What do search engine optimisation (SEO) and Instagram have in common?
Until recently, not much. But that’s all going to change after a recent announcement by the social media giant: As of 10 July 2025, Instagram profiles, reels and posts (images, carousels and captions) will appear in Google search results, along with other search engines like Bing and Safari.
In this blog, we look at what that means for your organisation and how marketing managers can leverage this change to improve your online visibility AND social media presence.
What’s changing
Previously, Instagram operated as a “closed system”. Your social media presence was almost entirely separate from your visibility in search results. While some Instagram content did make its way into search results, the platform’s design intentionally discouraged search engines from doing this.
But now the floodgates are open.
If your account meets the following criteria, your content will likely be crawled and indexed by search engines:
- You have a professional account (either business or creator)
- Your profile is public
- You’re 18 or older
- You post content, like photos, videos or Reels
Search engines will now treat your Instagram profile and posts like any other web content that could appear in search results.
So why the change?
It all comes down to how younger generations are using social media. Rather than turning to Google, these users are more inclined to use social media platforms like Instagram to research products and brands, especially for local search queries. By integrating the two, Instagram can share its content more widely, and search engines have significantly more content to index and supply to their users.
How it affects you
In short, your social media presence now impacts your SEO.
In many ways, Instagram posts will take on the same role as content on your website. Users looking for information on a specific topic may not be aware that your organisation can help, but if your Instagram posts come up in their search results, that awareness will grow.
For example, if a resident searches Google for “when is my bin day” or “child-friendly events in [location]”, a relevant Instagram post from your account can now appear in their search results.
This is an excellent opportunity to reach more people online and increase organic traffic to your website and Instagram content. However, your competitors will have the same advantage.
That’s where our Instagram SEO checklist comes in.
Your Instagram SEO checklist
1. Check your account settings
Start by checking your account settings to confirm whether you're affected by the changes.
To do this, go to Settings → Account Privacy. Here you’ll be able to see whether or not you “allow public photos and videos to appear in search engine results”. By default, this should be enabled, but you can choose to opt out.
2. Audit and optimise your existing Instagram content
Chances are, you already have a lot of great content; it’s just a matter of tweaking it to help Google index it properly.
We recommend focusing your optimisation efforts on evergreen content that has performed well in the past. For example, “how-to” guides tend to have enduring value for your users long after you first share them.
Here are some things you can do to optimise your content:
- Research relevant keywords and insert them into captions. This is especially important for the first line of your caption, which Google will treat as a de facto title for SEO purposes.
- Make your captions catchy and specific. Keyword insertion is useful here, but don’t overdo it.
- Add descriptive alt text to images and be specific! Provide useful context with accurate descriptions and location details.
- Hashtags are back, but use them wisely.
- Add location tags to your content to help improve your local SEO performance.
You can also repost updated versions of posts that performed well in the past, or pin older posts that are still relevant to the top of your profile. Think of it like a blog archive - there’s as much value in optimising existing posts as creating new ones, plus optimising tends to take less time!
3. Refine your content strategy
Instagram's recent change makes an excellent case for aligning your social media and search strategies. By refining your content strategy to include SEO-friendly Instagram content, you’re giving yourself the best chance to engage followers and rank on Google.
Ask your SEO team to share target keywords with your content team. Your content creators can then plan content around these keywords and make sure to include them in captions, hashtags, alt text and even within your content, e.g. if your Instagram Reels include text.
4. Create posts for your top-ranking pages
Review your top-performing website pages, such as waste collection schedules, event listings, or local development updates, and create Instagram posts that highlight this information.
For example, if your “Bin Collection Calendar” page sees high traffic, creating an Instagram post with a visual reminder can enhance discoverability in Google search results. With a link in bio directing users to your site, you can boost engagement across both Instagram and your website.
Instagram, SEO and ALYKA
Do you have a question about how this update impacts your organisation? We’re here to help!
Our content strategists and SEO specialists can help you understand what the changing content landscape means for you.
Get in touch with us today.