Wondering how to use hashtags on Instagram?
Trying to make sense of conflicting information?
Here’s all you need to know about:
- How many hashtags to use on Instagram 2020
- Using Instagram hashtags in comments or caption
- Adding hashtags to Instagram after posting
- The most popular Instagram hashtags
- The best Instagram hashtags for likes
- Banned Instagram hashtags 2020
- And exactly how to post Instagram hashtags
Plus so much more, for #success on Instagram!
At the end of the post, you can grab the free Instagram hashtag guide.
How many Instagram hashtags can I use in 2020?
You can use up to 30 hashtags on an Instagram post. But, many marketers say that looks spammy. Use 5 or 6.
Others say using 11 gets you the best engagement.
Well, no. The study they’re referring to found that posts with 11 or more hashtags get the best engagement.
I’m a fan of using all 30 hashtags. Do people find it spammy? My engagement rates say otherwise.
Let’s break down this study:
- 0 Hashtags – 18% interaction per 1k followers
- 1 Hashtag – 29% interaction per 1k followers
- 2 Hashtags – 41% interaction per 1k followers
- 3 Hashtags – 39% interaction per 1k followers
- 4 Hashtags – 31% interaction per 1k followers
- 5 Hashtags – 43% interaction per 1k followers
- 6 Hashtags – 33% interaction per 1k followers
- 7 Hashtags – 30% interaction per 1k followers
- 8 Hashtags – 39.5% interaction per 1k followers
- 9 Hashtags – 49.5% interaction per 1k followers
- 10 Hashtags – 22% interaction per 1k followers
- 11 Hashtags – 79.5% interaction per 1k followers
Using 11 or more hashtags means 442% more engagement that using none, and about double engagement over using 1 – 10.
So yes, use at least 11, and more if you want to grow your account.
Is there a maximum of hashtags on Instagram?
The maximum allowed Instagram hashtags is 30. I recommend you use them all – unless you’re happy with your follower number and engagement.
Want to grow? Use 30 hashtags!
What’s the hack to use 60 hashtags on Instagram?
There used to be a trick where you could first post 30 hashtags in a comment, then go back and edit the photo caption to add 30 more hashtags.
Instagram didn’t notice the hashtags in the caption edit, so you could effectively post a total of 60.
They caught on in 2018, though. So the maximum is 30 Instagram hashtags in 2020.
Should I post Instagram hashtags in comments or caption?
Instagram hashtags may be placed in the photo or video caption at the time you post.
Or, hashtags may be added in a comment (or several comments) after posting.
There’s no difference to their functionality, so it’s your choice.
I prefer adding hashtags in comments, as these are quickly buried once you get a few user comments.
Starting in 2018, the caption is cut off after 2 short lines of text, so caption hashtags don’t show at first glance either.
However, IGers clicking either the “More” tag or the comment icon will see the full caption – including all the hashtags you placed there.
If you’ve written an engaging caption with a call-to-action or question (please do!), people may get distracted by a raft of hashtags and forget to complete your desired action.
This is why I recommend Instagram hashtags in comments rather than captions.
How to hide hashtags on Instagram
You can hide those 30 hashtags, so they can’t look spammy!
Make them invisible by preceding them with five dashes or periods, each one on a line by itself.
NO space after the period or it won’t work. If you post this in your first comment, IGers will just see […] after your name in the photo stream.
(Tested 1/11/2020 – it still works. The hashtags are only invisible in the photo stream! If someone clicks to read comments, they will see the hashtags).
Create your hashtag text file as I show below, in your phone’s Notes app, because there’s no return key when posting a comment in Instagram.
NOTE: If you’re having problems with this trick, it’s almost always because you have a space at the end of your line. It’s a bizarre and annoying quirk, but Instagram will take out the return if there’s a space at the end of the preceding line.
If you’re confused on whether to hide hashtags in a comment or caption, and which actually works better, do a split test! You can do this manually, or for easier comparing, use Tailwind.
Tailwind makes setting up either way easy. Schedule your posts, then automatically publish them to your business account.
Try a week each way, then check Tailwind’s fabulous analytics to see which worked better for you.
Sign up for a free Tailwind trial. Cost after trial: $9.99 per month, paid annually.
