First Look: Google Tests New "Short Videos" Tab in Mobile Search, Aggregating Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikToks

It looks like Google is rolling out a new "Short Videos" tab in mobile search, gradually introducing it alongside the familiar Images, News, and Videos tabs. This section pulls content from Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikToks. Now, traditionally, platforms like Instagram have depended on scroll-based discovery, with algorithms dictating what appears in your feed. They've always lagged behind in search functionality—but that's changing. With advancements in the generative AI language processing space, social search capabilities are improving rapidly.

In light of this change, it's becoming increasingly important to strategically optimize your content for maximum visibility. For some time now, I've been encouraging you to embed top keywords into your post captions and video transcripts to enhance discoverability on high-intent searches. With Google's new tab for short videos, the significance of SEO on social platforms has been underscored even more. Now, more than ever, it’s essential to refine your SEO strategies to ensure your content stands out amidst the digital noise and reaches your target audience effectively. It's time to get savvy with keywords and leverage this new opportunity to enhance your online presence.

P.S. Keep in mind, this appears to be a test they’re rolling out gradually. You may not find it on your device yet. I have a Google alert set up for whenever my name shows up on the Internet. I started noticing a few months ago that my Instagram Reels were indexing with Google, as I was getting alerts. That was new. It seems as though this is the continuation of that effort – a dedicated vertical video feed on Google!

Boost Your Local SEO and Google Business Profile with This Simple Hack

What's the Hack?

Local SEO is crucial for small businesses (e.g. real estate agents, teams, and firms) aiming to attract customers in their immediate vicinity.

One simple but often overlooked strategy is adding your business location to your website's title tag. For example, if you're a REALTOR® based in Nashville, your full title tag might read something like “<title>Jane Doe Realty - Nashville, TN</title>.”

How to Do It

The good news is that implementing this tip is easier than you might think. You don't have to be a coding expert to make this change. Simply navigate to your website's settings and look for the SEO section. From there, you can update the title tag to include your business location.

And by “title tag,” I simply mean the title you see at the top of your web browser when you visit a website. Don't let the term “tag” confuse you—it's really just your website's title!

Why It's Important

By incorporating your location into the title tag, you're giving Google more context about your business. Google's algorithms use this information to rank your Google Business Profile in local searches.

So, when someone Googles "Best Realtor in Nashville," your business is more likely to appear in the coveted "map pack" at the top of the search results. For those unfamiliar, the map pack is that small boxed area featuring a map and local business listings, a prime spot for local visibility.

The Bottom Line

This small change to your website's title tag can have a significant impact on your local SEO strategy and, by extension, your Google Business Profile.

Instagram Influence Map: Geo-Optimize Your Content to Attract Local Customers

Problem: most of your Instagram followers live in random, faraway places, which undermines the effectiveness of your social media marketing in attracting and procuring LOCAL customers📍

To find out exactly where the people you're influencing are geographically located, follow these steps:

• Open your Instagram app and navigate to your Professional Dashboard, the gray-shaded box underneath the bio section of your profile. Please note that the Professional Dashboard is available only for Professional profiles, not Personal profiles.

• Next, tap on "See All" to access your account's insights, where you'll find vital information about your audience.

• Look for the sections labeled "Accounts reached" and "Total followers.” Specifically, take a close look at the "Top cities" data, which will reveal the top locations of your followers as well as the accounts you reached.

Those top cities aren’t just random locations; they represent where the people you're influencing reside.

If you're running a local business, that’s crucial intel because social media is becoming less social and less local. That said, you can turn the tide by implementing the following techniques:

1. Specify your physical whereabouts via the Location tag when you post: e.g. your city or locations in/around it. This’ll help to train the algorithm to recognize that your content is relevant to a specific geographic area.

2. Research and use local hashtags in your posts. By incorporating popular hashtags related to your city or region, you can increase your visibility among local Instagram users.

3. Post hyperlocal content that appeals specifically to locals. Share information, events, or stories that only people from your area would find interesting and relatable; effectively force the algorithm to distribute your content to the right audience!

4. Consider boosting your content to target your town or city. By utilizing Instagram's advertising tools, you can reach a wider local audience and increase your brand's visibility.

If you're leveraging social media for your business, it's essential to ensure that your efforts are finely tuned to attract the right audience in the right locations.

