Social Media SEO: Tips to Help Improve Your Discoverability

While search engine optimization (SEO) was once a “Google thing,” it has become much more than that. As social media platforms increasingly serve as sources of information and product-discovery tools, SEO has expanded to networks such as TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Social media SEO can boost your discoverability across social networks and traditional search engines, resulting in greater brand awareness. Whether you’re a marketer trying to sell products, a content creator looking to build their platforms, or a social media manager wanting to prove your value to clients, you can’t go wrong with SEO.

This guide looks at the value of social media SEO and offers tips to boost your search discoverability. It also explores practical platform-specific SEO strategies.

What Is Social Media SEO?

Social media SEO involves enhancing your profiles and posts to improve visibility in search results and content feeds. It’s a valuable process because it:

• Boosts profile and content discoverability: Optimized accounts show up more and rank higher in platform search results and explore feeds. This means more eyes on your content.
• Increases content longevity: Well-optimized posts can drive traffic to your page for a long time via search.
• Boosts your competitive advantage: SEO can help you outrank competitors by getting your content discovered faster.
• Enhances the user experience: Optimizing your posts makes it easier for social media users to find relevant content, simplifying their journeys. For example, if you’re a fitness content creator and use keywords such as “at-home beginner workouts” or “burpees tutorial” in relevant posts, it becomes easier for users to find your content when they need it.
• Improves engagement: When content aligns with users’ search intents, it naturally attracts more engagement. For example, if your video appears in “at-home workout” search results, fitness enthusiasts are likely to save the post for future reference or leave comments about their experiences.

Does Social Media SEO Impact Your Visibility in Traditional Search Engine Results?

Yes. Traditional search engines like Google now index social media posts. By optimizing them, you make it easier for these engines to understand and categorize your content. This increases the likelihood of appearing in traditional search engine results.

Take this Pinterest post by Paradise of Gadgets, for example. It’s one of the results that shows up when you look up “lip gloss phone cases” because it contains the relevant keywords.

Social Media SEO Strategies

Ready to get your social media SEO game on? Here are our top tips for enhanced discoverability:

Research Your Niche’s Keywords

Keywords are the lifeblood of all SEO efforts. So, start by identifying the phrases your target audience uses when searching for your content or products.

One of the easiest ways to find keywords is to use platforms’ built-in search features. If you’re a food content creator on TikTok, for example, you could enter the seed word “cooking” into the platform’s search bar and wait for suggestions. These suggestions are based on actual user searches, so they can help you get more eyes on your content.

Another way to find keywords is to use generators such as Ahrefs and Semrush. As with platforms’ built-in search tools, you simply need to enter a word or phrase related to your content, and the generators will suggest other popular options.

Optimize Profiles

Your profiles can help social media algorithms understand your content focus. The better they understand you, the more likely they are to surface your posts in targeted users’ feeds and search results. There are various ways to optimize profiles, including:

• State your focus and value proposition in the bio sections.
• Naturally incorporate keywords in your bios and usernames.
• Include links to relevant destinations, such as your website, blog, or e-commerce store.

Itchy Boots’s profile is an excellent example. The content creator has chosen a username that aligns with their content type (travel), highlighted what they do in the bio, and included links to their travel-inspired book.

Optimize Your Content

Make your posts more discoverable by incorporating relevant keywords wherever possible. Some great places to add them include post titles, captions, and hashtags. When you do, it becomes easier for algorithms to match your content to users’ searches.

Also, make your captions as descriptive and relevant to your content as possible. For example, if you post a baking video, describe the kind of cake in your video to help algorithms better understand your content.

Add Your Own Alt Texts

Content creators sometimes overlook this SEO strategy because most social media platforms automatically generate alt texts. However, this is a mistake. Platforms typically rely on image recognition software. Unfortunately, these solutions can produce generic descriptions that add no value to algorithms.

Add your own alt text whenever possible, making it as descriptive as possible. This helps algorithms understand what your posts entail, which could lead to you appearing in more search results.

If you want to post an image of a popular tourist attraction on Instagram, for example, upload your photo, edit it as needed, tap Next, and click Accessibility. Then, add the name of the tourist attraction and its location in the Accessibility box before you share your post. This way, your image will appear in suggestions when users search for the destination.

Maximize Engagement

We know what you’re thinking, “What does engagement have to do with search visibility?” Simply put? A lot.