• • • Try TailWind for Instagram FREE for 30 posts • • •
Disclosure: I’m a Tailwind affiliate, which means I may make a referral fee if you sign up.
Can I add hashtags to someone else’s Instagram photo?
No. You can’t add working hashtags by commenting on any other account than the one you’re signed into.
Anyone can comment on someone else’s post with hashtags, but the other IGer’s post won’t appear in that hashtag feed.
If you see people leaving hashtag comments on others’ posts, they may be suggesting that the original poster add that hashtag.
A little helpful advice, perhaps.
Or, they may not know. But generally I see these hashtag comments between groups of IG friends who are helping each other get featured on Instagram hub accounts.
What are the most popular hashtags on Instagram for 2020?
Here are the 10 best Instagram hashtags for likes, according to All Hashtag, an Instagram analytics tool:
- #love
- #instagood
- #photooftheday
- #fashion
- #beautiful
- #happy
- #cute
- #tbt
- #like4like
- #followme
Really want more? Here’s the rest of the 100 best hashtags for likes in 2020:
#picoftheday #follow #me #selfie #summer #art #instadaily #friends #repost#nature
#girl #fun #style #smile #food #instalike #likeforlike #family #travel #fitness
#igers #tagsforlikes #follow4follow #nofilter #life #beauty #amazing #instamood #instagram #photography
#vscocam #sun #photo #music #beach #followforfollow #bestoftheday #sky #ootd #sunset
#dog #vsco #l4l #makeup #f4f #foodporn #hair #pretty #swag #cat
#model #motivation #girls #baby #party #cool #lol #gym #design #instapic
#funny #healthy #night #tflers #yummy #flowers #lifestyle #hot #instafood #wedding
#fit #handmade #black #pink #일상 #blue #work #workout #blackandwhite #drawing
#inspiration #home #holiday #christmas #nyc #london #sea #instacool #goodmorning #iphoneonly
However – I suggest you get a little more creative with your hashtags. Read on…
Should I use popular Instagram hashtags?
If you’re using 30 hashtags, okay, go ahead and make 1 or 2 of those popular ones.
This will get you some quick likes. However, most of those will be fake, bot likes.
Yes, automated “bot” activity is still a problem on Instagram in 2020.
Use popular tags, and you’ll likely also be the target of annoying follow-unfollow activity.
This is where those rule-breaking IGers use automation to follow accounts they think might follow them back.
If you don’t follow back, and sometimes even if you do, they’ll unfollow you anyway.
Don’t take it personally, as it’s all automated. No one is making any judgement of your account.
Please don’t ever do automated follow-unfollow on Instagram. You risk your account being shadowbanned or even closed.
But back to those popular tags, they may work for likes in the first second after you post. Your post will be quickly buried in the hashtag feed.
In addition, popular hashtags are often used by spammers and quickly get banned!
Using banned hashtags may put you in league with spammers and arouse Instagram’s suspicions about your account.
Banned Instagram hashtags 2020
So now you want to know: which hashtags are banned by Instagram?
Unfortunately this is an ever-moving target. According to Markitors.com:
… the hashtag #happythanksgiving was completely overrun with spam, so they banned it. From here on out, if you use the hashtag #happythanksgiving, not only will your content most likely not show up for that hashtag, you might also be flagged for spam. The repetitive use of banned hashtags, leading to multiple flags to your account, could even result in shadow banning or account removal.
Of course, in order to avoid these forbidden hashtags, you have to know which tags are banned. How is anyone supposed to know that #happythanksgiving is considered “spam”?
There are 3 ways to avoid using banned hashtags:
- Don’t use any of the most popular Instagram hashtags.
- Research any hashtag before using it.
- Use Tailwind Hashtag Finder. NO banned hashtags are ever included.
To research currently banned tags, search for a specific hashtag in the search bar.
Click on the hashtag and scroll through the pictures.
If you reach an end where a message says the posts are “currently hidden,” it’s a banned hashtag.
Want to save the hassle of researching banned tags, and find the best assortment of hashtags for your audience?
Click to learn more about Tailwind Hashtag Finder for Instagram.
Or jump in and try it out! It’s free for 30 Instagram posts.
• • • Try TailWind Instagram Hashtag Finder for FREE • • •
Disclosure: I’m a Tailwind affiliate, which means I may make a referral fee if you sign up.