Build an SEO Fortress Around Your Local Business: rank higher when customers search for what your business does in the areas it does it

In real estate, the mantra is all about location: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! But when it comes to SEO, keywords reign supreme. So… make sure to optimize your website with the right SEO juice.

With that in mind, publish web pages chalked full of keywords that highlight your ability to assist individuals in, at minimum, buying and selling real estate, for instance. Beyond that though, create web pages that talk about relocation, moving, downsizing, new construction sales, custom builds, commercial real estate, residential development, and so on. Why not publish a page for every service you offer!?—especially now, with tools like Chat GPT to do the heavy lifting writing-wise.

What’s more, create community pages on your website that showcase the areas where you operate. Depending on where you do business, maybe consider zip-code specific pages, or neighborhoods, towns, counties, or perhaps designated market area terms, like “tri state” or other comparable titles. The point is, if it’s an area where you work, make it count by creating an optimized page on your website.

Here’s why all this carries weight. The better optimized your website is, the higher Google’s gonna rank your Google Business Profile when customers search for a business that does what yours does in the areas it does it.

Google’s Generative AI Tools Branching into Google Search Results

Google is expanding its generative AI tools into the search results pages (SERPs)! 😲

Up until now, Google’s been a bit reluctant to jump into the AI frenzy too quickly, citing concerns about the possibility of circulating errors or misinformation. Notwithstanding, Microsoft’s partnership with Chat GPT has effectively forced their participation.

So, as part of a new trial program, Google is integrating AI elements into its organic search results and ad placements. To be clear, the AI results will be mixed in with the regular search results, providing additional content and context for searchers.

The big topic of discussion, IMO, is how this generative AI trend will impact the overall state of SEO. What I mean is, if searchers no longer (or rarely) need to click a link, that’s gonna have a profound impact on web traffic.

That said, when compared to Chat GPT, Google still aims to remain a key source of website visitors by highlighting relevant web links, while also embracing advancements in generative AI.

Keyword Magic: Optimize Your Website SEO to Boost Your Google Business Profile Ranking Position

Google is always "Googling" you, gathering information from various online and offline sources. Your website, which is linked to your Google Business Profile, holds valuable data for them.

When you enter words and phrases, known as keywords, into Google's search bar, it's their mission and purpose to understand your query and present you with relevant results. That's why optimizing your website with the right keywords is a crucial step in boosting your Google Business Profile's ranking position.

And at the end of the day, “keywords” are merely words that can be categorized into distinct parts of speech, as follows:

• Nouns: The name of your business, its locations (e.g. counties, cities, neighborhoods, et al.), and what it offers or does. For instance, a ”real estate agent" or a “title company.”

• Verbs: Action terms like "buy," "sell," "list," "invest," "refer," "move," "relocate," and more—words that convey the dynamic actions associated with your business.

• Modifiers: Descriptive words like "best," "top," "#1," "luxury," and so on. For example, a consumer might Google: “Best REALTOR near me.”

By strategically incorporating these diverse parts of speech throughout your website, you can significantly enhance the ranking position of your Google Business Profile in crucial, high-intent customer searches.

Rank Higher on Google: Tips for Selecting and Optimizing Categories on Your Business Profile

When it comes to optimizing your Google Business Profile, choosing the right Category is crucial. In fact, it’s effectively “pass-or-fail” from Google’s POV – regardless of how many other profile optimizations you may integrate. If you choose the wrong Category, the chances are remarkably high that Google will overlook (or demote) your profile in relevant customer searches.

To select the right Category for your business, first conduct a variety of Google searches that prospective clients may use, such as "Best Realtor in Richmond.” When you examine the search results, pay close attention to the businesses listed in the Map Pack, which appears at the top of Google's search results page and displays a map and a list of businesses relevant to the search query. To determine the primary Category of each business in the Map Pack, simply look for the Category listed directly below the business name. Some examples of categories you may see include "Real Estate Agency," "Real Estate Agent," and "Real Estate Consultant."

For example, if all the top-ranking profiles in the Map Pack list "Real Estate Agency" as their Category, choosing any other Category as your “Primary Category” is unlikely to result in Google ranking your profile in the Map Pack. So, as you search for the phrases you wanna rank on, just include the two or three categories that appear most frequently in your profile.

