Similar to how you’re focused on SEO when writing content for your blog, such as landing pages and other web content. It would help if you did the same thing with social media. Why? More and more people search for information on social rather than using a search engine like Google, Bing or Yahoo. You want to make sure you are being seen no matter where they search! Engaging in SEO on social media will aid in ensuring your profile, product, or service is ranked higher in results from searches. This increases the organic search engine traffic that comes to your website and boosts your following.

The number of shares, likes, and comments your posts receive online determines your posts’ social media rankings and reach. To stay competitive, plan to always show up with info, and put out quality content. Also, set your social media up to make it easy for your readers to share your content with friends and contacts by including attractive CTAs.

Here are some general tips:

• Visual content is among the most powerful SEO strategies you can employ. Use relevant and high-quality images and video and even GIFs. Use all content that loads fast and plays in high quality. 

• Include subtitles on videos (and meta description for images). Google, as well as other engines, can’t view the video. However, the search engines (social and other) can read the text to index and search for the content, making your content more visible and searchable.

Read below for more specific platform based SEO tips.

Instagram SEO means optimizing your Instagram content to be discovered in search results. When someone searches for a relevant keyword or hashtag in the Instagram search box, you want your account or content to appear near the top of the list.

It’s no surprise that what someone types in the search bar is the most important signal to search. Based on the search terms, Instagram looks for relevant usernames, bios, captions, hashtags, and locations.

Here are the search results when we search “marketing” from our main Instagram account, where we follow and interact with a lot of marketing brands:

This means you need to understand what search terms people use to look for content like yours.

Optimize Your Bio

Instagram bio SEO starts with your Instagram name. Choose a handle and profile name that’s relevant to your content. If you’re well known by your brand name, then that’s the best place to start. If there’s room for a keyword in your handle or name, include that too.

Notice all of the accounts that appeared in my top search results for marketing include the word marketing in their handle or name or both.

Also, make sure to include relevant keywords in your bio. Who are you, and what are you all about? What kind of content can people (and the Instagram search engine) expect to find in your grid? You should also include a location in your bio if it’s relevant to your business. 

Hashtags

Boost your content with hashtags. Use only relevant hashtags. Use a combination of well-known, niche, and specific (think branded or campaign-based) hashtags. Limit hashtags to 3 to 5 per post. Don’t use irrelevant or overly generic hashtags like #explorepage. Keep your hashtags in the caption – contrary to the previous “hidden in the comments” approach.

Read more about the relevance of hashtags here.

Keywords in Content

It is recommended to specifically include relevant keywords in post captions to help with discoverability. This is because Instagram is changing how search results are served. In the past, search results only included relevant accounts, hashtags, and places. Now, search results also include keyword results pages meant for browsing. This is great news for lesser-known brands, since it gives people a better chance to find your content without searching for your specific account name.

Get Meta

Alt text on Instagram is just like alt text on the web. It’s a text description of an image or video that makes the content accessible to those with visual impairments. It also provides a description of the content in case the photo itself fails to load.

Instagram alt text also has the advantage of helping Instagram better understand what’s in your content, and therefore better understand whether it’s relevant to a specific search.

Instagram uses object recognition technology to create an automatic description of each photo for those who use a screen reader. This information also provides information to the Instagram algorithm and search results about the content of your photo. However, inputting your own metadata provides a better experience. 

To add alt text when you post a photo, tap Advanced Settings at the bottom of the screen where you write your caption. Under Accessibility, tap Write Alt Text and add a photo description using relevant keywords.

SEO on Facebook does not differ much from that of Instagram.

Choose Your Name Wisely

Be careful and selective when it comes to choosing the name of your Facebook page. One of the basic SEO rules says that you should use keywords throughout your content, and this means that they should be featured in your page name too.

If someone is searching for your service, shop, or location, will your page pop up? 

Go for a single, carefully selected, long-tail keyword. Also, since Google puts great emphasis on the first word in your page title, place it accordingly.

Using special characters, improper capitalization, and weird spelling in order to distinguish yourself won’t do the trick either, not to mention that Facebook doesn’t allow all of these corny tactics. 

Claim Your Vanity URL

When you create your Facebook business page, you’ll be assigned an automatically generated dynamic URL.

By claiming your “vanity” URL and customizing it to match your company’s name, you’ll receive a significant SEO boost. This branded URL should be descriptive and concise, as its purpose is to be memorable and give your audience a hunch as to what your business is all about. Needless to say, the vanity URL will increase your brand recognition and visibility.

Try and keep all your social media usernames and URLs the same for consistency.

Keywords Keywords Keywords

Keywords are essential elements of your Facebook page SEO optimization, and strategy is key. This means properly including keywords in these areas: About, Description, Headline, Posts, Notes, and Updates.

Be specific and not too vague with your keywords to ensure you are attracting the right audience and not getting lost in the noise.

Don’t forget to use relevant keywords and content in each and every post! 

Upload Content Natively

While it may seem easier to just link to an outside source (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.), your video content will perform much better when uploaded directly to your Facebook page and using the optimization tools while uploading.

LinkedIn may not be the most flattering platform, but it is an essential place for businesses to be. 

Here are some simple tips:

• Upload a great profile image and banner
• Write a compelling “About Us” section and include relevant keywords
• Post to your Company Page regularly
• Use relevant keywords and hashtags in your posts
• Utilize meta descriptions on your posts

It all comes down to purposeful strategy and relevant content.

Implement SEO strategies, and you’ll notice an increase in impact!

Ready to take the next steps in upping your SEO across all platforms? Reach out to our team today for help optimizing your social media (and website).