Let us explain. Most social media algorithms assess content value based on engagement. The more engagement your posts receive, the more valuable they appear to the algorithms. This results in platforms pushing them to broader audiences and ranking them higher in search results.

So, this isn’t something you want to overlook. To boost your engagement numbers:

• Encourage people to like your posts, share them with others, and comment on their experiences.
• Like and reply to audiences’ comments.
• Like and repost other creators’ content (if it aligns with your brand).

You can also boost engagement by optimizing post timing. Posting when your target audience is actively online increases your chances of securing immediate engagement. This, in turn, signals content value to social media algorithms, prompting them to share your posts more widely. The result? Even more engagement.

To capitalize on high-engagement windows, lean on tools like GeeLark for your posting needs. GeeLark is a cloud phone solution that not only helps isolate multiple social media profiles but also allows you to schedule content in advance. This way, you can make sure posts go live during the most active timeframes, even when you’re offline.

Collaborate With Other Creators

This is an excellent way to boost engagement on your posts. When you collaborate with other creators, you get to tap into their audiences. Depending on your platform, your content can even appear on their profiles, instantly broadening your reach. This often translates to more engagement, which algorithms interpret as a vote of confidence.

You can work with other creators in various ways, including collaborating on posts, resharing each other’s content, or even hosting Lives together. For optimal results, only work with creators in your niche whose values align with yours. You’ll likely share the same audience demographics, which boosts your chances of meaningful engagement.

Maintain Posting Consistency

Most social media algorithms love active accounts. The more you post, the more context they get about your content. This leads to better categorization, potentially increasing your visibility in target users’ feeds and search results.

If you’re on multiple social media platforms and are running multiple accounts (as is typical for social media managers and brand marketers), leverage GeeLark to maintain consistency. Batch create your content, upload it to Geelark, and set your preferred publishing dates. GeeLark will take care of the rest.

The platform offers automation templates that use cloud phones (instead of APIs) to post content. What’s more, the templates mimic real user behavior, such as tapping the screen and relevant icons when publishing posts. This lowers the risk of raising automation flags.

Repurpose Content Strategically

Take advantage of videos that do well by spreading them across multiple social media accounts. For example, if an SEO-optimized video performs exceptionally well on TikTok, share it on YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels to improve your discoverability on the platforms as well.

However, don’t download and upload content across platforms without proper editing. Remember to adjust them to align with each platform’s requirements. For example, if you want to share a 5-minute TikTok video to YouTube Shorts, edit it as needed to fit Shorts’ 3-minute limit. Also, remove its TikTok watermark to avoid getting deprioritized by the YouTube algorithm.

Platform-Specific Social Media SEO Strategies

Already have specific social media platforms in mind? Here are some great optimization strategies for different networks:

• Pinterest SEO: Incorporate keywords into Pin and Board titles and descriptions; opt for long-tail keywords such as “How to bake X cake” instead of “cake recipe,” and use high-quality vertical images and videos.
• Facebook SEO: Optimize your page and About section by using keywords and describing exactly who you are and what you do; regularly post and engage with users in Facebook Groups; and add alt text to Facebook images.
• TikTok SEO: Use keyword-rich captions and hashtags; duet and stitch other creators’ videos; and join trending challenges, making sure to use associated hashtags.
• YouTube SEO: Optimize video titles and descriptions; use cards and end screens to drive traffic and engagement to more of your content; and add timestamps that detail what users can expect at different sections of your videos to boost retention.
• X (formerly Twitter) SEO: Write a keyword-rich bio; pin a tweet that best highlights or describes your type of content; and create thread-based content to keep users on your page for longer.
• LinkedIn SEO: Fill out all sections of your profile, integrating keywords naturally; increase content searchability by using relevant hashtags; and contribute to trending topics in your niche.
• Instagram SEO: Use descriptive, keyword-rich captions; combine broad, trending, and niche hashtags; and optimize visual content by customizing alt text and adding text overlays.

Boost Your Discoverability on Social Media Today

The right social media SEO strategies can make your content (and by extension your profile) more discoverable. So, don’t get left behind. Start optimizing profiles and content as early as now to grow your accounts.

GeeLark can support your optimization efforts by automating content posting. The platform allows you to schedule content at scale across multiple accounts, helping you not only capitalize on high-engagement windows but also maintain posting consistency.

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