Instagram search is getting more visual soon thanks to a TikTok-like grid that in the future will more prominently feature relevant photos and videos in search results.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS:
- Instagram search is getting more visual and relevant
- Instagram head explains what influences your search results
- He shares tips for helping your content show up for a given search
Instagram search is getting more visual and relevant
Instagram head Adam Mosseri says search results will show suggested photos and videos in the future. Currently, Instagram search surfaces hashtags, places and user accounts.
→ Tips for how to use Instagram’s Effect Gallery feature
It is no secret that the experience of using Instagram search has left many people with a lot to be desired. Put simply, any given Instagram search is currently a mixed bag of relevant content and accounts, locations and hashtags that may not be what you’re looking for.
In the future, however, photos and videos will be more relevant and more prominently featured in search results with a TikTok-like grid. According to a post on the Instagram blog, Facebook-owned photo service hopes to boost engagement by helping people find relevant posts.
Mosseri wouldn’t say when these search improvements might roll out to Instagram users.
Instagram isn’t the only popular social platform seeking to steal some of the design choices that have made TikTok a global phenomenon. Reddit, for instance, is the latest service to try its hand at TikTok-ification. With recent changes to its video feed, Reddit now displays videos in a TikTok-like vertical configuration.
How Instagram search works
In a video posted on Instagram, Mosseri shared some of the secret sauce powering the app’s search feature. Instagram, he says, ranks your search results by taking into account a variety of factors, including the following criteria ranked in order of importance.
- Search keywords
- Your activity
- Popularity signals
Let’s take a closer look at each criterion.
Your keywords in Instagram search
The words and phrases you enter in the search bar, or keywords, influence what you see in search results more than anything else. Mosseri says that Instagram attempts to match what you type with relevant usernames, bios, captions, hashtags and places.
Your activity on Instagram
Everything you do in the Instagram app, including accounts you follow, posts you’ve viewed and how you’ve interacted with accounts in the past, affects search results as well. “We usually show accounts and hashtags you follow or visit higher than those you don’t,” he says.
Information about the search results
When there are a lot of potential results, Instagram also looks at so-called popularity signals. Among other things, these include the number of clicks, likes, shares and follows for a particular account, hashtag or place.
How your content shows up in Instagram search
The above signals that affect Instagram’s search results also determining how your own content shows up in search, too. To make sure your followers can easily find your photos and videos, Mosseri offers the following tips to users.
- Use a relevant Instagram handle or profile name
- Use relevant keywords and locations in bio
- Use relevant info in captions, not comments
Here’s a quick overview of each tip.
Use a fitting Instagram handle
If your Instagram handle or profile name is relatable to certain posts, those photos and videos have a higher chance to show up in relevant searches. “If your friends or fans know you by a certain name, include that name in your username or profile so that you can show up when they search for you,” Mosseri says.
Use relevant keywords and locations in your bio
If your Instagram bio includes keywords about who you are and relevant to what your profile is about, the account will more frequently appear in relevant searches. “If your account is location-specific, like for a small business, sharing your location in your bio can make it easier for people in your area to find you,” he continues.
Use relevant keywords and hashtags in captions
And lastly, Instagram advises putting relevant keywords and hashtags in the post caption, not the comments, because comments don’t influence Instagram search.