After that—once you have specified your Category (or Categories)—you’ll need to optimize for them. Here’s how:

• Integrate keywords on your website's home page, bio page, services pages (e.g. buying, selling, etc.), and neighborhood/community pages to reinforce your chosen categories.

• Add "Services" to your Google Business Profile and ensure that the description text effectively describes your categories without going overboard.

• Avoid overloading your Google Business Profile with too many Services, as Google may consider it "keyword-stuffing."

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Are you looking to attract more business through your Google Business Profile? If so, I have an exciting solution for you! Check out my course, "GOOGLE BUSINESS BOSS" 😎, and learn how to fully-optimize your profile for more "come-list-me" calls.

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Your potential local customers are actively searching for businesses like yours. Your mission is to ensure that they can find you!

Apple Business Connect vs. Google and Facebook: The Battle for Local Business Profiles

Apple recently introduced its new Maps product, dubbed, Apple Business Connect—which is poised to shake up the local-business profile game (currently dominated by Google and Facebook) and give small business owners a new way to connect with potential customers.

Local business owners can update/manage their profile info via the Apple Business Connect web portal:  businessconnect.apple.com. This includes important details such as hours-of-operation, location(s) and physical address(es), uploading photos and logos, special offers, and more.

Apple has no immediate plans to remove its integration with Yelp—so customers will still be able to see Yelp photos and reviews in the business place cards. That said, business owners will be able to enhance their listings with their own details, resulting in more up-to-date and richer listings. And, as a result of that, I’m guessing higher ranking in the results.

Attract More Listings: Key Strategies for a High-Ranking Google Business Profile for REALTORS®

Want to become the go-to REALTOR® in your area? Then you oughta optimize your Google Business Profile!

FACTS:  Google is (by a mile!) the top-used search engine, receiving approximately 8.5-billion searches daily. What’s crazy, though, is that roughly 46% of all those Google searches are conducted with local intent.

What I’m getting at is that potential clients are actively searching for businesses like yours in their area. What’s more, buyers tend to search Google for homes whereas sellers will more readily search for agents. So, if you want more “come-list-me” calls and listing opportunities, it’s crucial to have a strong online presence—especially on Google.

Here are some steps to help with optimizing your Google Business Profile:

• Focus on client reviews: Invite your past (and current) clients (especially sellers!) to leave reviews on your Google Business Profile. Doing so will improve your profile’s ranking and visibility and will also give potential clients the confidence they need to contact you as their REALTOR®.

• Keyword optimization: Make sure to include keywords throughout your profile (its Description, Services section, and elsewhere) that are relevant to the services you offer, such as "listing agent,” “REALTOR,” and where you do business. This will help your profile show up in relevant search results. It’s also important to dial-in keywords across your website, which is presumably linked to your Google Business Profile.

• Consistent media updates: Posting media like photos, videos, and updates on your Google Business Profile will not only keep your profile fresh and engaging, but it will also help to improve its visibility. If you’re willing to do a bit of extra work, try geo-tagging your photos to further cement your profile’s relevance in your local area.

Remember, when it comes to attracting listings, it's all about positioning your business in the best light possible. By optimizing your Google Business Profile, you'll be on your way to attracting more clients and becoming the go-to REALTOR® in your area.

TikTok Search VS. Google Search: a new era of SEO?

Bold prediction:  TikTok is and isn’t going to replace Google as the dominant search engine.

Per a Google exec, approximately 40% of 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 when looking for a lunch🌮spot, for instance, don’t go to Google Maps or Google Search. – they search on TikTok or Instagram. But there’s a catch…

And it isn’t just TikTok and Instagram encroaching on Google’s search-supremacy turf. For instance, 55% of product searches start on Amazon. And, let’s not forget about YouTube (Google-owned), which has been steadily gaining search volume year-over-year.


It’s funny… Whenever I post something about the importance of Google Search on TikTok, I always get angry comments about how TikTok is a more popular search engine and Google’s dead 🙄… blah blah blah. Not quite!

First off, that sort of commentary conflates terminology. TikTok isn’t the same type of search mechanism as Google. Google uses a more scientific process for ranking results by order of relevance. It’s an 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵-𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭 whereby I ask and it answers. TikTok, on the other hand, isn’t quite so linear. It’s more of a visually immersive “discovery engine.”

