SEO
The Best Time To Post On Instagram (2023)

Instagram is the third most popular social channel, with 500 million daily active users and one billion monthly active users.
That’s a lot of targeted audience to tap into; naturally, there is no shortage of brands leveraging the social platform.
Like all social media channels, with those huge numbers of users, it’s easy to fall through the cracks. Just because you put effort into your posts doesn’t mean your posts will be seen.
It’s worth knowing that Instagram’s algorithms promote recent posts alongside interest and relationship, so determinng when your users are active is crucial.
Knowing when is the best time to post can be the difference between hundreds or thousands of engagements.
To find the best time to post on Instagram, we reviewed a range of data studies from social media tools and compared the data below.
It’s worth remembering that data like this is only a starting point and you should experiment to find what works for your audience.
The Best Time To Post On Instagram
Before you look at your specific audience, having an idea of general trends when Instagram users are posting is a useful starting point for you to experiment with.
We reviewed data studies from social media tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, HubSpot, and Later to gain insight into the best posting times.
Between them, they analyzed millions of posts to find when users are most active across different days and time zones.
What stands out is that each study and social tool shows a different day and time as the best time to post on Instagram. This highlights the importance of analyzing your niche and data to find the best times and what works for you.
Never take another study as the rule when you should post.
They are a guide only; putting in the time to experiment and analyze your data will help you get the best results.
Always be testing.
Best Time To Post On Instagram, Social Tool Data Studies Compared
Source Study | Hootsuite | Later | Hubspot | Sprout Social |
---|---|---|---|---|
Time Zone | Pacific time | Local time | Local time | Local time |
Monday | 12 p.m. | 5 a.m. | 7 – 9 p.m. | 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. |
Tuesday | 9 a.m. | 7 a.m. | 8 – 9 p.m. | 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. |
Wednesday | 11 a.m. | 3 a.m. | 8 – 9 p.m. | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. |
Thursday | 11 a.m. | 3 a.m. | 9 p.m. | |
Friday | 2 p.m. | 7 a.m. | 9 p.m. | 9 – 11 a.m. |
Saturday | 9 a.m. | 1 a.m. | 6 – 11 p.m. | |
Sunday | 7 p.m. | 1 a.m. | 4 -9 p.m. |
Sources, June 2023:
- HubSpot reviewed 110M posts across 1M Instagram users.
- Later analyzed over 11M posts.
- Hootsuite analyzed over 30,000 Instagram posts.
- Sprout Social analyzed 2B engagements across 400,000 profiles.
Best Time To Post On Instagram By Location
If you have a global audience, you should be considering and posting at the best time for their time zone and not the time where you are.
If you are working across multiple countries, you should consider staggering posting across different time zones or trying to find overlaps between countries.
Plot what time your Instagram users are most active (see below) and then adjust for local time.
Time Zone | Time To Post |
---|---|
US Pacific Time | 9 p.m. – 12 a.m. |
US Central Time | 10 p.m. – 12 a.m. |
US Eastern Time | 11 p.m. – 4 a.m. |
South America | 5 a.m. |
UK | 3 a.m. – 4 a.m. |
Western Europe | 4 a.m. – 6 a.m. |
Eastern Europe | 5 a.m. – 7 a.m. |
Africa | 2 a.m. – 3 a.m. |
Middle East | 4 a.m. |
East & South East Asia | 6 a.m. – 8 a.m. |
Australasia | 11 p.m. – 12 a.m. |
Best Day To Post On Instagram
According to Hootsuite, the worst day to post is a Sunday.
Later and Sprout agree that Wednesday is one of the best days to post on Instagram.
Later thinks Monday mornings are all about “early to rise and early to post” for the best views and engagements.
Social Tool | Day of Week | Time To Post |
---|---|---|
Later | Monday | 5:00 a.m. Local |
Sprout Social | Tuesday &a.m.p; Wednesday | 9/10 a.m. – p.m. Local |
Hootsuite | Wednesday | 11 a.m. PT |
Source – as above.
Best Times To Post Reels On Instagram?
There is no doubt that video-based content is on the rise across all online platforms, including social media. TikTok has created an increasing market for short-form videos.
Competitors’ response has been YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels.
If you are experimenting with Instagram Reels, then according to:
- Hootsuite, the best time to post on Instagram Reels is 9 a.m. and 12 p.m., Monday to Thursday.
- SocialPilot, the best time to post is between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. from Monday to Thursday.
As I mentioned, this can take trial and error – and depend on your industry and target market.
What Time Are Instagram Users Most Active?
As a starting point, consider your audience and what sort of routine and habits they might have. For example, many people check their social media as soon as they wake up and before they start work.
This can vary depending on the demographic and age, but 7 – 8 a.m. (local time) is generally a good time for a morning post.
When people wake up, they often check social media, spending a couple of minutes or more scrolling through their newsfeeds or watching Instagram Reels.
So, around 7 – 8 a.m. can be a great time to post in the morning.
