How to Optimize Your Instagram Content for Google Search Results

Starting on July 10th 2025, if you have a professional Instagram account and have optimized your content, you may benefit from increased exposure in search engine result pages (or SERPs). Any public Instagram content will be eligible to appear organically in SERPs by default. Users will no longer need to open the Instagram app to view your photos, videos, Reels, and carousels.

So, how can you optimize your Instagram profile and content for better search engine indexing? Here are a few best practices the team at Socium Media is following.

5 Steps to Optimize Professional Instagram Content for Google

1. Update your Instagram profile

In the bio section of your profile, make sure you include high-level relevant keywords that your target audience might search for on Instagram.

Include a link to your website and other social accounts. You can include up to five external links in a professional profile.

2. SEO optimization for Instagram videos

Provide a detailed description of your Instagram video. Make sure you include target keywords in your description.

3. Write descriptive captions that include keywords

Well-written captions that include relevant and targeted keywords will help search engines understand what your content is about.

Focus on long-tail keywords. Starting with longer, more specific phrases will help you target your audience better. Unless you have a high-profile account with a ton of followers, focusing on shorter keywords will make it more difficult to show in search results since you will have more competition.

Incorporate keywords naturally by including target keywords in your Instagram video descriptions, on-screen text, and spoken dialogue.

Don’t overdo it. Stuffing keywords unnaturally into your content is always a big no-no and an amateur move.

4. Use hashtags strategically

Research and incorporate relevant hashtags to increase your content visibility. Use a mix of broad and niche hashtags. Broad hashtags will increase general visibility while niche hashtags will target specific communities.

But don’t overdo it. We recommend using 3–5 well-researched hashtags to begin with. Utilizing trending and popular hashtags that align with your content will increase your reach.

5. SEO optimization for Instagram images

Add descriptive alternative text (alt text) to your images. This helps make them more accessible for humans and searchable for search engines. If your image includes text overlay, include that text in your image alt text.

Make sure the alt text reads naturally. This text will be spoken to people who have accessibility and hearing assistance needs.

Avoid starting alt tags with “Image of…”, or “Illustration of…”, or “Photo of…” and place the target keyword at the beginning of alt text (when possible).

Additional recommendations for SERP-friendly Instagram profiles

Once your Instagram business profile is updated for Google searches, there are some best practices to follow so your new content is at the forefront of people’s queries:

• Always create engaging, high-quality content: Focus on creating content that is valuable and relevant to your audience. Content that people engage with will help the videos and profile rank higher in platform and (most-likely) in natural SERPs.
• Account for AI indexing trends: Content that is focused on how-to and frequently asked questions will perform best.
• Keep file sizes low to preserve quality: While Instagram will compress your images and videos during upload, taking the additional step of compressing locally before you upload to Instagram platform may yield better results. There is no exact formula or one-size-fits-all approach to compression, so you may need to experiment to get the best quality image or video at the smallest file size.
• Maintain content loading speed: Search engines love speed and tend to rank faster assets higher in SERPs than slower assets.

Want to make sure your brand’s Instagram profile is Google-ready? Set up a free consultation with Socium Media to find out how we can improve your search and social performance.