In other words, users don’t search as if TikTok’s a calculator solving a math problem. They search, in a way, without expectation—that is, they’re not necessarily looking for an “exact match,” which definitely signifies a behavioral shift in online search. Granted, if you’re hungry and looking for a lunch spot nearby, surely there’s some expectancy in terms hoping to find some decent dining options.

Nonetheless, relevance on TikTok is more about social influence—i.e. what a user thinks about a business’s posts or infers about that business by way of other users’ posts about it—versus Google’s system of empirically ranked results.

To be honest, though, I’d argue that method of usage is functionally no different than placing confidence in online reviews. What I mean is, searchers will still have to be able to find 🔎 that business on TikTok in order to decide whether or not  they vibe with it. I suppose TikTok search is more like a magic 8-ball… the results are a bit of mixed bag versus “exact-match”—and maybe that’s the fun of it.

Again… there’s this big debate that TikTok is a more popular search engine than Google and that it’s a totally new way of discovering businesses and content. While TikTok is definitely gaining adoption as a search platform, Google still reigns supreme. What’s more, online search still is and has been a two-step process:  A. find options, B. pick one.

So… here’s the moral of the story:  as the titans of search and social fight🥊 it out, keep making content and publishing it everywhere!—videos, blogs, reviews, and more! Be relevant no matter where customers may find and “vibe with” you.

SEO is Social Media Afterlife 😇: How to repurpose your social posts as blogs

Social media algorithms (like Instagram) tend to favor your most recent post when distributing content through the feeds:  e.g the Home Feed, the Explore Page, the Reels Feed, and so on.

And it isn’t just Instagram. Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, and other social sites function similarly.

So here’s the dilemma. They (the gurus) say you’re “supposed” to post daily (or even twice-a-day) in order to reach the widest-possible audience. However, by doing so, each new post is essentially burying its predecessor post alive 🧟‍♂️ – one after the next.

Essentially, the more frequently you post, the less time each respective post has in the feeds to garner engagement from followers and viewers (e.g. hearts, comments, etc.). Notwithstanding, if you only post infrequently, your content just won’t go very far. The struggle is real.

Fret not, friends… SEO is here to save the day!

SOCIAL NETWORKS VS. SEARCH ENGINES

On social platforms, users discover content mostly by means of scrolling through feeds. Thus, once an account posts something new, it takes its shift in the feeds until the next post. It’s the whole “buried alive” concept aforementioned.

On search platforms, though, users discover content predominately by way of search—meaning, a blog posted long ago retains its eligibility to rank in Google search results, for instance, so long as it’s relevant to the search query. This same idea also applies to YouTube videos because search is a considerable source of video views on that platform.

SEO IS SOCIAL MEDIA AFTERLIFE

So why not publish each of your social posts as blogs on your site?

1. Simply embed your video (or upload an image if that’s your post’s associated media) into your blog.

Embedded videos are actually posted/hosted on sites like YouTube, or Instagram, or Facebook, or wherever. However, they appear as if they’re within your blog—thus, viewers can click to watch the video without leaving your site.

Either your blog platform auto-converts the URL of the subject video for embedding purposes or—with Youtube, for example—you can simply press the Share button and copy/paste its embed code.

I generally embed the YouTube videos because it’s an easy process and, since Google owns YouTube, I figure it can’t hurt. 

2. The next step is to simply repurpose the caption of your social post for the blog copy. 

If you’re concerned the caption text lacks a sufficient word count to constitute blog copy, look into an AI copywriting tool like Jasper.ai. Literally, you can copy/paste your caption text and Jasper, for instance, has copywriting tools that’ll instantly lengthen your word count. Even if your subject matter is technical, Jasper’s a quick study.

The average post on social media lives a relatively short life – days, at most. Even so—though your posts may perish quickly—their blogs will endure in the SEO afterlife, ranking forevermore (kind of, sort of 🤣).

Use Google Search Console to Monitor Your Website’s Ranking Performance in Google Search Results

Have you connected Google Search Console to your website? If not, you oughta! 

At some point you’ve probably installed Google Analytics on your website—which shows you WHAT visitors on your site are doing while perusing its pages. Google Analytics provides data points like:  the average amount of time site visitors spend on any given page, the destinations they navigate to-and-from, buttons they click, and so on. Put simply, Google Analytics shows you WHAT visitors do while on your website.