Another time when people are often on their phones is when they take their lunch break. Posting around 11 – 1 p.m., when people are likely to be breaking for lunch, can help ensure your post will make it closer to the top of their feed.
People also tend to scroll through social media right after work or before bed.
Don’t forget that posting times can depend on your target audience’s age, demographic, and industry.
Understanding your audience and demographic is critical as a starting point to consider what they might be doing during the day and what time they might be active in the evening.
Best Times To NOT Post On Instagram
Weekends tend to see lower engagement levels, but don’t count them out altogether. Saturday can be a decent time to post if you post at the right time.
Brands that offer consumer goods tend to see high engagement on Sunday evenings.
But the consensus has been that Sunday is generally the worst day to post on Instagram, as people are decompressing or preparing for the week ahead.
So, typically, they will spend less time scrolling through social media.
How Often Should You Post On Instagram?
That depends on a couple of factors.
First, do you have enough product images, content, and ideas to post a couple of times per day or week? The goal here is to post consistently.
On the other hand, don’t put content out there for the sake of posting regularly. Instead, spend time conducting a thoughtful customer journey-based content strategy.
That might take more time on the front end but it will help your content strategy as the weeks go on.
That way, you can spend more time managing social media and engaging with followers and less worrying about getting enough content out there.
If you don’t have an abundance of post ideas, try posting three times a week. Then you can adjust accordingly by measuring your ongoing insights.
How To Find The Best Time For You To Post On Instagram
Studies and shared data are useful as a benchmark and a starting point for you to test with your own posts.
To find the best times to post on Instagram for you, experiment and test different times to see when you get the best response.
You will most likely find that different types of posts will get different reactions at different times, and you will also want to experiment across a range of posts relevant to your audience and brand.
As we said above, think about creating a journey, aim for posting types of messages, and try to post content consistently to encourage follower expectations.
To help inform when you should be posting, you can check the following:
- Evaluate your top-performing posts, measuring when they were posted and what you posted.
- Check when your audience is online to know where and when your audience is online and active.
- As an extension to when your audience is online, you must be aware of the different time zones your brand operates across and post at the times relevant to those time zones.
To measure most of the above, you can use Instagram Insights to get valuable data.
Using Instagram Insights
First, set up your account as a business or creator – that’s required to view Instagram Insights.
Once you have 100 followers, you can see your audience’s demographics: including the age, gender, and location of your followers.
Instagram Insights also gives you the ability to analyze high-performing posts.
When reviewing the data, ask yourself, what worked here? Was it a high-quality image? Was it the post time? Maybe it was the copy and hashtags? Or was it a mix of all of these?
Analyze and test. Analyze and test.
The only way to learn is to just keep experimenting with different ideas. It’s worth noting that some pieces of content just won’t perform well, while others do.
Don’t get hung up on creating something perfect. Just keep trying.
Other Social Media Tools
You can also use other tools like Brandwatch or Iconosquare to view analytics and schedule posts.
If you regularly post on Facebook, you can also use Meta Business Suite to schedule and analyze posts across both platforms in one place.
Check Competitors’ Content
Another thing you can do is check out your competitor’s content.
Look when your competitors are posting. For example, are their Tuesday 2 p.m. posts performing well, or was another time working better for them?
Analyzing the competition to see when they get the most engagement can be the best insight for a new brand when you don’t have history to measure.
Keep Testing And Be Consistent
Over time, the more content you have, the more accurate your Insights will be in analyzing your Instagram post strategy.
Then, you can change up your content strategy based on your systematic analysis.
Ultimately, you and the brand must determine what success looks like.
Maybe it’s more likes, comments, follows, or general brand awareness.
While posting times are a crucial part of overall engagement, you still need to select the right hashtags, visuals, and copy for your posts – and pay attention to promoted posts, as this can impact how you look at your Insights.
Ultimately, you must balance all these variables to grow your follower base and increase engagement consistently.
The important thing is to stay consistent. Post regularly and check back often to see how your posts are doing.
More resources:
Featured Image: PixieMe/Shutterstock
SEO
Google Updating Cryptocurrency Advertising Policy For 2024

