Google can now crawl Instagram posts. What does that mean for brands?

It’s official. Instagram is letting down its walls to search engines – and this is an absolute game changer for brands and creators alike.

Once siloed within the confines of the platform, public Instagram content from professional accounts will now be indexed and included in search results on search engines like Google and Bing, opening up greater opportunities for visibility and discovery.

Every public post and Reel from July 1, 2020, will be indexed in search results (unless the account holder opts out), which means content will have a longer lifespan and play a more enduring role in shaping the customer journey.

Data from our April Statshot shows that search remains the top source of brand discovery for consumers globally. In Southeast Asia, where over two-thirds of internet users in countries like Indonesia and the Philippines are conducting brand research online, Instagram’s content becoming searchable is going to have a seismic impact. Brands operating in these markets will need to shake up their content strategies to fully leverage this new opportunity for search-driven reach and engagement.

Here’s what marketers need to consider when planning their content now.

So, what now? Think SEO, don't kill the vibe

While Instagram content has traditionally been geared towards driving in-platform engagement, it's now essential to optimise posts with search visibility in mind as well. However, this shift doesn’t call for keyword stuffing or compromising the platform’s inherently creative, social-first nature.

Instead, brands should focus on integrating relevant keywords organically into captions, video supers, and alt text. Understanding the search behaviour of your target audience is key; use these insights to craft content that is not only engaging but also evergreen, helping to address common queries much like you would in a well-optimised brand blog post.

Don't ditch the trends, balance them

This update doesn't suggest moving away from culturally relevant or trend-based content, which continues to play a vital role in fostering engagement and discovery within the Instagram ecosystem.

The challenge and opportunity for marketers lies in striking the right balance. By complementing timely, trend-based posts with more evergreen content, such as how-to guides, tutorials, and creator collaborations, brands can broaden their reach across both Instagram and Google’s algorithms. Those who master this balance will be well-positioned to maximise visibility and influence across platforms.

Your influencers now have more power

Creator content featuring your brand can now rank in search results, making influencers key partners in driving discoverability across the open web. As brands continue to double down on investments in influencer marketing, this shift offers a promising opportunity to enhance ROI.

To fully capitalise on this shift, brands should move beyond short-term campaign bursts and adopt a more strategic, long-term approach to influencer and creator partnerships. By building always-on, SEO-informed content ecosystems in collaboration with influencers, brands can significantly boost visibility and brand/product discovery across both social and search platforms.

Make content that travels

Your content is no longer confined solely to Instagram’s platform. The brands that will succeed are those that develop social-first, culturally relevant content designed to be discovered across multiple channels.

This extends beyond simply adjusting your captions; it represents a fundamental shift in the role social content plays within your brand’s broader digital presence.

Naiyen Wang is the Southeast Asia MD of We Are Social, with nearly 30 years of experience leading regional brand and agency teams across APAC for companies like J&J, Unilever, and Samsung.