How to Rank Your Instagram Posts Higher in 2023: The Ultimate Guide

Do you feel like your Instagram posts aren't reaching your followers or any new accounts anymore? We have heard this story a million times. If you are a content creator or a business on Instagram, you have likely noticed a drop in engagement and impressions over the last couple of years. Changes in the algorithm are to blame for this. 

The bad news is that no one can escape these new rules on the platform. The good news is that we did the research for you to get around them and make your content shine! Read on to find out how you can boost your posts' visibility on Instagram. 

Keep Engaging with Your Audience Regularly

Apart from being one of the most successful social media platforms, let's not forget that Instagram is still a business at the end of the day. So, ask yourself: how can they profit from it? The simple answer is that Instagram thrives if users are active and spend a lot of time on it. Because of that, you can be sure that they will prioritize your content above less engaged accounts if you have proven to be a regular user. 

This is also a reason to make sure to explore all of Instagram's features – from Broadcast Channels, and IGTV, to story polls and Instagram Lives - as that will solidify your account as dynamic and you will be rewarded with higher content reach. 

Besides, it's crucial that you keep your online presence active so your followers don't become alienated from your page - posting anywhere between four times a week to once a day would be ideal. 

If you log into your account more frequently, you'll also be able to reply to comments and DMs faster - making sure you don't miss out on any opportunities, keeping up with what your competitors are doing (right and wrong), and networking with more people. 

On the other hand, please note that posting multiple times a day can be seen as excessive and may cost you followers. Don't bombard your followers with content. Instead, you should rethink it and optimize it.

If frequently posting and engaging with other Instagram users every day is too time consuming for you, then you should hire an Instagram manager to take over the leg work for you.

Rethink Your Content

Consider the type of content you are putting out. Reels and Instagram Lives are great ways to connect with your audience on a different level since they allow you to show and tell much more than just with a photo. Reels are also a direct competitor to TikTok, so Instagram encourages its use and rewards users by ranking reels higher than photos. 

Sharing your new posts in your stories is also a smart way of broadening the reach to followers that might have missed it otherwise because of the strict algorithm. 

Note: Don't limit your content to just what you post. What you say on your DMs or when you reply to comments is equally as important and is still a reflection of your brand, so be mindful of that.

Focus on Saves & Shares

Likes and Comments might give you that immediate reward feeling that made the platform a global success for over a decade now, but let’s not forget how much Instagram has evolved since being launched in late 2010.

Since its creation, Instagram has added more engagement forms - profile visits, shares and saves - that allow users to further their connection with the pages they are following. Sharing and saving a post is now considered a more active type of engagement because it’s not as immediate as dropping a like or a quick comment. Likes and Comments are also easier to “fake” nowadays since you can get services that deliver just that to your posts, so they have less importance on the new Instagram “ranking scale” (aka the algorithm).

So, with this new Instagram algorithm, shares and saves weight more than likes and comments when it comes to content ranking. That is why USA Powerlikes delivers an additional service called "Powerboost" which consists of extra shares, saves and profile visits - precisely what your content needs to stand out from the crowd. You can get it at the checkout page when signing up for any of the USA Power Likes plans. And if you purchase a Likes + Comments Package Deal, packages already include impressions!

Reduce and Constrict the Hashtags in Your Captions

You should always limit your captions to 10 hashtags, and not just for the sake of aesthetics (but let's not forget about that as well). Excessive use of hashtags can be detected as spam by Instagram, and that will hold your posts’ reach low. It is also likely to overwhelm your followers. So, if you really want to have more than 10 hashtags, then add the rest in a comment.  

Using all 30 hashtags won't necessarily help people find your post either because most of them will probably be popular (with 1 million+ posts) and overflowing with content. That makes it nearly impossible for people to find your content there since only viral posts will be highlighted and the others disappear quickly. 

Instead, make sure to focus on less popular hashtags that still target your audience and niche. That way, your post has a higher chance of being at the top of that hashtag page since there's much less competition. 

Geotag Trendy Places in Your Posts

Popular destinations can get you places (pun intended)! Tagging your location can be as effective as using the right hashtags, since users can search for posts on a specific place, especially if your content shows a trendy spot.

If your location is trending, Instagram will rank your post higher and show it to more followers. That can be anywhere from a very touristy city (was London everyone's first guess?), world-renowned museums/monuments, to the "Instagrammable spots" that you see in all the blogs and travel guides. 

But please, don't try to fool your followers by lying about your location. They'll be on to you sooner than later and that will likely cost you their trust and following. 

To Sum Up

> Post between 4 to 7 times a week.

> Diversify your use of Instagram and explore all its features – IGTV, Broadcast Channels, Instagram Live, etc.

> Urge your followers to share and save your posts. Try USA Powerlikes for better, faster results.

> Use 10 hashtags max on your captions and look for some that aren’t over 1 million posts.

> Always geotag your location.