These days, Instagram is being used more and more like a search engine. I notice myself using it for things I used to search for on Google, and this is a huge, growing trend to be aware of when marketing your small business.
When I went for a walk in Perranporth recently, I used my Instagram to search 'cafes in Perranporth' and then clicked through to their accounts to get a feel for where I'd like to go. Their social media presence and impression they gave off influenced my decision making enormously.
Similarly, if I'm looking for 'massage in Falmouth' or 'bike repair in Penryn' , I'm much more likely to be searching on Instagram these days than on a traditional search engine.
I'm sharing this because it's a behaviour change that seems like it's here to stay, and there are a few simple things that you can do to optimise your social media accounts so that they start to show up for people searching. I still advocate quality content as the number one most important thing to focus on, but tweaking your SEO for Instagram will also give you a helping hand.
By simply being aware of how this searching system works, you can begin to gently feed it into your content and the way you write your captions...
Enjoy Finding Your Keywords
Imagine your perfect customer is searching for your exact product or service. What words and phrases do they use? Write them down now.
It's that simple. Keywords are essential for SEO, but we don't need to make them complex and scary. For example, mine might be:
small business marketing
social media support
coaching
wellbeing
self-employed
business coach
falmouth
cornwall
small business
You can adjust and change your keywords as your business evolves, and there are loads of techy tools to dive into refining them further if you want to. However, I'd start with whatever comes to mind when you imagine your ideal customer searching for you. Use these words to begin with.
Optimising Your Instagram Profile for SEO
Your Instagram profile is the part of your page that 'stays still' up above your grid (which will change and move every time you post). It's absolutely worth spending time sprucing up this area, as it really is a main part of your virtual 'shop window'.
Here are some considerations for optimising your Instagram profile for searchability:
Username and Handle: Choose something which people will type when searching for your brand. Sounds obvious, but I've seen some crazily un-searchable names, so just check that yours isn't getting in the way of people finding you!
Profile Name: This is 'searchable' which means any keywords mentioned here will do a really good job of sending people to your profile. However, this is also what shows up on Stories and Messages, so I would also include your actual name (or business name) so as not to cause confusion. Mine is 'Emily - Marketing & Mindset Coach' - there are other ways I could have written this to capitalise more on the SEO, but I have prioritised choosing something that I like to describe myself as. This just feels better to me than the term 'social media manager', and encompasses more of what I do. My priority will always be the 'human' engagement, the SEO is secondary (but I have considered it).
Bio: This is such a small space to show off the best of your brand! Be concise here, including your keywords where you can, as well as clear call-to-action. Mine includes some key words, but prioritises What, Who, Where and How I help (which is a lot for 150 characters).
Mindset Coach for Self-Marketing
⭐️ Helping wellness businesses be visible
⭐️ Align your content with your ideal audience👇🏼
🌊 Falmouth, Cornwall
Adding Keywords To Your Instagram Captions
When you write your next caption, see if you can subtly include a few of your keywords.
This is a very useful technique to know about, but not at the expense of your writing sounding natural. Even if SEO helps lots of people see your post, it won't resonate well if it's awkwardly written and sounds like a robot.
'Keyword stuffing' gets penalised on socials and search engines, and damages trust in your brand, so whilst it might be good to subtly incorporate a phrase like 'pottery classes in Cornwall' into your caption, try reading it back aloud and see if it's how you would actually talk.
Using titles and bullet points in your captions can be a really nice way to include keywords without wrangling them into sentences. The best way to get good at this is to practice, so you could also revisit old content and see if any existing words can be replaced with keyword phrases.
Another tip is to talk about your industry as whole, which often involves using its keywords! For example, my imaginary ceramics studio might write:
'It's been amazing to see the rise in pottery classes and courses since #TheGreatPotteryThrowdown has been on TV! Ceramics is so addictive, and we love our studio community here in Falmouth'.
Can you see how it's not overt selling, but I've put in bold several keywords that people might search for? I would probably then also add a couple of hashtags like ' #beginnerspottery #potterywheel #wheelthrowing which cover a few different search term. Bonus points if these relate to the picture or video.
How To Use Hashtags in 2025:
Hashtags used to be essential, before the search bar was used so heavily. These days, you want a few short hashtags (5-10) that are specific to your SEO keywords. Mix well-know hashtags like '#mindfulness' with specifics '#ethicalmarketing'.
You could use:
audience specific. eg. #selfemployedwomen
brand specific. eg. #marketingmindset
content specific eg. #seoforinstagram
locations eg. #cornwall #falmouthuk
(This is incredibly obvious, but double check the spelling otherwise it won't work! Because the word spacing is removed, our brains often miss spelling mistakes in hashtags that we'd normally pick up on.)
Using Alt-Text on Your Images:
One final place to feature your beloved keywords is 'behind' your images.
Alt-text is a lesser-seen text that you can add to describe the images that you are posting. It shows up for people who have visual impairments, to let them know what the image shows, but it is also a way that Instagram categories images and recommends them in search results.
To write your Alt-text, you go into 'Advanced Settings' before you post, or go back and edit it, and simply describe the image, using keywords if appropriate. Eg. I might write 'Emily - marketing coach in Cornwall' for a picture of me, or 'social media manager using her phone'.
My pottery studio could write 'hand built mug' or 'wheel throwing lessons in Falmouth'. You get the gist. (If you don't, send me a message and I can help!)
As you can imagine, most people don't bother to post the alt-text, so it really is an extra level you can use to elevate your content above the rest.
Your Social Media SEO To-Do List:
To summarise, here are a few things you can do straight away to boost your searchability on Instagram:
Check that you come up when you search your business name.
Add a keyword into your 'Profile Name' (shown in bold on your profile).
Add a couple of keywords into your bio.
On your most recent post, try adding a keyword to Alt Text.
For your next post, add one keyword to the caption (this can be in hashtags, so you may already be doing it!)
Although Instagram SEO is really helpful for your socials, as you know I am a great believer in creating high quality content first, and adjusting the searchability as fine-tuning.
If you'd like to feel more supported in knowing what kind of content to create and how to radiate the best energy for your business on social media, have a look at my Instagram offerings and guides, or send me a message and I'll let you know how I can best support you, depending on where you're currently at!
Happy Marketing,
Emily x