As a business, I’m sure you dedicate time and effort into getting your website to climb to the top of search engine rankings. But do you focus just as much effort on optimizing your content on social media platforms? SEO on Instagram can help in boosting your account, acquiring new followers, improving engagement, and increasing sales. Instagram is a great platform for optimization because it functions like a smaller scale search engine and SEO is legitimate there too. Well-optimized pages are ranked higher on Instagram which engages more followers, encourages engagements and develops page trust. All of these things combined lead to an even higher ranking. SEO for Instagram may sound easy to do but there are a few common mistakes that people make while optimizing their page. Avoid these five mistakes when optimizing Instagram SEO and you’ll be on a much quicker path to success. Lack of Cohesiveness A major rule for managing an Instagram account is to make sure the feed is cohesive. Posts should be scheduled logically with a visual concept, timing, captions, and hashtags aligning. But creating a cohesive feed doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and consistency with a conscious effort being put into each post. You must dedicate time to think through each of your captions, the purpose of the hashtags, the overall grid layout style and how often and when you will post. You may want to consider using a content scheduler such as Buffer, a useful tool for planning out your Instagram content. Post content on Instagram as often as you can and sustain a consistent posting frequency. Test out what works for you and your audience when deciding when and how often you post. Using Irrelevant HashtagsHashtags work like search queries on social media platforms. For hashtags to work to your advantage, you must use relevant and suitable ones for your post. It could seem like an easy thing to implement, but you could be making these two critical mistakes when choosing your hashtags: Including Irrelevant Hashtags Irrelevant hashtags are ones that have absolutely nothing to do with your brand or that specific post. If you use hashtags for Instagram optimization, do your research before selecting them. You can use a tool like Combin Growth that will find hashtags that showcase our brand or business and you can see what hashtags your competitors use. Knowing what hashtags your competitors are using will help you immensely. Another tip is not to use overly popular tags, like ones that have 100,000+ posts. Your content will get lost in a constantly changing hashtag feed. Find hashtags that are related to your business. Lastly, always include a branded hashtag. Once your business has grown, more people will use your unique hashtag to search for your products or services. Not Using Any HashtagsPerhaps the biggest mistake is to not use any hashtags at all in your social media content. Hashtags organize content on social media and are an essential tool for Instagram optimization. Include hashtags in each one of your posts to help boost your profile presence on Instagram. Not Changing Location Tags It makes sense that a business located in one spot that doesn’t ship or do business online keep the same location tag in all their posts. Businesses that have an online presence or ship around the country or world make the mistake of not changing theirs. If your business is trying to attract an audience from different places, you should change your location tags on posts every once in a while. Not Using Alt Text An Instagram feature that can be used for SEO purposes is Alt Text. The Alt Text function was created to let visually impaired Instagram users enjoy content on the platform. Now, marketers use it for optimization. To get to the Alt Text feature, scroll down on the screen where you write your caption when creating a post. At the bottom, you will see Advanced Settings. Click it and look all the way down to where it says Write Alt Text. Tap the button to write a description of the photo you are posting. For instance, if you own a winery and you are posting a photo of a newly released Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley you could write, “Russian River Valley Pinot Noir”. Then, next time someone searches for Russian River Pinot Noir on Instagram, your photo will show up in the results. In addition to the Alt Text function, make sure to be optimizing your photos on Instagram. They should be clear and high-quality so that the algorithm Instagram has can determine what your photo is portraying. Instagram suggests content that it deems worthy of people searching. Not Using Keywords In Your BioAn essential part of your Instagram SEO should be using keywords in your bio. Your bio is a great place to put relevant keywords but don’t make the mistake of putting too many. Keep it precise. Your Instagram bio will help potential customers and followers find you. If optimizing correctly, your page will pop up in the top search results. Conclusion Instagram SEO is not complicated. Just avoid making these five mistakes and apply your knowledge of SEO to your Instagram marketing. No matter what your goals are on Instagram it’s important to remember that SEO is just as significant on social media as it is on your website. Optimizing your content on Instagram impacts your overall page ranking and visibility.