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Your Instagram Content Will Appear in Google Search Today

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Published on July 10, 2025

Starting today, professional Instagram accounts will officially be indexed by search engines, such as Google and Bing. Appearing in search engine results pages will help your business attract a host of new visitors and increase the scale at which it grows on social media.

Sounds good, right? Well, only certain accounts are indexable and you’ll have to put in some SEO groundwork to give your posts the best chances at appearing. I’ll cover everything below.

🔎Key Takeaways

Search engines will now index any public posts made by professional accounts after January 1, 2000
Indexing means your business can be discovered by searchers who don’t have Instagram
Going forward, you should optimize your Instagram content with search engines and non-Instagram users in mind
You can opt out of your posts being shown in external search results

Instagram Indexing Update

Instagram has confirmed that Google and other search engines can now index public content posted by professional accounts. This means search results can include visual and written Instagram content, such as:

Photos
Videos
Carousels
Reels
Captions
Hashtags

💭What Is Indexing?

Every link you see in a Google search result has been analyzed, understood, and stored away in Google’s metaphorical brain – a process called indexing. When an online source is indexed successfully, it can then be connected to relevant search queries.

This shift changes a few key things for businesses using Instagram:

Your posts can be found by people who don’t have an Instagram account
The lifespan of your posts will extend, since they can be found through search for long after they disappear on Instagram’s home and “Explore” pages

How To Appear in SERPs

Firstly, the Instagram indexing update will apply to any posts you’ve uploaded since January 1, 2000, if your account meets all of the below criteria:

You’re over 18
Your account is public
You have a professional account

If your account hits the above criteria, you’ll then have to start posting with Google in mind, which is where social media SEO comes into play.

Instagram’s SEO best practices originally helped your posts appear within its native search results. Now, they’ll also boost your chances of being seen on Google, so it’s more important than ever. I recommend focusing on:

Captions: Incorporate keywords and frontload them before the truncation point
Alt text: Add descriptive alt text descriptions to each post
Hashtags: Add hashtags to help search engines index your content
Bio: Treat your Instagram bio as a meta description, and include important information, such as your industry and location
Highlights: Label highlights clearly and accurately

Good To Know: You can disable indexing manually within your account privacy settings. However, Instagram warns that it can’t guarantee if or when the search engines de-index your content.

account privacy settings with a red box highlighting the relevant toggle — “Allow public photos and videos to appear in search engine results” is automatically enabled in your account privacy settings. Source: Website Builder Expert

Prepare Your Instagram Posts

For brands going forwards, your social media strategy should consider the multiple ways your content can get discovered, beyond the Instagram platform. This could mean:

Adding more evergreen and informational content to your Instagram content calendar
Optimizing your pinned posts and highlights for non-Instagram users

By following the above guidance, you’ll not only heighten your chances of appearing in SERPs, but also increase the user experience of those who visit your profile from this traffic source.

Written by:

Annie Angus Writer

Annie Angus is a Writer for Website Builder Expert with a passion for shaping jargon-heavy research into digestible content. She has previously researched and written about industries ranging from tech to fashion, and now, after testing our top website builders such as Wix and Squarespace, she is enthusiastic to share her findings with our readers. With first-hand experience in utilizing social media and online marketplaces to grow a small handmade clothing business, Annie understands the priorities and concerns held by SME owners, and knows precisely what they look for in a website builder. She combines this unique perspective with her knowledge of website builders to produce engaging content spanning all areas of the small business journey, from creating a strong website to growing and maintaining an audience.