How to Use Instagram Alt Text for SEO Gains: A 2025 Accessibility & Discoverability Guide
Learn how to leverage Instagram alt text for better accessibility and SEO, enhancing discoverability for your posts and benefiting visually impaired users.
Learn how to leverage Instagram alt text for better accessibility and SEO, enhancing discoverability for your posts and benefiting visually impaired users.

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Want better Instagram reach? Start with alt text. Adding clear, keyword-rich descriptions to your images improves accessibility for visually impaired users and boosts your search visibility on Instagram and beyond. Here's what you need to know:
Quick Tips:
Start optimizing your alt text today to make your Instagram posts more accessible and discoverable!
Instagram alt text is a short description that explains an image to users and algorithms. It helps connect visual content to screen readers. The Perkins School for the Blind describes it like this:
"Imagine someone is sitting next to you as you scroll through Instagram and they point at a photo and ask what it is. Chances are, you'll give them a one or two sentence description that is perfect for writing as alt text".
Now, let’s dive into how alt text can improve SEO on Instagram.
Well-written alt text gives Instagram's algorithm the context it needs to categorize images and improve their keyword rankings. While Instagram’s automatic alt text provides basic recognition, creating custom alt text ensures more precise descriptions within the 100-character limit. This not only helps with SEO but also enhances the overall effectiveness of your content.
Alt text plays an important role in making Instagram more inclusive. For the over 285 million people globally living with visual impairments, descriptive alt text allows screen readers to describe image content, making it possible for visually impaired users to interact with your posts. Instagram offers two ways to add alt text:
| Alt Text Type | Description | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic | Created by Instagram using object recognition | Basic image identification |
| Custom | Written manually by the content creator | Detailed descriptions and SEO |
Including alt text in your Instagram posts can boost their visibility. Here's how to do it:
When using the Instagram mobile app:
| Best Practice | Example | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Be Specific | "Red leather crossbody bag with gold hardware" | Improves search relevance |
| Include Branding | "Nike Air Max sneakers in white and blue" | Boosts brand visibility |
| Add Context | "Chef preparing pasta in restaurant kitchen" | Provides better context for users |
This process ensures your content is set up for better visibility and user engagement. Next, let’s look at how to update alt text for posts you’ve already published.
If you need to edit the alt text on an existing post, follow these steps:
Make sure your descriptions are precise and informative to help search engines and screen readers interpret your content effectively.
Good alt text strikes a balance between being detailed and concise. Aim to describe the most important elements of the image.
For product images, include details like:
For lifestyle or action images, focus on:
"ALT text on Instagram transcends its function as a mere substitute for images. It's a gateway to accessibility, allowing screen readers to articulate the image descriptions for the visually impaired, thus democratizing access to Instagram's rich visual content."
Add keywords naturally into your descriptions while keeping them easy to read. The goal is to include them seamlessly without making the text sound awkward.
| Element | Ineffective | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| Product Description | "makeup lipstick beauty cosmetics red" | "Red lipstick with gold case on marble countertop" |
| Location Shot | "travel paris tourism landmark" | "Louvre Museum in Paris at sunset with glass pyramid" |
| Action Image | "fitness workout gym exercise" | "Trainer demonstrating squat form in gym setting" |
Following these examples can help you avoid common errors.
Once you've naturally included keywords, make sure to steer clear of these frequent mistakes:
Keyword Stuffing
Cramming keywords into the text makes it sound unnatural and can hurt visibility.
Length Issues
Instagram limits alt text to 100 characters. Stick to the essentials and focus on the image's purpose.
Missing Context
Avoid vague phrases like "latest post" or "new product." Instead, describe what makes the image stand out.
Technical Mistakes to Watch For:
"With precise descriptions, ALT text feeds Instagram's algorithms the context needed to categorize and prioritize content, enhancing its searchability within the app and on external search engines."
Writing good alt text is just the start - keeping an eye on how it performs is key to improving results over time.
Instagram's built-in analytics provide useful data to see how your alt text affects post performance. Pay attention to these key metrics:
To spot trends, compare these metrics for 30 days before and after making changes. This comparison helps you adjust your strategy and refine your approach.
UpGrow offers a dashboard that tracks keywords in real-time and evaluates accessibility based on WCAG standards. It highlights which keywords are driving profile visits and engagement, giving you actionable data.
Set up a consistent review process to keep your alt text effective. Here's a suggested schedule:
Use tools like UpGrow’s alerts to quickly identify posts that need updates, keeping your content optimized and accessible.
Using alt text on Instagram effectively isn't just about ticking a box - it helps create a more inclusive and searchable profile. This approach ties together accessibility and discoverability.
By writing descriptive alt text that naturally includes relevant keywords, you improve both accessibility for users and your content's visibility in searches. Use Instagram Insights to track how well your alt text performs and make adjustments based on the data.
Here are some tips to get the most out of your Instagram alt text:
Stick to these steps consistently to keep your Instagram strategy aligned with changing trends.