Google published an announcement of upcoming changes to their cryptocurrency advertising policies and advises advertisers to make themselves aware of the changes and prepare to be in compliance with the new requirements.
The upcoming updates are to Google’s Cryptocurrencies and related products policy for the advertisement of Cryptocurrency Coin Trusts. The changes are set to take effect on January 29th, 2024.
Cryptocurrency Coin Trusts are financial products that enable investors to trade shares in trusts holding substantial amounts of digital currency. These trusts provide investors with equity in cryptocurrencies without having direct ownership. They are also an option for creating a more diversified portfolio.
The policy updates by Google that are coming in 2024 aim to describe the scope and requirements for the advertisement of Cryptocurrency Coin Trusts. Advertisers targeting the United States will be able to promote these products and services as long as they abide by specific policies outlined in the updated requirements and that they also obtain certification from Google.
The updated policy changes are not limited to the United States. They will apply globally to all accounts advertising Cryptocurrency Coin Trusts.
Google’s announcement also reminded advertisers of their obligation for compliance to local laws in the areas where the ads are targeted.
Google’s approach for violations of the new policy will be to first give a warning before imposing an account suspension.
Advertisers that fail to comply with the updated policy will receive a warning at least seven days before a potential account suspension. This time period provides advertisers with an opportunity to fix non-compliance issues and to get back into compliance with the revised guidelines.
Advertisers are encouraged to refer to Google’s documentation on “About restricted financial products certification.”
The deadline for the change in policy is January 29th, 2024. Cryptocurrency Coin Trusts advertisers will need to pay close attention to the updated policies in order to ensure compliance.
Read Google’s announcement:
Updates to Cryptocurrencies and related products policy (December 2023)
SEO
SEO Trends You Can’t Ignore In 2024

Most SEO trends fade quickly. But some of them stick and deserve your attention.
Let’s explore what those are and how to take advantage of them.
If you give ChatGPT a title and ask it to write a blog post, it will—in seconds.
This is super impressive, but there are a couple of issues:
- Everyone else using ChatGPT is creating the same content. It’s the same for users of other GPT-powered AI writing tools, too—which is basically all of them.
- The content is extremely dull. Sure, you can ask ChatGPT to “make it more entertaining,” but it usually overcompensates and hands back a cringe version of the same boring content.
In the words of Gael Breton:
How to take advantage of this SEO trend
Don’t use AI to write entire articles. They’ll be boring as heck. Instead, use it as a creative sparring partner to help you write better content and automate monotonous tasks.
For example, you can ask ChatGPT To write an outline from a working title and a list of keywords (which you can pull from Ahrefs)—and it does a pretty decent job.
Prompt:
Create an outline for a post entitled “[working title]” based on these keywords: [list]
Result:


When you’ve written your draft, you can ask to polish it in seconds by asking ChatGPT to proofread it.


