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Written by Savanna Sargent
Published on September 5, 2025
Reading time 15 minutes
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Traditional search on the likes of Google have dominated online search behavior for decades. But social networks are beginning to rival them, particularly for younger generations. According to Sprout’s Q2 Pulse Survey, social is the #1 place that Gen Z searches. Users aren’t passively scrolling; they are actively using Instagram and other networks as discovery engines for specific content, products, accounts and inspiration.
In early July 2025, Instagram announced the expansion of Google indexing for professional and creator accounts, sparking conversations on social media. By making more public posts eligible to be displayed in traditional search engine results, does this mean your Instagram marketing can now drive traffic from web searches?
Possibly, but likely not consistently. We’re in the early stages of this evolving relationship between social media and traditional search. They’re beginning to work in concert, creating new avenues for visibility, and have been doing so for years. Instagram content has already been appearing in search results, but web content remains the primary engine for consistent search engine visibility.
In essence, this isn’t really a “new” revolution in social or search. It’s just the latest evolution in the visibility game we’re already playing. As algorithms continue to change, a strong social media strategy will be your constant. Audience engagement will remain the ultimate ranking factor, regardless of platform. Creating great content while harnessing social search engine optimization (SOSEO) where it makes sense will position brands and creators at the forefront of discoverability.
This article will walk through our social and SEO teams’ advice on how to optimize your Instagram profile for organic growth within the network, which may also help you appear in search engines like Google.
Instagram SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of optimizing your Instagram content—including profiles, posts, hashtags and captions—to increase visibility within Instagram and traditional search engine results pages (SERPs). At its core, Instagram SEO is about ensuring your brand surfaces when people search for topics, keywords or hashtags relevant to what you offer.
A well-optimized post, profile or Reel has the potential to show up for someone searching on Instagram and Google—even if they’ve never interacted with your brand on Instagram before.
Instagram’s algorithm leaning more towards discovery, and public content being indexed by traditional search engines is the latest iteration of an existing trend: audiences are using social networks to discover and make purchase decisions.
Social search, along with AI-driven search, is actively diverting customers from traditional SEO funnels, playing a greater role beyond brand awareness in the buyer’s journey. Instagram, and other networks like TikTok, aren’t just for entertainment anymore. They’re providing visual discovery of products and trend-hunting opportunities that influence our culture.
Social signals (likes, shares, engagement) are also directly impacting traditional SEO performance by amplifying content visibility, authority and driving backlink generation.
“There’s been discourse across social about this new update being a major catalyst in content discoverability, but it builds upon what has already been happening for some time now. If you’ve ever done a Google search over the past few years, you’ve likely seen Instagram, among other networks in SERPS,” Jamia says.
Expanding the indexing of public content across more regions presents a big opportunity. Your public content (meaning photos, videos, carousels and Reels posted on or after January 1, 2020, from account holders that are over 18 years old) could potentially be seen by an even larger audience.
“Instagram’s latest indexing update isn’t just another algorithm tweak—it’s a reminder for social and SEO teams of where the next wave of marketing is headed. Brands that proactively optimize their Instagram presence for search will be more likely to increase visibility, dominate discoverability, capture untapped audiences organically and command space in the attention economy,” Jamia adds.
According to The 2024 Content Strategy Report, 61% of social users are turning to the network for product discovery (more than any other network). As people continue to use Instagram and Google for search, your social content will serve multiple purposes. It’s not just increasing your reach and organic visibility across platforms, your Instagram content will also:
As Lauren Keudall, Director, SEO at Sprout puts it: “At the end of the day, the opportunity to foster social and search is all about distribution and listening. Using social to amplify your brand is a massive opportunity, when done intentionally. Creating a web experience on it’s own is not enough, creating a social post on it’s own is not enough. When you bring these spaces together in a connected way to draw in your audiences you gain the most value. Thinking of social as a demand generation opportunity as well as a bridge to your web experience is where the magic happens.”
Instagram uses a variety of signals from account metadata, text/post information (captions, hashtags, profile names), location tags and engagement patterns (likes, shares, saves) to determine relevance. Instagram aims to show users the content they are most likely to be interested in and its algorithm is constantly learning and adapting based on user behavior.
Understanding these signals gives marketers a blueprint to increase the likelihood of discoverability.
According to Instagram’s own explanation of how its search works, several key ranking factors influence content visibility:
In essence, the more relevant your content is to a user’s interests and search queries, and the more engagement it generates, the more likely it is to be seen. It’s about creating high-quality, valuable content that genuinely resonates with your audience.
To maximize in-app and search engine visibility, brands need a holistic methodology for seo and social media. As Jamia puts it, “Think of Instagram SEO as a digital magnet. The more strategically you optimize your content, the stronger your pull becomes—attracting not just followers, but valuable, intent-driven traffic.”
Incorporating these Instagram SEO practices can increase your organic reach by improving your visibility/rank on Instagram’s Explore and external SERPS. You’ll also enhance the longevity and relevance of your posts compared to ephemeral content (Stories, lives) on Instagram.
Your Instagram profile is your digital storefront, and it’s where users and search engines will look to understand what your brand is about. Use these profile options to optimize it for maximum visibility:
Instagram search works similarly to Google—users input keywords, expecting the most relevant results. So keyword research is the cornerstone to understanding what your audience is searching and how to align your content with those interests.
There are several ways you can discover relevant search queries:
High-quality, engaging content is the ultimate fuel for Instagram SEO. Instagram’s algorithm rewards content that keeps users engaged and interacting on the network. And Google’s algorithm prioritizes fresh, viral content from social networks, especially for queries that indicate a desire for real-time information on trending topics.
