Optimize your Instagram business profile to make it more search-friendly and increase your visibility. You must do it to increase the chances of your profile appearing as a suggestion under the search bar.

Because on Instagram, searching for a particular keyword or phrase is similar to searching on Google. Its algorithm scans through usernames, account names, and bio descriptions to present the user with the most relevant results.

Instagram considers various factors to show the most relevant profiles. These include accounts you follow, accounts you’re connected to, and posts you’ve liked.

In this article, you will find out how to optimize your Instagram business profile and improve your discoverability on Instagram.

Add Keywords to Your Account Name and Username

According to HubSpot, one of the initial steps you need to take is to consider the keywords that you want to highlight and market your profile. It’s important to ask yourself what people might search for when looking for the products or services you offer.

For instance, if you’re a personal injury lawyer, including the same keyword in your username and account name is a good idea.

Suppose you want your business account to appear in search results when users search for content related to specific keywords. In that case, including relevant keywords in your username and name is a good idea.

Doing so can also help users better understand the scope of your content and the services you offer within your industry or niche.

Optimize Your Bio

Including secondary keywords in your bio can help you target a broader audience beyond your primary ones. Consider other related terms people might be searching for besides what you’re promoting.

For instance, what other products or services could be associated with yours? Additionally, mentioning your location could help attract an audience in your area.

Including primary and secondary keywords in your bio can help optimize your search results and improve your local SEO. For instance, consider adding NYC to your display name and mentioning specific neighborhoods like Brooklyn in your bio. That tells potential customers where you’re located and helps you capture your target audience by indicating the areas you serve.

Use Keywords in Captions

Good post captions are essential to enhance your Instagram profile. Instagram utilizes keywords in captions to identify accounts that share similar topics.

By creating keyword-optimized captions, you can increase your chances of being featured on the Explore page, attracting a wider audience. Consider the following things when optimizing your profile:

Emoji

According to a study by Quintly, using emojis in your captions can increase your interactions, regardless of the size of your profile. The study found that captions with zero emojis tended to receive the most minor interaction.

Therefore, using emojis in captions is recommended, especially if you have a small account with less than 1,000 followers. The study suggests using ten or more emojis to increase your engagement.

Length

Posts without captions received the highest engagement for profiles with more than a million followers. For smaller profiles with followers between 1,000 and 10,000, captions with lengths between one and 50 characters received the highest interaction.

Hashtag

The number of hashtags to use in your posts depends on the size of your business account. Employing ten or more hashtags is better if you have less than 1,000 followers.

One to three hashtags work best for small accounts with 1,000 to 10,000 followers. Larger accounts with 100,000 followers or more saw their highest engagement with zero hashtags.

Add Hashtags to Your Posts

If you want to increase your reach on Instagram, using hashtags is essential. They play a crucial role in Instagram’s search algorithm and help people discover content they’re interested in.

For instance, if you’re a law firm trying to promote your work, using #lawfirm as a hashtag can help your content reach a broader audience.

However, using broad hashtags can also mean more competition for your content. So, it’s essential to balance using popular and niche hashtags your target audience will probably search for.

Using broad hashtags can be a great way to reach a large audience. However, it’s essential to remember that you may also get lost in the sea of other posts using the same hashtag.

That’s why we suggest using multiple hashtags of varying specificity levels to increase your chances of being seen by your intended audience.

If you are a personal injury lawyer, it might be a good idea to use the hashtag #personalinjurylawyer when posting on Instagram. By doing so, you can reach a more specific audience.

Pro Tip: Follow the Recommendations Guidelines

The best way to understand how Instagram’s algorithm works is to follow its recommendations and guidelines if you want to appear higher in search results.

Sam Meenasian, founder of Business Insurance USA, noted, “I have never considered optimizing the Instagram business profile so important, even for such businesses as mine. Instagram searches work almost the same way as Google searches.

What is more important, as we follow Google guidelines to optimize our websites, we should follow Instagram guidelines. Otherwise, you go against Instagram, resulting in not appearing in a search like my business earlier.”

Here are some recommendations you should follow to optimize for the Instagram search:

• Publish low-quality, sensitive, or offensive content;
• Unoriginal content copied from other sources;
• Buying likes;
• Clickbait or engagement bait;
• Overstated health claims or misleading content.

Bottom Line

Determining what works best to optimize your Instagram profile can be challenging, but one way to learn is through trial and error. Experiment with different techniques, such as varying the length of your captions or adding or removing keywords, emojis, or hashtags.

By trying different approaches, you can see what resonates with your audience and adjust your strategy accordingly. The more you experiment, the more you learn what works best for your unique profile.

To further streamline your Instagram profile for consistent posting, use SocialBu and schedule your posts in advance.