Then you can automate the boring stuff, like creating more enticing title tags…


… and writing a meta description:


If you notice a few months down the line that your content ranks well but hasn’t won the featured snippet, ChatGPT can help with that, too.
For example, Ahrefs tells us we rank in position 3 for “affiliate marketing” but don’t own the snippet.


If we check Google, the snippet is a definition. Asking ChatGPT to simplify our definition may solve this problem.


In short, there are a near-infinite number of ways to use ChatGPT (and other AI writing tools) to create better content. And all of them buck the trend of asking it to write boring, boilerplate articles from scratch.
Programmatic SEO refers to the creation of keyword-targeted pages in an automatic (or near automatic) way.
Nomadlist’s location pages are a perfect example:


Each page focuses on a specific city and shares the same core information—internet speeds, cost, temperature, etc. All of this information is pulled programmatically from a database and the site gets an estimated 46k monthly search visits in total.


Programmatic SEO is nothing new. It’s been around forever. It’s just the hot thing right now because AI tools like ChatGPT make it easier and more accessible than ever before.
The problem? As John Mueller pointed out on Twitter X, much of it is spam:
I love fire, but also programmatic SEO is often a fancy banner for spam.
— I am John – ⭐ Say no to cookies – biscuits only ⭐ (@JohnMu) July 25, 2023
How to take advantage of this SEO trend
Don’t use programmatic SEO to publish insane amounts of spam that’ll probably get hit in the next Google update. Use it to scale valuable content that will stand the test of time.
For example, Wise’s currency conversion pages currently get an estimated 31.7M monthly search visits:


This is because the content is actually useful. Each page features an interactive tool showing the live exchange rate for any amount…


… the exchange rate over time…


… a handy email notification option when the exchange rates exceed a certain amount…


… handy conversion charts for popular amounts…


… and a comparison of the cheapest ways to send money abroad in your chosen currency:


It doesn’t matter that all of these pages use the same template. The data is exactly what you want to see when you search [currency 1] to [currency 2]
.
That’s probably why Wise ranks in the top 10 for over 66,000 of these keywords:


Looking to take advantage of programmatic content in 2024 like Wise? Check out the guide below.
People love ChatGPT because it answers questions fast and succinctly, so it’s no surprise that generative AI is already making its way into search.
For example, if you ask Bing for a definition or how to do something basic, AI will generate an answer on the fly right there in the search results.




In other words, thanks to AI, users no longer have to click on a search result for answers to simple questions. It’s like featured snippets on steroids.
This might not be a huge deal right now, but when Google’s version of this (Search Generative Experience) comes out of beta, many websites will see clicks fall off a cliff.
How to take advantage of this SEO trend
Don’t invest too much in topics that generative AI can easily answer. You’ll only lose clicks like crazy to AI in the long run. Instead, start prioritizing topics that AI will struggle to answer.
How do you know which topics it will struggle to answer? Try asking ChatGPT. If it gives a good and concise answer, it’s clearly an easy question.
For example, there are hundreds of searches for how to calculate a percentage in Google Sheets every month in the US:


If you ask ChatGPT for the solution, it gives you a perfect answer in about fifty words.


This is the perfect example of a topic where generative AI will remove the need to click on a search result for many.
That’s probably not going to be the case for a topic like this:


