Your Instagram Posts Will Now Appear on Google (Update Starting Today)
- Ana Maria Tomescu
- Jul 10
- 2 min read
It's been a couple of weeks (maybe a month 🤔) since Instagram announced the big news: as of today, 10th of July 2025, Google (and other search engines) will begin indexing public Instgram posts, inlcuding photos, videos, reels and carousels from business or creator profiles (must be public not private). Why does it matter? Your Instagram content could show up in search results even when the visitor isn't on this platform (hurray potential traffic).
What has changed and who is affected by this Instagram update?
Until today, Instagram has generally blocked search engines from indexing posts but starting from now this is no longer the case. If you haven't received any message from Instagram yet, or you're a business with private account, make sure you do the following changes: set up your profile to be public (business or creator) and go into your settings-privacy-allow public photos and videos to appear in search engine results. This should be by default if your account is public.
Why this is important for discoverability
Your Instagram posts aren't just for your followers anymore, they can now appear in Google Image results, organic listings, AI overviews.
This gives you the opportunity to create quality content that will have a longer shelf-life and potential to attract search-driven traffic for months or years to come.
And most importantly, a higher conversion potential. People who find your posts via Google are most likely to buy as they are actively searching (rather than random scrolling on an app).
What creators and business need to know and do (step by step)
step 1: optimise your captions by including search-friendly keyword rich descriptions (don't forget about text over image) - this enables Google to understand your content and push it further
step 2: use alt-text (add descriptive text when uploading your images to give searcg engines valuable context).
step 3: tag locations and hashtags, use your location to your advantage to boost local search visibility (use 2-5 relevant hashtags).
step 4: manage privacy (be aware of the default toggle and adjust accordingly to protect sensitive brand content)
step 5: audit your profile, get rid of old, irrelevant content (think outdated posts) to avoid appearing on Google Search
Instagram is now part of your SEO Strategy
This Instagram update turns the social media app into a content channel that supports website and blog SEO. Use your Instagram posts as mini SEO assets, offer great content and don't forget the importance of search discoverability.
Key take-aways?
switch to a public proffesional Instagram account if not one already
allow public photos and videos to show on Google search
review your feed and adjust accordingly
rewrite captions and alt text images with strategic keywords and location
Your Instagram posts should bring your website traffic up, treat every posts as a potential SEO asset and bring new opportunities to your website.