So how do you create content that captures the best of both worlds? First and foremost, it should be built for your audience.
Conduct an audit of your current Instagram content, and compare it to competitor and creator content around similar topics to understand what your audience likes (and doesn’t like). Discover what formats they prefer and how they want you to show up.
Once you know what your audience wants, you can optimize your content for relevant searches. Going viral on Instagram can boost your in-app discovery and spill over to Google. Start optimizing your content by:
Don’t be afraid to experiment, or lean into what works. The more you bring value to your audience, the more they’ll reward you with engagements.
Instagram Reels are currently Instagram’s magnet for organic reach and discoverability. Reels are prominently featured on the Explore page and have a dedicated tab, allowing users to discover new content from accounts they don’t follow.
Our Content Benchmarks Report also found that 28% of a brand’s Instagram content is video. As other networks continue to prioritize video content, it’s clear this is what audiences want and therefore what you need to deliver.
On top of the optimization tips above, there are several additional tactics you can follow to optimize your Reels for search, including:
Captions provide context but also serve as metadata for Instagram and external search engines. Consider this your formula for creating engaging and optimized Instagram captions:
Instagram hashtags remain a staple for discoverability and categorizing content on the network. They can also serve as keywords that help external search engines understand the context of your content.
There’s an art and a science to using hashtags:
Alt text (or alternative text) describes images for users who may be blind or have difficulty seeing. It’s an often overlooked SEO element. It can provide valuable context to Instagram’s algorithm and external search engines about your visual content.
Incorporating descriptive alt text with your images increases the likelihood of your content being discovered through image searches.
When adding alt text, provide a concise yet descriptive explanation of your image, incorporating relevant keywords naturally. For example, instead of “dog,” write “Golden Retriever puppy playing in a green field with a red ball.”
It’s important to prioritize social media accessibility in your alt text over optimizing for certain types of searches. If it’s difficult for your audience or the platform to understand what your image is about, then your post will likely receive little engagement and visibility.
With Sprout’s Generate by AI Assist, you can automatically create alt text for your image posts. Enabling you to remain agile and move quickly while keeping your content accessible.
As Instagram becomes more integrated into other digital marketing spaces, this also means the content you post there doesn’t just have to stay on the network. Reinforce search signals by bringing your Instagram content to your other channels and vice versa. This isn’t just about sharing links; it’s about strategic alignment and amplification.
Use your link in bio as a bridge between your social and web presence. Use it to direct users to specific web content that directly relates to your most recent or relevant Instagram posts. If your Reel explains “5 tips for better sleep,” link directly to a comprehensive blog post on your website about sleep hygiene. This creates a seamless user journey and reinforces topical authority.
Aligning your content is also an opportunity to bridge your social media, SEO and content teams. Unify your content calendars where social posts are intentionally created to amplify and support web content, and web content expands upon and amplifies your social posts.
Repurposing content across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube Shorts is already a favorite tactic in the social media manager’s playbook. With external search engines bringing in more social content from other networks, there’s even more opportunity to repurpose your Instagram content for other search-friendly mediums, such as:
By coordinating these efforts, you’re creating more touch points and opportunities for discoverability, increasing your likelihood of capturing user attention in-network and in SERPs.
Like all marketing strategies, Instagram SEO isn’t a one-and-done situation, but an iterative process that involves a continuous feedback loop. By frequently analyzing your Instagram analytics and using social listening, you can refine your content strategy, optimize your keywords and adapt to search behavior changes, so your brand remains discoverable within Instagram and across the web.
With Instagram analytics, analyze the performance of your posts, so you can identify patterns in content types, keywords and hashtags that lead to higher reach. What are users engaging with most? Are any of your posts appearing in SERPs? This will help you optimize your content for better visibility and engagement, ultimately boosting your SEO performance over time.
Social Listening will further help identify trending content and hashtags on Instagram, enabling brands to proactively engage with relevant trends. This will not only boost engagement and viral potential but also significantly increase the likelihood of your Instagram content appearing in Google SERPs. You’ll also gain access to a wealth of data that can inform the entire buyer’s journey by providing granular insights into your target audience’s interests and conversations. For SEO teams, this can inspire more long-tail keywords that appeal to AI-powered search platforms.
The more your social search and traditional search strategies intermingle, you’ll also need a holistic approach to your performance analysis. Leveraging Sprout Social will enable you to transform insights into action by:
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For brands, Instagram SEO presents a significant opportunity to extend their reach beyond the app. By integrating in-app SEO best practices with external search engine optimization, brands can maximize discoverability and engagement, regardless of where their audience is searching.
Achieving synergy between these two approaches will be paramount for maximizing long-term online visibility and engagement. It’s about ensuring your content can be found by anyone, anywhere, at the moment of curiosity or intent.
Like traditional SEO, Instagram SEO is an evolving field. You’ll need to stay attuned to updates, particularly as Meta and Google further refine their search functions.
To stay on top of performance trends and how your strategy stacks up, check out The 2025 Content Benchmarks Report. This report details performance trends across various industries and networks, and the type of content and engagement audiences currently crave.
Savanna Sargent
Savanna is a Senior Content Manager at Sprout Social. She’s fascinated with communication, especially how humans continue to find new ways to connect with each other. That’s why she’s spent 10+ years immersing herself in content strategy and wordsmithing.
Read all articles by Savanna Sargent
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