What are the best Instagram hashtags?
I don’t recommend popular tags, for the reasons stated above.
Here’s what I do recommend:
Use hashtags that are relevant to your niche.
Using specific and relevant hashtags helps you connect with people who are looking for exactly what you’re posting.
You can find relevant tags by searching your keywords in Instagram, or using a site like Hashtagify.me.
Watch what others in your niche are using.
See what your peers and influencers are posting on their photos.
Check out the related tags Instagram suggests when you tap a tag that’s relevant to your content. Try them if they seem useful!
Be sure your hashtags are active.
Check the hashtag feed to see that the tags you’re using are currently being used by others.
Hint: If you scroll down 20 rows and are still finding content posted in the last few seconds, that tag is too active!
Stop using the most popular hashtags like pretty, beautiful, love and similar ones.
Your post will be buried in that feed within milliseconds. In researching this, I also discovered a lot of posts in those tags that I don’t even want to be seen with (some I even felt obligated to report).
Okay, sprinkle in a few popular hashtags when relevant to your post.
Not necessarily the ones with 100M’s of posts, but one or two over 1M might give you some quick likes.
Note: Your content really needs to be awesome to stand out in a lighting-fast moving tag feed!
Create a custom tag for your brand or campaign.
Check that these tags aren’t already being used, particularly in a way you wouldn’t approve of!
Prompt fans and followers to use your tag, and you’ll soon learn just who your superfans are. Support, encourage, and regram them!
Easily find the best Instagram hashtags!
Sign up for a free Tailwind trial. Cost after trial: $9.99 per month, paid annually.
• • • Try TailWind Instagram Hashtag Finder for FREE • • •
Disclosure: I’m a Tailwind affiliate, which means I may make a referral fee if you sign up.
Can I add hashtags to Instagram after posting?
Once upon a time, using hashtags was easy:
- You posted a bunch with your photo.
- You came back later, deleted those tags, and added a bunch more.
- Magically, your post was bumped to the top of those hashtag feeds, regardless of how long it had been since the original post.
- Your engagement spiked once again.
But Instagram changed all that for us in March 2015.
No matter when you add a hashtag to your photo or video, it will appear in that hashtag feed with other photos and videos posted at its original posting time.
Or as Instagram says:
Keep in mind that if you add a hashtag to a photo after it was posted, the photo will still appear on the hashtag page according to the time it was originally posted, not the time the hashtag was added.
The short answer is yes, you can add hashtags to your own posts after posting.
Popular hashtags must be added immediately, or your post will never surface in those feeds.
If you like, you can delete those later and add niche hashtags in their place.
Personally, I think your time is better spent on creating new Instagram posts.
Why are my Instagram hashtags not working?
You may be the victim of a shadowban.
A shadowban hides your Instagram posts from users who don’t follow you, which can be detrimental to growing your account and getting more followers.
If you get shadowbanned on Instagram, only you and your current followers will see your post when they search for the hashtags you used. If someone who doesn’t follow your account searches for one of those hashtags, they won’t see your post!
This defeats the purpose of using strategic hashtags to grow your Instagram community.
I’ve even had readers say they can’t find their own posts in the hashtag feeds! This could also be due to shadowban. Or, as IG calls it, “issues with hashtag search.”
Instagram doesn’t admit there is such a thing, by the way, so don’t expect to get help from them.
You can use the “Report a Problem” feature in your account settings under “Support.” I no longer get a reply when I do this, but it can’t hurt.
I would suggest saying “my post isn’t showing in the hashtag feeds” and not use the word “shadowban.”
How can I avoid being shadowbanned?
Instagram shadowbanning is sometimes a result of spammy behavior.
However, some normal behavior is also getting users shadowbanned:
- Repeated use of the same hashtag group within 24 hours.
- Using “broken” or banned hashtags.
Sometimes a normal, everyday hashtag can be banned.
Popular tags are often used on content that violates IG community guidelines. Then Instagram might block the hashtag outright, meaning you can’t even search for it on IG, or they’ll limit the posts shown in that hashtag feed.
With the shadowban, it appears that even if you use a single banned hashtag in your post, Instagram will prevent your post from appearing on any of the hashtags you used!
So, you could search each hashtag feed individually for evidence that a tag is broken or banned. Don’t use those!
