What Multifamily Marketers Need to Do Now That Instagram Content Can Rank in Search

For the first time, public content from business and creator accounts on Instagram can appear in Google and Bing search results.

That means your community’s reels, photos, and videos are now potential assets in your search engine visibility strategy.

This change, which rolled out on July 10, 2025, marks a major shift for management companies who rely on social media to drive awareness for their properties.

This guide shares what you need to know about Instagram’s new SEO update, and the actions you should take to ensure your communities’ content can appear in Google and Bing search results. 

What’s changing with Instagram’s indexing update?

Previously, Instagram specifically required search engines like Google and Bing not to index its users’ content, according to SEOZoom.

Now, select accounts will have the option to allow Google and other search engines to crawl their content and surface it in search results outside of the platform, leaving the decision up to the users.

Here’s who is eligible to have their content indexed by search engines:

• Eligible accounts: Public businesses and creator accounts (18+)
  
• Ineligible accounts: Private and personal accounts
  

When enabled, your content can show up in relevant search queries on Google, Bing, Yahoo and more.

Why this matters for multifamily marketers

This is a key moment where social content becomes searchable content, making it an even more powerful marketing channel for property owners and operators.

Here’s an example: A community in Tampa, FL has an Instagram post with the caption, “Looking for a pet-friendly apartment in South Tampa? The Parkside has spacious floorplans, onsite dog parks, and easy access to Bayshore. Schedule a tour today.”

With Instagram’s indexing update, this post could now appear in Google when someone searches, “pet-friendly apartments in South Tampa,” even if your property website isn’t optimized for SEO.

This is a major opportunity for:

• Management companies with small marketing budgets
  
• Properties in markets where bidding on keywords is increasingly competitive
  
• Marketing teams who want more visibility for branded content
  
• Local discoverability through geotags and keyword-rich captions
  

How to make your communities’ IG accounts discoverable

To take full advantage of this update, multifamily marketers should take the following actions for each of their communities on Instagram:

1. Confirm your account type: Ensure your Instagram account is set to Business
   
2. Make sure it’s public: Only public accounts are eligible
   
3. Locate the new setting: Go to: Settings → Privacy → Search Engine Indexing and make sure it’s on (Note: This feature should be enabled by default, but we recommend you confirm it’s enabled for each property)
   
4. Clean up your content: Review your previous posts and archive irrelevant or off-brand content to prevent it from surfacing in search
   
5. Create future posts with SEO in mind:
   
   Treat each new Instagram post as a chance to show up in Google. For stronger SEO potential:
   
   • Use clear, descriptive captions that include local and longtail keywords (e.g., “luxury apartments in Midtown Atlanta”)
     
   • Add alt text to images to improve accessibility and context for search engines
     
   • Geotag locations to boost local search relevance
     
   • Rename your photos before uploading (e.g., one-bedroom-apartment-denver.jpg)
     
   • Use hashtags that match what renters might use to search
     

Summary: Instagram is now part of your SEO strategy

Instagram just became your newest search channel. This is your chance to improve visibility without increasing spend on SEM. 

This update marks a significant opportunity for social-first leasing strategies. Because your communities are no longer limited to visibility within the app, they can now appear directly in organic search results alongside ILS listings and your competitors’ websites.

Need help creating optimized social content?

If you and your team don’t have time to consistently create and post social media content, Zumper’s Amplify Social can help. 

Using your property’s photography, this automated solution creates property-specific posts with keyword-rich captions and branded hashtags, and customizable, human-crafted video highlight reels, all posted consistently to your property’s Instagram and Facebook pages. 

Contact us to learn more.