If you only post pretty now, you'll become invisible - Instagram SEO now plays a role in the feed

Instagram is becoming a search engine - and content strategies are facing a reality check.

What long sounded like a nice-to-have is now becoming a basic requirement for visibility: Instagram posts will also be findable in Google search in future - including text in captions and images. This means: What you write, becomes just as important as what you show.

This will come as no surprise to anyone who has been thinking strategically for some time. For everyone else: it's high time to rethink.

Technically speaking, one speaks of Social SEO - i.e. the optimization of social media content for search engines. In the case of Instagram, it is often also called Instagram SEO - and that's what this is all about.

What's behind the Instagram update?

Instagram used to be a closed system: content was only searchable within the app. Now the platform is opening up - Instagram is working on making classic image posts visible in Google searches. This concerns:

• Captions with relevant terms
• Text elements in images and slides

Instagram is thus developing into a Search engine for interests, beyond their own cosmos. Who with its contents Answers to real questions, will win.

Instagram SEO: Finally relevant, not just beautiful

oha! as a social media agency has been preaching it for years: If you want to be permanently visible, you need substance.
Now Instagram itself provides confirmation.

Because suddenly content that is Trend and user needs research based, is rewarded:
Feature texts that answer real questions. Carousels that deliver added value in terms of content. Brands that don't just put on a pretty show, but Explanation, attitude or solutions offer.

Short: Instagram SEO = content that should be found, not just liked.

What should companies do now?

1. create content not only for followers, but also for searchers

Instead of: „Summer promotion: Now -20 % on all sunglasses!“
Lieber: „Why UV protection is so important for the eyes - and what you should look out for when buying.“

2. think questions - don't stuff keywords

The algorithm understands contexts better than many believe.
Texts around real questions perform better than keyword-laden advertising claims.

3. use texts in images wisely

Slides & cover images should also be contain relevant terms, without appearing flat. Think: „What to do for dry skin?“ instead of „#beautyroutine“.

4. take the caption seriously - it is not an appendage

What you write there will be read by humans and machines from now on. And: Those who read the text will stay longer. Engagement time is a ranking factor.

And what does that mean for us as an agency?

To be honest: For us at oha! digital that is a small satisfaction.
Because everything we do in our Social Media Content Bootcamp preach - strategic thinking, genuine relevance, plain language instead of advertising slogans - is now being systemically rewarded.

We have never thought about social media as a stage, but always as Platform for problem solving, attitude and identityworked. And this is exactly what Instagram SEO is now making more visible.

My personal highlight?
My husband is the SEO nerd in our house. I've always been the „social“ one of the two of us.
And suddenly our worlds are so close together that we can almost view the same content with two pairs of glasses.

Save the Date: Info evening on 24.07.

On July 24, 2025 we invite you to oha! digital to a compact information evening:
We show, how to make your existing Instagram setup searchable with simple means,
which content formats are performing particularly well now - and how you can use the change strategically.

👉 More information will follow on LinkedIn & Instagram - or write to us directly if you are interested!