Your Instagram posts can now compete with websites in Google search results. From 10 July 2025, Instagram began allowing public posts from professional accounts (Business and Creator profiles) to be indexed by Google and other search engines. This update is a significant shift in how social media content can support discoverability, brand visibility, and audience growth.
It’s an automatic opt-in for Business and Creator profiles with public settings, and means your photos, Reels, carousels, captions, hashtags, alt text, location tags, and even profile content can now appear and rank in organic search results. This includes any content posted on or after 1 January 2020, but doesn’t apply to personal or private accounts. It also doesn’t apply to Stories and Highlights.
Instagram’s shift towards greater searchability is likely a strategic move to hold its ground against TikTok, which Google already indexes extensively. TikTok videos frequently appear in search results, giving the platform a significant advantage in content discovery beyond its app. By making Instagram content indexable, Meta can ensure posts, reels, and profiles get the same visibility boost. The timing coincides with Google’s broader shift towards featuring more multimedia content in search results – you’ll even notice a “Short Videos” tab appearing in the search options.
If public indexing isn’t right for your business, you can disable this feature through Settings > Privacy, then toggle off “Allow public photos and videos to appear in search engine results”. But for most brands focused on reach, staying public offers clear benefits.
Why It Matters
It’s a huge shift in online discovery, creating a new asset class in SEO. Instagram content will start to rank for more and more keywords as more content becomes searchable by default. Instagram content is already appearing in Google’s top 10 results across different searches. For example, if we search for “med spa near Leicester”, the third result right now is an Instagram profile.
Here are the highlights of the SEO implications:
1. New visibility channel
Your Instagram content (once limited to feed and followers) can now show up in Google’s standard results, image results, and even AI-powered overviews . Instagram posts and profiles are now discoverable brand assets (even for searchers who don’t use Instagram). That gives your business extra reach beyond the app. Eye-catching posts that match user intent can rank alongside websites and blog articles, so every post needs to be treated as a mini marketing landing page.
2. Evergreen reach
Previously, Instagram content relied entirely on the in-app algorithm, meaning reach could drop dramatically if a post didn’t gain early engagement or align with ever-changing platform signals. Posts had a short shelf life and quickly disappeared from view. Much like blogs though, indexed posts can now continue to attract attention (and traffic) months or even years after posting. This turns ordinary social content into long-term assets. Posts that have been ‘buried’ by the algorithm have the potential to generate new search visibility.
3. Keyword strategy
With posts now eligible to appear in search results, your Instagram keyword strategy suddenly carries more weight and has to consider impact beyond Instagram’s ecosystem. Your captions, alt text, and hashtags need to be optimised for search queries. Whereas in years past, an Instagram caption like, “Don’t you wish you were here?” might have been engagement fuel for the algorithm, it’s unlikely to rank in Google’s top 10 results for “best hotels in London”.
What Should You Do Next?
Your Instagram grid isn’t just social media anymore; it’s part of your search strategy. The brands that adapt quickly to this change will have the competitive advantage. Here are some steps to rethink your content approach with search intent in mind.
Audit your profile
Make sure your account is set to public and indexed in settings. Review your bio and recent posts for search optimisation opportunities. Update your bio with relevant keywords and location information. Also, review past posts: remove or archive personal inside-jokes; refresh high-performing ones with SEO-friendly captions.
SEO-friendly captions
Your captions now function like webpage titles and meta descriptions. Include your target keywords naturally within the first 125 characters – this opening text becomes your search snippet. Write descriptive, useful captions that answer real user questions rather than cryptic one-liners.
Use alt text intentionally
Alt text describes what’s in your photo or video for people who can’t see it. Screen readers use this text to tell visually impaired users what the image shows. Google also reads alt text to understand your content. For the sake of search visibility, write detailed, keyword-rich descriptions to accurately describe every photo and video.
Use hashtags strategically
Hashtags aren’t just for social discovery anymore; they’ll now help your posts rank for search terms. They should be specific, purposeful, and aligned with search intent.
Geo-tag locations
Location tags connect your expertise and products with people actively seeking your services in their local area. A restaurant or service provider, for example, may show up in Google for queries like “best brunch in Brighton” simply through location-tagged Instagram content.
The Last Word
What changes might we start to see in Instagram as a result? Are we going to get keyword-stuffed captions or longer posts that read more like micro-blogs? It’s still early days, but we expect to see longer, more descriptive captions as brands prioritise search optimisation over punchy social media copy. The real battleground may well be in short-form video content, where Instagram competes directly with TikTok for Google’s expanding “short videos” search category.
With social and search strategies merging, brands that optimise Instagram like they would their websites will likely win more visibility and attract more qualified traffic. The key is to start seeing Instagram posts as long-term assets and part of your overall SEO strategy. By applying search-first thinking to the content you already create, you unlock new organic channels with minimal extra effort. If you’d like help working Instagram into your wider SEO strategy, chat to our team about optimising your posts for a stronger online presence.