What The Instagram Search Feature Means for 2021
So there’s a new feature on the block that everyone wants to know yet it’s still a mystery…
the Instagram search feature.
Here’s the thing, this search tool isn’t perfect nor will it solve all of your problems, yet. Just like everything else in the marketing world though, you have to be willing to give it a try and figure out how to maximize the use of it for yourself and for your business.
The main thing you need to understand about this tool is that right now you can only search general terms such as “dinner recipes” or “personal trainer” and Instagram decides how to filter it in (aka it’s out of your control). What I’ve noticed through research for the past couple of days is that anytime a post is filtered into these searches, the exact keywords are actually IN the caption. If for any reason they’re not, my best guess is that the user put them in the alt text of the photo (a must do).
So here’s the good news:
Instagram is turning more into a search engine and expanding its capabilities.
You can easily search for daily needs (dinner recipes/fashion tips/etc.)
This feature will allow your posts to be seen and found easier (FINALLY)
And here’s what still needs progress:
Searches are very general still, while they will make your posts filter into categories, there is no consistency, yet
One, not every country has access yet, and two, not every profile (even in countries where it’s launched), has access yet
Until users understand it / know about it, they won’t maximize their use with it
You may have noticed that I used the word “yet” over and over again but there’s a reason for that. The reality is, like any other feature, Instagram will improve this and will use user tracking to do so. The more that you jump into it now, try to figure it out, the better the outcome will be for you. Instagram WILL make those yets turn into nows, and sooner or later SEO on Instagram will be as normal as hashtags have been.
Pro tip: start watching the words that your ICA uses in their captions consistently, write them down, and search them.