Social media optimisation (SMO) explained: How to use it for your small business.

What is social media optimisation?

Social media optimisation (SMO)  is the process of making your social content easier to find through search.

• It’s basically SEO, but for social media. 

It means using keywords in your captions, bios and videos so your posts show up when people search on platforms like Facebook, Instagram or TikTok.

RELATED: The best social media platforms for small business.

Why Instagram’s Google index-ability changes everything

As of July 10th 2025, Instagram now indexes all user content in google, meaning your posts can now show up in search results via Instagram.

For small businesses, this unlocks a whole new layer of visibility. Your Instagram posts and profile are no longer just discoverable within the app, meaning your content can support your SEO efforts while also boosting your reach on social media.

What makes this possible isn’t just keywords – it’s the combination of what you write, what’s shown on screen, what’s spoken in your videos,and the overall context of your account. When all of that aligns with what someone’s searching for, your content becomes much easier to find.

This is a wake-up call for businesses that aren’t yet fully using social media as a growth channel. With Instagram content now appearing in Google, it’s clear that search is evolving and other platforms may follow.

According to Soci insights – ‘Discovery is now cross-platform, you’ll be judged on multiple sources to see if you’re credible, trustworthy and worth spending on.’

Where discovery happens.

‘Consumers are no longer search-led, they’re discovery-driven. Young consumers do not follow a funnel, they follow what’s in front of them: scrolling TikTok, checking Google reviews, asking ChatGPT for recommendations, browsing Yelp, diving into Reddit threads.’

Source: https://www.soci.ai/insights/consumer-behavior-index/ 

How to optimise your Instagram content for search.

Now that Instagram content can appear in Google results, it’s worth making a few small adjustments that can improve both your social visibility and your overall SEO footprint:

• Add keywords to captions.
  Use clear, relevant terms that describe your product, service, or industry. Keep it natural, keyword stuffing doesn’t work here either.
• Include your location for local SEO.
  Tag your location when relevant. It helps with local discovery, especially for customers searching nearby.
• Write a search-friendly bio.
  Your Instagram bio is index-able. Include your business type, location and anything else someone might search to find you.
• Use a link-in-bio tool.
  Tools like Linktree or Beacons let you connect your Instagram profile to your website and other platforms, giving customers a clear path to conversion.
• Use hashtags, if they’re relevant.
  They’re not the discovery driver they once were, but relevant hashtags can still help categorise your content and support in-app search, especially for niche topics or branded terms.
• Switch to a professional account
  Only content from public professional (business or creator) profiles can be indexed by Google. This setting is available in your Instagram account settings.

Optional: You can turn indexing off.
If you’d rather not have your content appear in Google search, Instagram lets you disable indexing in your profile settings.

Why social media optimisation matters for businesses.

Social platforms aren’t just for engaging followers anymore, they’re where discovery happens. More and more, people are turning to TikTok, Reddit, Instagram and even Facebook search to find businesses, read opinions and get recommendations.

Optimising your social content helps ensure your business actually shows up when that happens. Here’s why SMO matters:

• Customers search differently now.
  Younger consumers aren’t always going to Google first. They’re scrolling TikTok, reading Reddit threads, browsing Instagram or asking ChatGPT for advice, and making purchasing decisions from there.
• Discovery is multi-channel.
  It’s not just about your website anymore. Before buying, most people check at least two or three other touch-points, including your social profiles, reviews or even forum mentions, to decide if you’re credible and worth spending on.
• People check multiple sources.
  Even if someone finds you on Google, they’ll often check your socials next. If your content looks inconsistent, out of date or hard to understand, you might lose the sale.
• Optimised social content reinforces trust.
  Clear bios, relevant posts and consistent branding across platforms help customers feel more confident in choosing you, even if they discovered you by accident.
• You create more ways to be found.
  Whether through Reddit mentions, branded hashtags, Facebook videos, or profile bios, every piece of optimised content gives search engines and users another path to your business.

RELATED: How to build brand authenticity through social media marketing.

1. Optimise your bio and profile.

Your bio is one of the first places both users and search engines look. Don’t waste it on vague statements or clever taglines, make it clear what you do and who it’s for.

What to include:

• Your business name (exact match if possible)
• What you offer (products or services)
• Location (for local SEO)
• Keywords that people might use to find you
• A link to your website or a link-in-bio tool (Linktree, Beacons, etc.)
• Contact details (if the platform allows).

Tip: Use the category/industry label (e.g. ‘Hair Salon’, ‘Plumber’, ‘Café’) where available, it often factors into platform-level search.

2. Use relevant keywords in your captions and descriptions.

Think about the words your customers are likely to search for, then use them naturally in your post captions, video descriptions and alt text.

Best practice:

• Don’t stuff keywords – aim for clarity, not repetition
• Prioritise terms that describe your product, service, industry or location
• Use a conversational tone – it still needs to sound like you.
  

Example: Instead of: ‘New arrivals are here!’, Try: ‘Our new ceramic cookware sets just landed – perfect for home chefs and kitchen upgrades.’

