How does the Instagram Explore page work? How do you optimize content for it?

Explore is a personalized discovery feed: Instagram predicts what non-followed accounts you’ll engage with based on your past likes, saves, shares, time spent, comments, who you follow, post recency, and content signals (captions, hashtags, audio, location). Reels get extra weight.

How to optimize (quick, actionable):

• Pick one niche and 2–3 content themes; post consistently.
• Make the first 1–3 seconds of Reels and the thumbnail irresistible — strong hook + clear value.
• Drive high-value engagement: ask for saves/shares/comments and create content people want to revisit (tutorials, lists, templates).
• Use searchable text/keywords in captions and alt text; add 3–7 relevant hashtags (mix niche + broad) and a location when relevant.
• Ride trends: use trending audio for Reels, but adapt it to your voice/format.
• Cross-promote Stories and reels to boost early engagement; aim for fast engagement in the first 30–60 minutes.
• Test one variable at a time (hook, thumbnail, caption) for 2–3 weeks and double down on winners using Insights.
• Avoid clickbait or engagement-bait; Instagram downranks spammy behavior.

Do you want to optimize for Reels or for photo/posts in the main feed?