Facebook-owned photo and video sharing app Instagram is upgrading its search functionality to include keyword search. Users can now search for a keyword and the results will be posts and videos with the keyword in caption text. Previously, users could search for names, usernames, hashtags, and locations.
After this update, the caption will be as important as the hashtags for better visibility. Marketers should now start optimizing Instagram posts for keywords as well.
Instagram didn’t give details if it will offer results for exact-match only or will also understand synonyms. Instagram confirms it will use machine learning to offer quality content that’s relevant to you.
For now, the updated search is only available in English. It is now being rolled out to users living in Canada, the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland starting today.
