Hashtags on Instagram aren't, unlike on other social media platforms, an addition to the main content. On this medium, they're an integral part of the publication , essential for achieving widespread reach, regardless of the post's appeal. However, this doesn't mean we can enter random hashtags and rest on our laurels while waiting for results. The tags associated with a post should be selected based on research, focusing on filtering out the most popular tags for a given piece of content.
How many hashtags should you add on Instagram?
There are many differing opinions on how many hashtags should be added to a single post. This disagreement stems from the fact that Instagram's algorithm changes very quickly, and therefore the visibility of posts with a specific number of hashtags can also fluctuate. According to recent reports, it is recommended to add 3-5 hashtags to a post, while just a few months ago, the advice was 8-15. Which metrics should you stick to? Later.com decided to test this by analyzing data from 18 million posts, which is already a sample from which some conclusions can be drawn.
These analyses show that a post's reach increases significantly when more than five hashtags are added. According to the same research, posts with 30 hashtags achieve the highest engagement – statistically, they have the most comments and likes. Interestingly, however, they don't have the greatest reach – the highest reach is achieved by posts with around 20 hashtags.
However, such research shouldn't be considered definitive, as post visibility can vary across industries or even within a single post. Furthermore, Instagram is constantly improving its content search algorithm, and as we know from Google algorithm updates, a single change can wreak havoc on results. Therefore, it's worth experimenting with adding different numbers of tags to posts and seeing which option yields the best results. What you can be relatively certain of is that it's worth expanding beyond five hashtags, as the jump in visibility is significantly noticeable there.
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How to choose hashtags for Instagram – basic information
Hashtags in an Instagram post should be carefully chosen to match the content, as the platform increasingly prioritizes providing users with results best suited to their needs. Therefore, the rule will likely persist that posts with the most well-chosen hashtags will achieve the greatest reach, not those with the most. Instead of forcing yourself to reach 30 tags, it's better to focus on carefully selecting a smaller number.
Hashtags for posts can be divided into several basic categories:
- industry-related – i.e. those that relate to the market area in which we operate, e.g. #socialmediaagency, #hairdresser, #cosmetics #natural, #seo,
- related to the topic of a specific post – i.e. describing what is in the photo, video material, etc.,
- related to location – i.e. describing what country, city or specific place we are in, e.g. #italy, #poznan, #mcdonalds,
- social media – which allow you to attract groups of people with specific interests, e.g. #diyfomedecor, #travel,
- so-called daily hashtags – i.e., those characteristic of content posted frequently, without any occasion, e.g. #photooftheday, #instadaily,
- occasional – related to a specific holiday or occasion, e.g. #blackfriday, #christmas,
- regarding products or services, e.g. #boots, #balm.
These categories aren't an exhaustive list of available hashtags, but they can help you choose – they give you a good starting point. It's worth remembering, however, that you don't always need to use all hashtag types. It's best to choose only those that are relevant to your specific content.
Hashtags on Insta – the best search methods
Methods for choosing hashtags for Instagram vary, and each postor eventually finds one that works for them. However, if you're just starting out on Instagram, it's worth understanding what methods are available.
The first option is to create your own tags related to your business, industry, and content type. You can create a list of hashtags, grouping them into those that can be used in every post, and those that are only recommended for a single post or series of posts. However, it's important to remember that what seems like a good hashtag may not necessarily already be active on Instagram and therefore likely to be frequently searched. Therefore, the next step in this method is to enter the selected hashtags into the Instagram search engine and see how many posts have already been published with that tag.
Very niche hashtags, meaning those with a low search volume, won't provide the desired visibility, so it's worth discarding them and focusing on related hashtags with a wider reach, which Instagram's search engine will reveal. This way, the pool of available tags will only include those that bring real benefits. You can read below about what "low search volume" means in this case and how popular hashtags should be.
The second method is monitoring the activities of competitors. We can identify brands with similar profiles and list the hashtags they use in their content. Then, from this list, we select those we can use on our own profiles and check this list for popularity in the Instagram search engine. When using this method, it's worth examining not only the largest brands in the industry but also companies similar in size and scope to our own. This will allow us to identify moderately popular phrases, which will be easier to position our posts for.
The third method is to use tools to search for valuable hashtags. Entering any keyword into the tool will provide a list of related hashtags recommended for that topic. Most tools also provide information on the popularity of each tag, making searching this way simpler and less time-consuming. The downside to this solution is that many hashtag search programs are paid. Free tools also exist, though the number of available options may be limited. Therefore, it's worth testing several search engines to choose the one that best suits your needs.
How big should you choose hashtags?
The question remains: how popular the hashtags we choose for our posts should be. Instagram hashtags can be most easily divided into three categories: large, medium, and small. These terms are quite ambiguous and can be interpreted differently by different experts. However, large is most often understood as those with several hundred thousand posts or more—sometimes even tens of millions. These hashtags potentially generate a large audience, but it's difficult to rank for them because the competition for top positions is fierce. Furthermore, such tags are usually very general, making it difficult to reach an audience that will actually be interested in our content.
Medium-sized hashtags have approximately 100-200 related pieces of content. They're easier to reach the top of the results, while still having a large potential audience.
Small tags are those with fewer than 100 posts. They're the easiest to rank for, but the number of users searching for them is the lowest. They can still be effective, but it's worth setting a minimum reach that you won't compromise on. As a general rule, it's unprofitable to use hashtags with fewer than 10 related posts.
Which of these hashtags are best to choose? Two methods are most often suggested. One involves using only small and medium hashtags, which offer the potential to rank high in search results. The other involves using all three hashtag types equally – 10 large, 10 medium, and 10 small. This theoretically allows for a snowball effect – a post initially gains reactions and comments thanks to small tags, making it easier to rank high for medium hashtags, until eventually – in an ideal scenario – it also gains popularity for the largest hashtags. Both of these methods can yield good results, so it's worth testing them out early on in your Instagram journey and observing which one yields better results for your specific profile.
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- What is the optimal number of hashtags on Instagram?
- Criteria for selecting effective hashtags on Instagram
- How to combine hashtags with high, medium and low popularity?