What it doesn’t do is show you HOW visitors got to your website in the first place. However, Google Search Console, does exactly that—it shows you how website visitors navigate their way onto your website.

For example, it’ll show you the top Google search queries that rank your pages, how often those pages rank versus how often they’re actually clicked, and all sorts of other valuable insights.

In addition, Google Search Console is also a powerful tool to keep optics on which of your site’s pages are or are not properly indexed by Google. However, that’s not the focus of this video.

Point is—if you haven’t already done so—you should install Google Search Console so you can monitor your site’s performance in Google search results. Here’s how:

• Navigate to:  search.google.com/search-console/about and press the “Get Started” button.

• Enter your site’s URL in the Domain “property type” box and continue.

• Finally, you’ll need to verify that you own your website, which may require your site developer’s assistance. Follow the on-screen steps to copy/paste the unique TXT record into the DNS configuration, which can be located by logging into your website hosting service account. For example, GoDaddy, Dreamhost, etc. If you don’t have access to the DNS, simply send that TXT record to your developer with the same instructions.

Once you’re logged in, you’ll be able to see data on your top-performing web pages, Google search queries in which your site/pages rank, and a bunch more advanced SEO tools, like sitemaps, page indexing, and so on.

How to Use Contextual Keywords to Improve your Google Business Profile Ranking Position

If you run a Google search 🔎 like, “Best REALTOR near me,” you’ll trigger what’s known as the Map-Pack (aka, the “Local Pack”)—a section of Google’s search results page that displays the top three local businesses respective to your search.

The money 🤑—in terms of getting discovered by prospective customers—is in the Map-Pack!

Trouble is, Google only ranks the top three business profiles (formerly, Google My Business) out of however many local competitors are in your marketplace.

So the question is:  What can you do to get yours to rank?

There are loads of tactics to get your Google Business Profile to rank higher. In fact, here’s a bunch of blogs I’ve written on the topic:

• https://www.jasonpantana.com/blog/tag/Google+Business+Profile

• https://www.jasonpantana.com/blog/tag/Google+My+Business

The technique described herein, however, is one that’s often overlooked.

Perhaps you’ve noticed underneath the three profiles listed in a Map Pack, Google often displays excerpts from reviews OR phrases like, “website also mentions…” that relate to the search query.

These snippets are called Local Justifications.

In essence, they’re Google’s defense as to why it chose to rank a given profile over its competitors—as if it was calling a super-tight race or something. Google will even bold and emphasize the keywords that match verbatim with the subject search—like “best realtor,” for example.

Words like BEST, TOP, LISTING AGENT, and so on are called contextual keywords and they’re displayed often in Local Justifications.

So here’s the idea:  incorporate those types of words and phrase throughout your website and, when you ask for reviews, try to prime clients (indirectly) to integrate some of that language.

Warning, though—Google’s adept to infer if a review was influenced by a business owner and, if suspected, it’ll quickly filter-out that review.

In terms of the keywords to prioritize, break ‘em into three buckets:  nouns, verbs, and modifiers.

• NOUNS:  your business name, your category of business (e.g. real estate agent, etc.), and where you conduct business (e.g. Nashville, TN)

• VERBS:  terms that describe the services you perform, such as “buy,” “purchase,” “sell,” “list,” “lease,” “invest,” et al.

MODIFIERS: terms that describe (e.g. adjectives/adverbs), like “best,” “top,” “number 1,” and so on.

YouTube Shorts are Ranking (and Getting “Evergreen” Views) in YouTube’s Search Results

Vertical Video📱is most definitely on trend:  TikTok videos, Reels on Instagram and Facebook, YouTube Shorts, etc.

One of their perks is a relatively high coefficient for going viral—sometimes tens-of-thousands, hundreds-of-thousands, or even millions of views!

However, that’s not necessarily enough by itself.

Instagram and TikTok, for instance, are working to improve their respective search 🔦tools to give users additional means to discover new videos and content. Otherwise, it’s all up to the feeds.

But YouTube’s already been there and done that 😏.

Lately, in fact, my most viewed videos on YouTube have been Shorts. What’s more, the way in which viewers discovered them was predominantly via YouTube Search. Videos that only get views in a feed, for instance, run their course in about a day-or-two and then essentially vanish without trace. Videos that rank in search results, on the other hand, well—they could last indefinitely. Case in point… my top-viewed Shorts were published over a year ago! 