3. Keep your branding consistent.

Consistency builds trust. Your handle, profile pic, bio tone and even link destination should be as similar as possible across platforms.

Checklist:

• Same logo or profile image
• Same or similar username/handle
• Matching bios (with platform-specific tweaks if needed)
• Unified link-in-bio tools or landing pages.

This also helps search engines match up your profiles as belonging to the same business.

RELATED:How to set up and update your Google Business Profile. 

4. Use features that support visibility.

Different platforms offer different discovery tools – take advantage of them.

Examples:

• Add alt text to images (Instagram, Facebook)
• Include subtitles or captions on videos (TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels)
• Pin your most important posts for new visitors
• Use geotags on location-based posts
• Choose the right categories or tags when uploading videos.

5. Encourage engagement.

Engagement doesn’t just boost in-platform visibility – it signals relevance across the board. More comments, saves and shares tell both social platforms and search engines that your content is worth showing.

How to encourage it:

• Ask clear, simple questions
• Create posts that invite sharing (e.g. tips, relatable moments)
• Respond to comments – quickly and helpfully
• Use calls-to-action (CTAs) like ‘Comment below’ or ‘Save this for later’.

6. Stay updated, post regularly and clean up old content.

Search visibility is tied to relevance,  and relevance fades fast if you’re inactive or outdated.

Keep your presence fresh:

• Post consistently only with quality (there’s no point posting the same thing over and over again)
• Update your bios and pinned posts when your business evolves
• Remove old content that no longer reflects your brand, especially if it’s likely to be indexed or appear in search
• Stay across platform changes and new features that could improve discoverability.

RELATED: How to time, schedule & manage your social media content. 

How to discover the right keywords for social media.

Unlike traditional SEO (where you can lean on tools like Google Keyword Planner or Semrush), social media platforms don’t show you exact search volume. That means you’ll need to take a different approach to find what people are actually searching for within those apps.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Use in-app search suggestions.

Platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest all offer auto-complete search suggestions.  Just start typing a term and see what pops up. These suggestions reflect real user behaviour and can help you find relevant phrasing, hashtags and topic angles.

Tip: Start broad (e.g. ‘hair salon’) and watch how the platform narrows it down (e.g. ‘hair salon balayage’, ‘hair salon near me Sydney’, etc.).

2. Look at trending content in your niche.

Use Explore pages, TikTok’s ‘For You’ or Instagram’s Reels tab to identify:

• The types of language people use in captions
• Common keywords in post overlays
• Hashtags gaining traction (but used naturally).

This helps you mirror the language your audience uses, even without volume data.

3. Use your own analytics.

Look at which of your past posts have performed well and reverse-engineer what made them work:

• Was it the phrasing in the caption?
• A certain product name or category?
• The way the location was mentioned?

That data gives you real signals about what your audience responds to  and can help you refine your SMO going forward.

4. Think about intent.

Social search is closer to product discovery than problem solving (which traditional SEO often targets). So instead of targeting ‘how to fix a leaking tap’ on social you’d focus on ‘tap install’, ‘kitchen tap ware’ or ‘plumber near me’.

Always aim to:

• Match the way your customer would describe the product
• Prioritise relevance and clarity over jargon.

5. Include brand-specific and niche terms.

On platforms like TikTok and Instagram, using brand names, product types and community-specific terms helps you connect with highly motivated audiences, even if they’re small.

Example: ‘linen jumpsuit’, ‘vegan café’, ‘retro console gaming’.

6. Spy on competitors (and outdo them).

If a competitor’s content is getting attention – likes, comments, shares, saves – there’s usually a reason. Use it as inspiration, but don’t copy it. Instead, find ways to level it up.

Here’s how:

• Look at how they structure their captions: Are they using keywords up front? CTAs at the end?
• See what kind of posts their audience engages with: Tutorials? Behind-the-scenes? Reviews?
• Check which hashtags they’re using (and how many)
• Analyse their bio: Are they clear about what they offer and where?

Now beat it by:

• Making the information more useful or easier to digest
• Using better visuals or more brand personality
• Tapping into comments to find pain points or follow-up ideas they missed
• Creating content clusters – one strong post, then a carousel, a video, a story, etc.

This isn’t about copying,  it’s about learning from what works, then doing it better in your own way.

Quick checklist: finding the right keywords for social.

✅ Use in-app search suggestions to spot real search behaviour
✅ Check Explore pages and trending content in your niche
✅ Analyse your top-performing posts for patterns
✅ Review competitor content and one-up it
✅ Focus on intent: what your customer is really searching for
✅ Use product-specific or niche terms in captions and overlays
✅ Avoid jargon – write how your audience speaks.

Need a starting point?

Pick one platform and start small. Update your bio, test out keyword-friendly captions and see what’s already working for others in your space. The sooner you start showing up in search, the sooner your customers will find you.

Tools like Thryv make it easier to stay consistent across all your platforms; from keeping your listings up to date to managing reviews and scheduling social posts that align with your strategy.