to help determine ranking in a keyword search result (see: Explore page). According to Instagram the most relevant factors are

1. Relevance. The algorithm will match what you’ve searched with top posts, accounts, tags, places, etc… Consider this the TOP factor when it comes to optimizing.

2. Activity. Based on what the users do, if Instagram thinks someone will be more interested in one post, it’ll prioritize that in search results. This is based on previous activity on the app.

3. Information. So when there’s a high volume of relevant search results, it becomes like Google - a popularity contest. This is where the number of likes, shares, saves, and follows for an account or post can influence rankings and how well you show up (or subsequently, NOT).

While I HATE optimizing just for the algorithm, because everyone who markets anything is marketing to a person, not to a machine, these are some factors to keep in mind.

When it comes to your Instagram SEO strategy, the main thing you can do to improve your ranking is to help the algorithm correctly identify your content — so the next time someone performs a search, Instagram will know to include your post in the results.

Here are four ways to boost discoverability SEO-Style

1. Use keywords in your captions. Until recently, you could only search in Instagram Explore with hashtags, but now you can search using keywords. This means you now need to optimize your captions and your profile with relevant keywords (don’t keyword stuff. No one likes that.). This helps you show up on the explore page - especially when people are searching your terms,

2. Optimize your Profile. If you want to rank for a specific keyword, it’s a good idea to incorporate that into your actual name/profile name. After all, these are searchable on Instagram as well.

3. Hashtags. I don’t care how many hashtags Instagram says we should use, you can still use up to 30 and targeted hashtags are still the best way to get found by new audiences. We’ll do a separate post on hashtags later. But don’t stop using them!

4. CONSISTENCY. This seems like a no-brainer but yet, if it was everyone would be doing it right? Staying consistent teaches the Instagram Algorithm who you are and what you offer. They know what users want and can serve your content up to users it thinks will like and engage with your content.

Need help crafting a thoughtful Instagram strategy? Schedule a strategy session to help get some clarity on how to get the most out of Instagram.