All that to say: over-index on YouTube Shorts!

3 Categories of SEO-Strong Keywords for REALTORS

From an SEO standpoint, there are effectively THREE types of keywords in #realestate.

1. Name:  If you’re an agent the name of your business, for instance, is most likely just your first and last name. If you’re running a team or if you operate an office, obviously, it’d be that. The point is, if someone Googles your business name—assuming your SEO is strong—then your content and web pages oughta rank.

2. Occupation:  The second type of keyword has to do with the sort of business you conduct. So, for example:  “Realtor,” “real estate agent,” “listing agent,” etc. It describes “what” you do—your role and the function of your job.

3. Location:  Finally, there are location-based keywords that specify “where” you do business:  counties, cities, neighborhoods, and so forth.

It’s mission-critical to make good use of these keywords when representing your business online:  on your website, Google Business Profile, and social media pages, for instance. 

If you wanna get discovered by customers more frequently on Google, you’ve gotta CRUSH your keywords!

Instagram Expands Business Search Capabilities in IG Maps for Local Discovery

Instagram’s leveling-up its “business search” capabilities. It’s definitely nowhere close to Google, but is nonetheless worth watching.

Within IG’s Explore 🔎 tab there’s a search-bar across the top that organizes its findings according to preset sections:  Top, Accounts, Audio, Tags (i.e., hashtags), and Places.

Places, for instance, lists out a bunch of pinned📍 locations — select an option and it’ll plot it on a map (plus display a bunch of info about the business/location).

From there, if one taps anywhere else on the map, IG displays the user’s city location and reveals a handful of predefined search categories, which currently includes:  Restaurants, Cafes, Sights, Hotels, Parks & Gardens, and Bars. The idea is to search for what’s around you or proximate to a point of interest. You can also zoom in/out to redo your search within the visible area of map.

I predict Instagram will eventually add additional/custom categories down the road (as in, “Real Estate Agents,” possibly).

Many agents, whether they’re using a Creator or Business profile, have modified their account category from “Real Estate Agent” to, say, “Entrepreneur,” to expand their sound-and-music options in IG’s audio library for Reels and such. However, if Instagram does indeed add more categories to its map-search feature, agents may opt to switch their category back to “Real Estate Agent” to improve their odds of ranking. Not now, necessarily—just if/when that expansion occurs.

For search engines and social networks alike, local discovery is no doubt a trend of growing importance — so keep an eye 👁 on it, friends.

How (and Why) to Repurpose Social Media Posts on Your Blog

A post on social media (Instagram, Facebook, et al.) has approximately the lifespan of a fruit-fly. It circulates through the feeds for about a day and then abruptly keels over into content oblivion. The fact is, producing and sharing content on a consistent basis is most definitely a grind. 

But here me out:  SEO is social media afterlife 😇—it’s the difference between SEARCH vs. SCROLL.

So why not repurpose your social posts as blogs on your website?

Last year, for instance, I published an Instagram Reel that, for all intents and purposes, did well in the feeds. Nevertheless, let’s not forget it was just a fruit-fly—so it flatlined in a day or two. However, the respective blog-post is generating roughly 2,000 - 3,000 clicks per month from related Google searches ever since. Every month Google sends me its Search Console report, and there’s that fruit-fly, transformed in a dragon.🐲

What if Your Google Business Profile’s Physical Address is OUTSIDE Your Service Area?

What if your physical mailing address 📍 of your #GoogleBusinessProfile is outside the area(s) you conduct business?—will that impede your ranking position in Google Search and/or Google Maps?

Google offers what’s known as a “service-area based business.” Basically, it’s a GBP with no physical address. Instead, it specifies area(s)—like zip codes, cities, counties, etc.—in which one conducts business.

That’s a fine option IF all your competitors also operate service-area-only businesses. Unfortunately, in real estate, that’s definitely not the case.

Having (and listing) a verified address in the CITY whereby or wherefore the “Googler” is searching gives you a major algorithmic edge. What’s more, Google evaluates your address proximate to the prospective customer’s point of search – so it pays to be nearby.

