Are you up on the latest changes with Instagram? – Nov 2025

No doubt, your potential customers are among the more than two billion active monthly users on Instagram. What is in doubt is whether you’re reaching them if you’re stuck in the rut of tired “post-and-hope” tactics. If you’re still Instagramming like it’s 2024, you’re missing out on the current potential for your business. It’s time to change that.

BIG SHIFTS IN THE “SEARCH PARTY”

The most notable update of late in the “Insta-verse” is the inclusion of public posts by business and creator accounts in Google, Bing and DuckDuckGo search results. As of July, the top three search engines are indexing Instagram content shared by professional profiles.

This sounds straightforward enough: Instagram content gets indexed, then it shows up when people search specific topics, meaning you have more opportunities to be found by target audiences looking for what you offer. Right?

The answer is a circuitous “yes,” and anyone in marketing leadership needs to understand the nuance. There’s an underlying strategy at play here by Meta (owner of Instagram), a strategy that’s come about in response to the massive shift in the way people now search online because of generative AI portals such as ChatGPT.

Previously, the presence of Instagram content in Google and other search results was sporadic and limited to occasional inclusions of profile pages or reels. This was due to Instagram’s directive not to index most of its content. Now that genAI is shifting the way people search, Instagram wants to join the party.

As of this writing, traditional search holds as the dominant way people look for what they need online, but AI-powered search is exponentially gaining traction. People in younger demographics are rapidly adopting AI-first search, and this trend is increasingly present across all market segments, too. Decision-makers at Instagram and other social media platforms are well aware of this shift and the reality that their content must be properly indexed to appear in traditional SERPs (search engine results pages) in order to also be part of AI results, as well.

Were it not for the rapid adoption of AI-powered search, Instagram may have held the line in keeping much of its content out of reach of Google’s (and others’) crawlers. Pre-genAI, more people were supplementing their online searches with in-app searches, meaning they’d go directly to Instagram’s “discover” page to find what they needed. Now people are becoming accustomed to one-stop-search, and the stats reveal that the search that takes fewer clicks will win out long-term.

SEEKING INSTA-GRATIFICATION 

How can this shift in strategy inform your social media marketing?

• First, acknowledge that generative AI is an instigating factor in your Instagram content, potentially becoming present in online search results. Now more than ever, you need a forward-focused perspective in order to accelerate your marketing beyond traditional tactics. AI is now a cornerstone consideration across all aspects of your marketing; address it from the get-go.

• Since inclusion in AI-powered search results is an ultimate goal, consider the formatting and ways results are displayed in the most commonly used genAI platforms, including Google’s own AI overviews. You’ll want to create content that naturally and authoritatively works with these frameworks.

• Approach social content with search results in mind. Rather than treating the appearance of your Instagram content in online search results as an added bonus for your efforts, elevate it to a top goal for what you create and post.

FOUNDATIONAL STEPS FOR INSTA-TANEOUS RESULTS

To parlay this new era in Instagram marketing, do a full audit of your profile.

1. Be sure you have a business account. Designating your Instagram account for professional use is imperative for potentially showing up in search, but it’s also a must for accessing any and all other features and functionality to support your business goals. Check to be certain you’ve selected the best category for your professional profile, as well.

2. Freshen your profile. You need a compelling bio that includes a clear call to action, as well as a strategically selected link-likely to your website’s home page or a landing page with an email opt-in. Also, be sure your profile image is eye-catching and on brand for your biz.

3. Review the content types you’re posting on a regular basis. It’s smart to populate all content types Instagram accommodates, including e-commerce options: Reels, carousel posts, Stories (and Story highlights), standard posts with music added, collage and sponsored posts, and Instagram shopping. Are you using all these types?

4. Assess the quality of your Instagram content, as well as the frequency and scheduling of posting. Though it’s an effort in futility to attempt to placate the Insta algorithm, you can ascertain through metrics and observation what types of content garner the most engagement and what days and times contribute to your posting success. Consistency in posting is known to support overall audience growth and reach, so prioritize a healthy rhythm for your content publishing.

5. Define-or refine-your “why” for using Instagram. Hopefully, you’ve long established your intention for any and all aspects of your social media marketing, including your use of Instagram. Still, it’s helpful to regularly check in on your stated intention and specific goals for being on this and any other social platform, so that all responsible parties stay result-focused.

OPTIMIZE FOR SEARCHING EYES 

As with any search optimization effort, it’s essential to prioritize the living, breathing people who are engaging with your content over and above the bots deployed to index and rank what you share. Real people respond best to, well, real people; that’s why content that’s so optimized it’s sterile never cuts it. With a solid commitment to prioritize people, you’re ready to optimize your Instagram for stronger search results.

• Enrich your captions with keywords. For every post type, including Reels, naturally pack (but never stuff!) meaningful words and search terms into your captions. The same relevant terms you’ve identified for your overall search strategy are candidates for inclusion in your captions.

• Add alt text to images and videos. Alternative text for visual content makes your posts accessible and enjoyable for all Instagram users, while offering the added benefit of boosting discoverability within image-based search results. (This is akin to the role of alt text on images on your website; alt text is helpful everywhere.)

• Choose visuals that inspire interaction. It’s often smart to save your slick, highly stylized marketing images and videos for other platforms and, instead, populate Instagram with those real-life pics and videos that people can best relate to. This isn’t to say that poor quality and bad lighting are acceptable; it is to say that people are more prone to see/watch and engage with content that bridges the gap between aspirational and relatable.

• Hack the right hashtags. Though the role of hashtags on Instagram has morphed over time, they’re still useful so the algorithm can categorize your content and make it more discoverable for interested audiences. Use a mix of popular niche hashtags and custom/branded hashtags, being sure all align with your keywords and customer interests. Include hashtags in your Instagram captions and in your profile bio to help the Insta-bot categorize and improve visibility of your content in in-app and external searches.

• Keep the “social” in the media to authentically boost rankings. Regardless of all the strategies, tactics and algorithmic contortions that come with social media marketing, the human connection remains at the heart of it all. Spend time each day engaging with others on Instagram. Offer likes and comments and share others’ content. Your interactions don’t just provide relevance signals for SEO; they signal meaning between “you and me.” 

THE AUTHOR

Irene Williams is a marketing consultant with 25+ years of experience in the flooring and building-products industry. She’s also a coach, speaker and author on personal and professional development and digital wellness. Learn more and get in touch at irenewilliams.biz.