OR, just make your life easier by using Tailwind’s Hashtag Finder!
It will give you fresh, related choices so you’re not repeating the same hashtag group, and it will only suggest tags that are Instagram-approved!
To sign up for a free TailWind trial, click here. Cost after trial: $9.99 per month, paid annually.
• • • Try TailWind Instagram Hashtag Finder for FREE • • •
Disclosure: I’m a Tailwind affiliate, which means I may make a referral fee if you sign up.
How to post Instagram hashtags for best results:
If you insist on using uber-popular hashtags, you MUST post them in your post caption.
If you wait even a second to post them in a comment, they’re pretty much worthless, as your post will be buried in that hashtag feed the instant you add it.
If you post hashtags in several comments, post the more popular ones first.
Post hashtag comments in the order of how fast the hashtag feeds move!
Niche hashtags CAN still be added at a later date!
DON’T bother adding hashtags where the original date of your post would have it buried deeply in the feed – BUT there are some cool super-niche hashtags that have only several hundred to a few thousand posts in them. Many of these even have avid fans!
For easiest hashtagging, keep groups of 30 hashtags in your phone’s Notes app.
Create and save a set of 30 tags for each type of post you make (or less than 30 if you insist 😉 ).
Copy your hashtag group before you make your IG post!
Then you have them ready on your clipboard to add in a comment immediately. No fumbling, no wasting valuable seconds. Or, set up a text shortcut!
Conclusion: Do This for Instagram hashtag success!
Make your Instagramming easy!
Sign up for a free Tailwind trial. Cost after trial: $9.99 per month, paid annually.
• • • Try TailWind Instagram Hashtag Finder for FREE • • •
Disclosure: I’m a Tailwind affiliate, which means I may make a referral fee if you sign up.
Use 11 to 30 hashtags to grow your account.
Hide your hashtags in a comment with . and return, 5 times.
Use more hashtags relevant to your niche.
- What are your keywords?
- What are peers/competitors/influencers using?
- What does Instagram suggest as related?
Use only a few popular hashtags.
- Only use tags relevant to your content.
- Post in the description – don’t wait for the comment.
- Your content must rock to stand out in popular tag feeds.
Choose hashtags that are actively used (but not too active!).
Create a custom tag for your brand or campaign.
- Be sure to check first to see if it’s already being used.
- Promote your tag’s use by followers.
- Engage / shout out your fans who use it!
Keep hashtag groups in your phone’s Notes app.
- One group for each type of content you post.
- Copy them to your clipboard before you post content.
- Follow up immediately with hashtags in a comment.
Bonus tip: Your hashtags will magically work much better if you’re posting awesome visuals! People are scanning those hashtag feeds, and you need to stand out.
• • • CLICK for your FREE Instagram Hashtag Guide! • • •
If this post has helped you learn how to use hashtags on Instagram, please share!
carol king says
Thanks so much for these tips Louise. I just posted a pic on IG following your hashtag tips and I can already see an increase in Likes.
Louise Myers says
Great to hear, Carol!
Nicole says
I really enjoyed your article, I look forward to trying all the advice you gave. Weird question. I’m new to instagram and am trying to post this with an image.
For some reason, instagram will accept my photo but will not allow me to comment. Not with my post, nor after the photo is posted. Aside from using your tricks (excited to do so:) I’m unsure as to why I can’t post a comment.
Any ideas?
Louise Myers says
Your sample has more than 30 hashtags. It won’t post with that many.
Here are other reasons your IG comment won’t post.
Abbey Myers says
Thanks so much for the post! I’ve been working hard to grow my Instagram and your tips will for sure help!
Louise Myers says
Terrific! Best of luck to you, Abbey.
Preston Pittman says
Louise Myers… Thank you. My name is Preston Pittman and I write poetry on Instagram under my name. I’ve been told my poetry is very good, but I can’t figure out how to reach more people. Is there something I might do using more or different hashtags? ?
Louise Myers says
Yes! More hashtags. I use 30.
Follow my Insta as I’m posting hashtag tips there. LouiseMcom
Also I’ll be publishing an update of this post on Monday with more specific tips, so come back and check it out! Planning to create a free download too.
Best of luck!
