Sponsored Ads in the Shop Tab and the updated Search Page, the two significant announcements made by Instagram will alter the experience for users and businesses both, improving discovery for users, and providing more avenues for business.
Ads in the Shop Tab will be rolling out in countries where Instagram Shop is available and the updated Search Page will go through a gradual rollout, starting with English-first searches.
Ads In Shop Tab
Instagram intends to tap the audience that is already on the lookout for products to purchase with ads in the Shop Tab that would appear as blocks with a 'Sponsored' tag in the grid beside the organic posts. Users that click on these ads will be directed to a Product Details Page, where they can find item description, additional imagery, and also browse relevant products by the brand. They also have the option to save or share a product, add it to a wishlist, and hide or report an ad.
Instagram Search
Up until now, Instagram Search has only been limited to accounts, hashtags, and locations, with a categorical display of 'Top' and relevant accounts, but the latest development of Search has improved discovery with a page experience that focuses on keywords.
Now photos and videos related to the searched keyword will show up in Search, starting with keyword search results right in English, and more languages in the pipeline. For instance, when a user searches for "cupcakes" all posts and videos related to cupcakes would also show up, instead of only accounts and locations that are named with the keyword.
This would enable the Explore tab to include topic-based searches, and allow users to discover posts from accounts they may not remember the name of.