Sure. Generative AI might be able to tell you how to create a template—but it can’t make one for you. And even if it can in the future, it will never be a personal finance expert with experience. You’ll always have to click on a search result for a template created by that person.
These are the kinds of topics to prioritize in 2024 and beyond.
Sidenote.
None of this means you should stop targeting “simple” topics altogether. You’ll always be able to get some traffic from them. My point is not to be obsessed with ranking for keywords whose days are numbered. Prioritize topics with long-term value instead.
Bonus: 3 SEO trends to ignore in 2024
Not all SEO trends move the needle. Here are just a few of those trends and why you should ignore them.
People are using voice search more than ever
In 2014, Google revealed that 41% of Americans use voice search daily. According to research by UpCity, that number was up to 50% as of 2022. I haven’t seen any data for 2023 yet, but I’d imagine it’s above 50%.
Why you should ignore this SEO trend
75% of voice search results come from a page ranking in the top 3, and 40.7% come from a featured snippet. If you’re already optimizing for those things, there’s not much more you can do.
People are using visual search for shopping more than ever
In 2022, Insider Intelligence reported that 22% of US adults have shopped with visual search (Google Lens, Bing Visual Search, etc.). That number is up from just 15% in 2021.
Why you should ignore this SEO trend
Much like voice search, there’s no real way to optimize for visual search. Sure, it helps to have good quality product images, optimized filenames and alt text, and product schema markup on your pages—but you should be doing this stuff anyway as it’s been a best practice since forever.
People are using Bing more than ever before
Bing’s Yusuf Mehdi announced in March 2023 that the search engine had surpassed 100M daily active users for the first time ever. This came just one month after the launch of AI-powered Bing.
Why you should ignore this SEO trend
Bing might be more popular than ever, but its market share still only stands at around ~3% according to estimates by Statcounter. Google’s market share stands at roughly 92%, so that’s the one you should be optimizing for.
Plus, it’s often the case that if you rank in Google, you also rank in Bing—so it really doesn’t deserve any focus.
Final thoughts
Keeping your finger on the pulse and taking advantage of trends makes sense, but don’t let them distract you from the boring stuff that’s always worked: find what people are searching for > create content about it > build backlinks > repeat.
Got questions? Ping me on Twitter X.
SEO
Mozilla VPN Security Risks Discovered

Mozilla published the results of a recent third-party security audit of its VPN services as part of it’s commitment to user privacy and security. The survey revealed security issues which were presented to Mozilla to be addressed with fixes to ensure user privacy and security.
Many search marketers use VPNs during the course of their business especially when using a Wi-Fi connection in order to protect sensitive data, so the trustworthiness of a VNP is essential.
Mozilla VPN
A Virtual Private Network (VPN), is a service that hides (encrypts) a user’s Internet traffic so that no third party (like an ISP) can snoop and see what sites a user is visiting.
VPNs also add a layer of security from malicious activities such as session hijacking which can give an attacker full access to the websites a user is visiting.
There is a high expectation from users that the VPN will protect their privacy when they are browsing on the Internet.
Mozilla thus employs the services of a third party to conduct a security audit to make sure their VPN is thoroughly locked down.
Security Risks Discovered
The audit revealed vulnerabilities of medium or higher severity, ranging from Denial of Service (DoS). risks to keychain access leaks (related to encryption) and the lack of access controls.
Cure53, the third party security firm, discovered and addressed several risks. Among the issues were potential VPN leaks to the vulnerability of a rogue extension that disabled the VPN.
The scope of the audit encompassed the following products:
- Mozilla VPN Qt6 App for macOS
- Mozilla VPN Qt6 App for Linux
- Mozilla VPN Qt6 App for Windows
- Mozilla VPN Qt6 App for iOS
- Mozilla VPN Qt6 App for Androi
These are the risks identified by the security audit:
- FVP-03-003: DoS via serialized intent
- FVP-03-008: Keychain access level leaks WG private key to iCloud
- VP-03-010: VPN leak via captive portal detection
- FVP-03-011: Lack of local TCP server access controls
- FVP-03-012: Rogue extension can disable VPN using mozillavpnnp (High)
The rogue extension issue was rated as high severity. Each risk was subsequently addressed by Mozilla.
Mozilla presented the results of the security audit as part of their commitment to transparency and to maintain the trust and security of their users. Conducting a third party security audit is a best practice for a VPN provider that helps assure that the VPN is trustworthy and reliable.
Read Mozilla’s announcement:
Mozilla VPN Security Audit 2023
Featured Image by Shutterstock/Meilun
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