Albert says
Not good at all, Now my old photos can’t participate in new contests or I have to re post them again!
Louise Myers says
I know, Albert, this is making it very hard on hubs and the IGers who participate in them!
If you jump on a NEW contest hashtag with an old photo, you have a chance of being noticed. Otherwise, as you know, your image will be buried.
Sorry to say 🙁
massimo says
Best read’! Do you have any other advice on this? I Was used to get hundreds by changing hashtags of likes and now only 30-40 :-/
Louise Myers says
It’s terrible isn’t it, Massimo? Sorry, I don’t have any other tips. If you find any, let me know!
Gary says
Thank you Louise.
For the last few weeks I’ve been thinking Instagram had somehow restricted my hashtag usage as I was unable to see my entries for #JJ daily competitions using old photos.
I guess this new ordering means I’ll be unable to take such an active part in these in future unless I’m able to fortunately upload a photo matching the theme. That’s a shame 🙁
Louise Myers says
I know what you mean, Gary. I’ve still been able to garner some features via old photos, but I don’t take part in the jj hub.
Very nice gallery – best of luck!
Lesley Koenig says
Great advice! TKU!
Louise Myers says
You’re welcome, Lesley, thanks for taking the time to comment!
Samuel Zeller says
Hello Louise, I recently wrote an article on the subject
Maybe you’re interested in reading it. I would love to have your feedback 🙂
Here’s the link, it’s on Medium http://bit.ly/smartertags
Louise Myers says
I’ll check it out!
lara says
Thanks so much! Makes perfect sense!
Louise Myers says
I’m happy you liked it, Lara!
Mandi says
Thank you for this!! It’s exactly what I was searching for. I’ve been adding old hashtags still with no adding movement on followers and now I know why 😉 thanks again!!
Louise Myers says
You’re welcome Mandi! Glad it helped.
Dede says
Good article and very easy to understand for How to Use Hashtags on instagram … and I also discussed the article about the guidelines and how to have an account to use the Indonesian Intagram that certainly might help beginners in my country to make instagram account. To see it please click URL above.
Louise Myers says
Best of luck, Dede.
David says
Just a quick note to say thanks for the helpful and simply put update and explanation. I was wondering why an image didn’t appear when I just added a new hashtag to an older post. @westlightimages
Louise Myers says
I’m glad this helped explain, David! Thanks for your comment.
Prince says
Love it! Not the change of course, but great post.
Louise Myers says
Thanks! Glad you found it useful, Prince.
bestautumnn says
You may use idealshare to download edit video.
Louise Myers says
OK. I will just add that doing so may constitute copyright infringement.
Boris says
Good article!
I have a question about bullet 4: “If you keep hashtags grouped to copy and paste to your posts, group them by popularity. ”
Where do yo copy hashtags from? How exactly is it done? From a previously posted photo? I am a slow typist and typing 20-40 caption plus hashtags on a small phone will take too much time. Is there any way to write-think-save-edit on a PC and then copy to IG?
Thank you!
Louise Myers says
Great question, Boris!
I keep hashtag groups in my phone’s Notes app, and after posting a photo, copy and paste an appropriate group in a comment.
To create your hashtag groups in the first place:
If you have researched tags you like in the Instagram app and then start typing them in a photo comment, they will auto populate for you so you don’t have to type the whole tag. Before you post the comment of hashtags, copy it so you can paste it into your Notes app to use again on a future photo. You can’t copy an already-posted comment in the Instagram app, so you need to save them somewhere you can copy later.
Mike W says
Have you noticed recently any differences between cut paste tag use and manually picked / typed ones? I can’t be certain but it seems like there is a drop off in likes recently if you paste tags from Notes as opposed to doing them one by one. Might just be me. Not sure.
This article was quite helpful in how tags added later work. 🙂
Louise Myers says
Not that I’m aware of, Mike. Not sure how Instagram would “know” how the tags are entered?
Boris says
Thank you very much Louis,
After I thought it over, it looks very simple, but I’ve never done it. So, this is the SOP:
– write/edit caption and #tags on a PC;
– email to yourself;
– open email on the phone, copy ALL, paste to Instagram.
I need to practice writing hashtags because they are image-specific.
I’ll figure out; thank you!
Merry Christmas!