Anybody can specify service areas on their GBP—whether they have a physical address or not. But doing so is effectively superficial. Service areas don’t have any direct impact on improving a profile’s discoverability across Google’s products. They do however, provide two major benefits:

1. Google will map-overlay a shaded outline that defines where you do business. So if a customer does manage pull up your profile on Google, your service areas will help to give them a sense visually about whether or not you work in their territory.

2. When it comes to ranking factors, Google DOES analyze whether or not a GBP has been totally filled out. That includes ALL informational fields, which, of course, takes service areas into account. Service areas alone don’t really give you any extra Google juice, so to speak—however, a failure to include them takes some away.

Top 5 Ranking Signals Instagram Measures to Prioritize Posts (2023)

This post was updated on January 9, 2023.

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, published a video in which he shared the 5 most important “interactions” IG measures to calculate whether or not a Post, Video, Reel, or Story is worth prioritizing in the feeds. I’ve outlined (and strategized) all five.

End of day, the performance of your next post on Instagram is tied to is ability to generate interactions. Interaction = Visibility. In other words, a post that fails to generate any sort of response/feedback, like views, hearts/likes, swipes, comments, and so forth, simply isn’t going to be circulated widely through the feeds. And, frankly, if your your post isn’t getting shown, it’s as if it was never even posted.

Additionally, Instagram is testing/releasing a couple new filters that’ll enable its users to rearrange what they see in their feeds. The first filter has been dubbed, “Following” which will simply sort the posts of whomever a user follows into a chronological feed. The second is called, “Favorites,” which will enable users to manually select their favorite accounts and prioritize only those accounts’ posts in their feed.

That said, these are additions, not replacements. By default, your Main Feed will continue rank and personalize what you see as it does presently.

So, going forward, there’s gonna be a Main Feed with sorting options (i.e., “Following” and “Favorites”), a Story Feed, an Explore Page, and a Reels Feed. That’s A LOT of feeds!

My thinking is… it’s all the more important to understand the ranking signals IG prioritizes no matter the feed in question. Hence, the top 5 interactions to get your posts to rank:

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Top 5 Instagram Interactions

1. Time-Spent: Just like money is the currency of economies, attention is the currency of algorithms. Literally every algorithm out there—Google, Facebook, etc.—prioritizes content that holds viewers attention. Attention signifies relevance. So, obviously, make content that captivates. But beyond that, utilize post formats that innately hold attention: e.g. subtitled videos, swipe-through carousels, “meatier” captions, and/or talkative comment threads.

2. Hearts/Likes: Attention speaks volumes, but action, arguably, speaks louder. For example, a user watching a video start-to-finish is definitely a HUGE algorithmic consideration... but a user willing to go, quote-unquote, “on the record” with a "Like"—now that’s next-level. Here’s a simple (or not so simple) question: are you publish-ing content that’s “Likeable?” If you don't know for certain, visit your IG Insights to calculate your Reach-to-Likes ratio.

3. Comments: Comments put the “social” in social media.” So if a post doesn’t spark much of any dialogue in the comments thread, then chances are, its reach will be comparatively underwhelming. For that reason, when a user comments on your post, always reply! In fact, reply with a question or tag other Instagram users in an effort to stir up a bigger discussion. Conversation cultivates Community.

4. Saves: People Save (i.e., “bookmark”) posts they want/plan to revisit. Instagram is continuously observing and inferring the presumed interests of its users so that it can prioritize what they see in their feeds respectively—and the Save button is a dead giveaway. People save posts that are useful or offer a lasting value, worth coming back to over-and-again. My advice: if the post warrants it, write-in a recommendation to Save it in your post caption.

5. Profile-Taps: If a user taps to visit your profile, odds are, it’s someone who doesn’t follow you. Of course, it could be somebody who does, looking to peruse your posts. But regardless, does your profile deliver? As a non-follower scans your page, for instance, do they opt to follow you? That's why it’s critical to dial-in Profile Name, Bio, Link, and Highlights to help convey your story! And, arguably more important than that... it’s ALL about your content—does it compel or repel?

Top SEO Keywords for REALTORS to Rank on Google

Get this… nearly ½ of Google Searches are conducted w/ local📍intent. What’s more, 93% of ALL those “local searches” are, in fact, looking for a local business -- like yours! Question is, does your business rank?—on Google, in Maps, on YouTube, and beyond. 

My advice:  build-up your SEO by focusing on the right types of 𝗸𝗲𝘆𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀. Details in the video ⤴️