Instagram's SEO Update Just Changed the Game for Enrollment Marketing
If you missed Instagram’s latest update, here’s the TLDR: the platform is making it easier than ever to search and discover content. Which means that your content is now discoverable even if you have never touched the SEO game.
Instagram's recent update (on July 10th) automatically indexes your captions for SEO and has officially rolled out search rankings based on keywords — not just hashtags or usernames. And yes, your Instagram posts can now show up in Google search results.
For higher ed marketers, this isn’t just a technical update. It’s a signal that search behavior is shifting, and social media is officially part of the enrollment funnel in a bigger way than ever before.
Students Already Prioritize Instagram as a Search Tool
In our recent enrollment survey, Instagram ranked as the #1 platform students used to research colleges, with 79% of students saying they used it throughout their decision-making process. Students have long been using social media to search, not scroll — to investigate life on campus, compare dorms, explore majors, and sense the student culture.
Now, that behavior is officially being backed by infrastructure. With this update, Instagram content doesn’t just live in the feed — it becomes part of the broader search ecosystem.
So when a student Googles:
“What’s it like to go to [Your School]”
“[School Name] freshman dorms”
“Is [School] worth it?”
They might land on a student’s post instead of your homepage. And let’s be honest, that’s probably what they were hoping for.
They’re not looking for a polished tagline or another glossy brochure. They’re looking for proof — proof of fit, proof of community, proof of experience. This is a moment for institutions to lean into authenticity, not just to drive engagement, but to improve visibility where it matters most.
Why This Makes Evergreen, Student-Led Content Your Most Valuable Asset
This update is more than a boost in reach; it's a full-on shift in what content performs best. Evergreen, student-led content isn’t just nice to have anymore.
It’s your best-performing, longest-lasting, and most trustworthy marketing asset.
If a student Googles “[Your School] freshman dorms,” and the top result is a Reel from 2021 featuring a real student walking through their space, that’s a win. Most of the time, they’re not looking for polished, perfectly filmed videos, they want lived experience. If your content shows up in that moment of intent, it can have more influence than a paid campaign ever could.
At MeetYourClass, I got to see this firsthand. When we ran our student ambassador program, we helped students at several schools create short-form content — dorm tours, “day in the life” vlogs, campus walkthroughs, and “why I chose this school” breakdowns. Those posts were made to live on social, but now years later, they still get views and engagement.
With Instagram’s new SEO capabilities, that 2022 dorm tour might now rank in Google and show up in a student’s moment of highest intent. That makes it more than content — it makes it infrastructure.
What Students Are Actually Searching For (And How to Show Up for It)
With this new update, your content doesn’t need to chase trends or be posted more frequently. But you should create content that answers the exact questions students are already typing into Instagram and Google. Students aren’t searching for brand taglines; they’re searching for answers.
They want to know:
“[School] freshman dorm tour”
“Dining hall review at [University]”
“Day in the life of a [Major] student at [School]"
“What I wish I knew before going to [School Name]”
Your content should match those queries—and now that captions are indexed for SEO—you’re not just posting to your followers. You’re showing up in search when it matters most.
Your team should be treating Instagram captions like mini blog posts. Use full sentences, include search terms naturally, and speak in a way that sounds like a student. The more relevant your content is to actual search behavior, the more discoverable you become.
Why This Mirrors TikTok’s Shift — And What It Signals
We’ve seen this pattern before. Last year we made a post about TikTok’s push toward monetization and search, and its effect on higher ed marketing.
And the overlap here is clear: as both TikTok and Instagram evolve from social platforms into search-driven ecosystems, the content that thrives isn’t trendy — it’s timeless, specific, and student-led.
These platforms also have another advantage: they carry massive domain authority and search equity. According to Ahrefs, both TikTok.com and Instagram.com rank in the top 10 most visited websites globally, with TikTok averaging over 2 billion monthly visits and Instagram over 4 billion. Google naturally favors high-authority domains with fresh, user-driven content, which is why short-form videos from these platforms increasingly appear on results pages — especially for experience-based or peer-reviewed queries
The shift isn’t platform specific, it’s part of a larger cultural reframe: students aren’t browsing social for entertainment, they’re using it for research. And institutions that show up with real answers will win.
What Higher Ed Marketers Can Do Right Now
Here are 5 steps you can take today to get ahead of the curve:
1. Write captions like SEO headlines
Instagram is indexing your captions now — so make them count. Use natural language and phrases that students would actually search:
“Dorm tour at [University Name]”
“What it’s like to go to [School] as a transfer student”
“Top dining hall meals at [College]”
2. Think about longevity
Every post should have the potential to work for you beyond the 24-hour engagement spike. If you’re not building for evergreen search now, you’re missing your best opportunity to reach the class of 2030 and beyond. An old dorm tour might outperform anything you post this year, if students can find it.
3. Make student UGC a pillar of your strategy
Create programs that invite students to post authentically on social media. It can be as simple as a monthly takeover, a student Q&A series, or empowering student leaders to step in.
4. Archive your best content in Highlights
Your best content should be easy to find for students. Group your Reels into Highlights like “Dorms,” “Dining,” “Day in the Life,” or “Why I Chose [School Name].” This helps both in-app search and creates quick go-to guides for curious students landing on your page.
5. Google your school like a student would
Type in what they’d type — “is [School] worth it,” “freshman experience at [University],” or “best dorms at [College Name].” See what comes up. If your content isn’t there, it’s time to create it.
Final Takeaway: Your First Impression Might Not Be Your Website Anymore (even from a Google Search)
Here’s the reality: the first time a prospective student encounters your school might not be a website visit, a ranking, or an ad; which isn’t new. However, with Instagram shifting more focus onto SEO, the landscape just shifted.
Instagram isn’t just a social platform anymore. It’s a search engine, and one that students already trust, and this recent update only validates that behavior. It doesn’t mean you need more content. You just need to meet students where they’re already looking, with content that reflects their actual questions and lived experience.
This update is an invitation to rethink your content strategy from the student’s point of view. Your best student-led content is no longer just about engagement — it’s about discoverability, credibility, and conversion. And it means the content you post today can still help you yield multiple classes in the future. At MeetYourClass, we’ve built our platform around exactly that. We help institutions create and surface authentic peer-to-peer content — so when a student searches for your school, they find voices that actually sound like them.
If you're creating with discoverability and longevity in mind, you’re not just posting; you’re building an enrollment tool that compounds.
