To be honest, I was a bit confused when I saw people talking about Google indexing Instagram content from the 10th of July 2025. I mean, hasn’t Google already been showing Instagram content across the search engine result pages (SERPs) for years now?
Short videos, aka Reels have been popping up on the SERPs for some time now, and there is even a dedicated Short Videos tab which has been around since at least August 2024:
I looked high and low for an official announcement from Instagram or Google and came up with nothing other than the Instagram help page on search engines indexing Instagram content – see the 2013 version of it below.
So it wasn’t new! And the amazing social media expert Meg Coffey also confirmed this:
It was good to know I’m not going crazy, HOWEVER, I have to admit that since July 10th, I have actually noticed a lot more Instagram content showing up, especially within AI Overview searches on Google. And apparently, some professional accounts on Instagram were shown a notification to say Google is indexing their content from July 10th 2025.
So how I see it, is that no, it isn’t new, but expanded. Google has long shown some Instagram content (like profiles and Reels in the dedicated Short Videos tab), the July 10, 2025 update marks a significant expansion for public content from professional (Business and Creator) Instagram accounts. This means photos, videos, and Reels from these accounts are now officially being indexed by Google, making them discoverable directly in search results without needing to be logged into Instagram, and with an opt-out option for account holders.
So I have been doing a lot of digging and research and want to share a few of my tips so you too can maximise your Instagram content and get more visibility for your brand through Google.
Optimise your Instagram Profile
From a lot of the tests I have done, I have noticed my Instagram name, username and bio is used in a lot of the search result snippets. Therefore make sure these three elements clearly explain who you are as a business and what you offer:
For example, our core services are SEO and Google Ads – so that is included in our name and bio. We don’t beat around the bush, use tech jargon or unfamiliar words to our audience. We KISS (keep it simple, stupid).
We want our business to be found online when people are searching for SEO and/or Google Ads, so we make that abundantly clear.
Bonus tip: Don’t be shy to use emojis in your Instagram profile – they really do pop on the Google search result pages:
Create posts around specific services & products – do your keyword research!
This is where SEO specialists have a little bit of an advantage over social media managers. We know how to research what your customers are searching for to find products/services like what you offer.
The key is working out what those search queries are / might be and then creating Instagram content around that particular topic – ensuring you are using those keywords prominently within your caption.
Learn more about SEO keyword research here.
Plus like in your profile, I find that emojis near the start of your Instagram captions, really stand out on the search result pages:
Add Alt text to your images on Instagram
Alt (alternative) text has been available to add to your Instagram images for some time now – here’s how you can add and edit alt text on Instagram. But the question is, are you checking it (sometimes it can be automated for you) and adding it?
Alt text explains to visually impaired users and computers like Google, what an image is of, so they can better understand it. It is another cue for search engines to understand your content.
Here are Google’s guidelines on writing alt text for your images:
When writing alt text, focus on creating useful, information-rich content that uses keywords appropriately and is in context of the content of the page. Avoid filling
altattributes with keywords (also known as keyword stuffing) as it results in a negative user experience and may cause your site to be seen as spam.
When writing alt text, focus on creating useful, information-rich content that uses keywords appropriately and is in context of the content of the page. Avoid filling alt attributes with keywords (also known as keyword stuffing) as it results in a negative user experience and may cause your site to be seen as spam.
Bonus tip: As you can see from the image searches above, the snippet often only shows the link and your Instagram name. While Alt Text is for accessibility and search engines’ understanding, adding on-image text overlays to your Instagram visuals can be a powerful way to convey your post’s key message directly within the Google Image Search results, even before someone clicks through.
At the end of the day – definitely don’t rely on Instagram content to get you to the top of Google and drive customers to your business. It’s naive to think that your 100-word caption on Instagram about something is going to show more prominently than a 1000-word webpage.
You need to think strategically about your content and review the Google search results to work out what type of content is searched for by your customers and what Google will choose to show on that important first page.
