As of July 10, 2025, Instagram posts will start ranking on Google and Bing. Search engines will be allowed to automatically index any new and existing public posts from brand and influencer accounts. While this feature is enabled automatically, brands will have the option to opt out in the settings.
WHAT THIS MEANS
- Increased Reach: Someone searching for "things to do in Oregon" or "what to wear on vacation" could find your content in their search results and land on your post, even if it's not directly on the Instagram platform.
- Increased Lower-Funnel Reach: Since these users are not scrolling social media for entertainment, but rather seeking a specific result or solution, they are more likely to engage and/or convert.
- Longer Content Lifecycle: SEO-optimized evergreen content will have a much longer lifespan than Instagram feed content (typically only a couple of days).
While the update specifically names Google and Bing, it's also important to consider that ChatGPT and other AI models also crawl the internet for data. So, once Instagram is included in search results, itʼs likely to be included in AI search as well.
WHAT YOUR BRAND SHOULD DO:
IT'S TIME TO ADD SEO TO YOUR SOCIAL CONTENT STRATEGY
To take advantage of these benefits, brands need to incorporate and prioritize strong SEO in their content strategy. In order to index content, search engines process captions, so they need to be crafted with intention.
- Write captions like search headlines. Craft clear, natural, and descriptive captions that immediately convey what your post is about – this is what will appear as a search headline.
- Optimize alt-text with strategic keywords. Use Instagram's alt-text feature to add detailed descriptions that include relevant keywords and phrases your audience might search for.
- Align content with search intent. Research high-intent search queries related to your brand and ensure your caption keywords and content themes directly address these common searches.
- Audit and update existing evergreen content. Review your evergreen posts through an SEO lens and update captions, hashtags, and descriptions to make them more discoverable in search results.
- Create standalone content. Design each post to be entirely understandable on its own, since users discovering your content through Google search won't have the context of your full Instagram feed.
- Consider influencer SEO strategy. Provide influencers with keyword guidelines and ensure their captions support your search visibility goals while maintaining authentic brand awareness within the platform.
LET THE METRICS TELL YOU WHAT'S WORKING
Once this change takes effect, you’ll be able to measure its impact. Some data points to look at include:
- Source: Where are your viewers coming from? Understand if/what content is ranking.
- Reel Click-Through Rate: When viewed outside of Instagram.
- Reach/Engagement: Track changes in reach and engagement over time to understand the impact of search—reach should theoretically increase, while engagement may or may not.
ANTICIPATE THE TRADEOFFS
While there's significant upside to this change, it's a substantial shift in the social landscape and brings with it some challenges to consider.
- Website Traffic: Traffic referred to your site from search engines may decrease, as users will be served both your social media and website content. Video is more fun and more digestible, so your Reels may cannibalize traffic from your website.
- More Competition in Search: Influencers and other brands in similar spaces and conversations will be ranking alongside you - this can impact both your website/blog and your social traffic. Make sure your keywords are strong.
- Zero-Click Results: Due largely to AI-driven overviews, users can find the information they are looking for directly on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), without having to click through to websites, blogs, or social media pages. Brand content and messaging may be encountered and digested without driving any traffic or engagement.
- Richer AI Search: People are relying on AI tools more than ever for research, reducing both site visits and social search traffic. With Instagram content indexed, ChatGPT will be able to include information from Instagram in its results, which could further reduce brand touchpoints.
As the line between social and search continues to blur, the brands that win will be the ones treating every post as both a story and a searchable asset. Optimize now, or risk being invisible when it counts. We'll be watching this shift closely as it unfolds, so check back soon for fresh insights and real-time learnings to help you stay ahead.