Louise Myers says
Hi Boris,
That’s a good way to do it. Or you can type them up in a Notes app on your phone and just save them there for future use. On iPhone it’s called “Notes” but I’m sure there’s a similar app on Android.
Happy New Year!
Ed Troxell says
Great article! Everyone is always debating whether or not to put the hashtags in the caption or not so this was helpful. Do you know, is there a way to know which hashtags in a specific post really worked? Meaning, if I got 50 likes on a photo and used 5 hashtags is there a way to determine which of the 5 had to most reach?
Also, what have you found to be the best way to measure success on Instagram? Iconosquare?
Thanks again!
Louise Myers says
Hi Ed,
I don’t know of a way to test specific hashtags. Intriguing idea!
I’ve used Iconosquare. I’m not big on stats, so I haven’t sought out other possible metrics. It’s easy with Iconosquare to see which content and times are working best for you.
Glad you liked the article! Cheers!
nathan says
I recently added hashtags in my comments to some old and new posts by other people. For some reason, the hashtags I add are clickable and take me to the relevant hashtag page, but the actual photos are not added under these hashtags. Also, when I search for these hashtags, these photos (published by others), to which I added the hashtag in my comments, do not come up in the list of results. It is not an issue of using very popular hashtags and the photos being left at the bottom of the pile. Even hashtags with 4-5 photos, still do not show the photos that I added the hashtag to in my comments. Any ideas what’s going on? Can users (with clearly public profiles since I discovered the photos) choose not to accept hashtags by others? It just makes no sense.
Louise Myers says
Hashtags that you add in a comment on others’ posts don’t add the posts to the hashtag feeds. You can only add your own photos.
nathan says
Thank you, I did not know that as I have only recently started using instagram. the problem I have is that I am a furniture designer and many people post photos of my furniture without adding a hashtag that directs to my name or the name of each design. I would like people to be able to search my name hashtag or design hashtag and see photos that others have posted for me or my designs. I thought by adding hashtags to others’ photos would solve this issue. Currently the only way I have to place all these photos in a list/group is to like them which adds all of them to my like list. This is not ideal though for non-followers and for anyone performing hashtag search. Could I just ask people to add specific hashtags to their posts? I would love to liste to your advice on this problem.
Louise Myers says
Yes, it’s a great idea! I’d start by saying something nice, like you’re so happy they like your work. Then say you’d like to add their photo to a gallery of your designs (I think that sounds appealing, don’t you?). Ask if they’d be willing to add your hashtag (name it) to their photo in a comment so it can appear in your gallery.
Additionally, it’s generally accepted to repost others’ photos if you give them a “shoutout” (tag their account @username and say something nice. It could be as simple as “Thanks @username for posting this great photo of my Design Name end table!) There are apps that do this too: Repost or Regramm. Then you can add the hashtag to your own post, or just have it in your own profile gallery.
Yasmine says
So can anyone copy and paste to me watch hashtags to use to get likes?
Louise Myers says
Not sure if I understand your question… if you’re asking if others can add hashtags to your photos, they cannot. Your photo won’t appear in the hashtag feed unless you add the hashtag yourself.
Van says
Thanks for this article…. I have issue with hashtag. Maybe you could help me figure it out.
So, now whenever I post, my picture not showing anywhere on the hashtag search. Maybe sometime yes it shows, but mostly not.
Could be IG put new rules on hashtags now? Or the problem is in my account (banned for using hashtags)?
I saw everyone pictures are show up on the same hashtag as mine (the same content). I don’t receive any warning from IG if I break the guidelines.
Any thougts? (Sorry for my bad english)
Thank you for your help
Louise Myers says
Hi Van,
If you’re including any hashtags that Instagram has banned, the whole group of hashtags won’t work. It’s not always obvious which hashtags are banned, and they change often.
If you want to read this article, you’ll see that for a time IG was blocking the tag #curvy. I have no idea which tags are banned right now. There use to be a long list including words like #photography and #Instagram!
I hope this helps.
Amy says
Hi! I was having a similar issue. I was following basically the same guidelines you recommend above with saving hashtags in my notes app that are associated with my jewelry and then pasting it immediately after posting my picture in the comments section. A few days ago I started noticing dramatically less likes and realized that none of my pictures were showing up in the hashtag searches. I tried going through all of my hashtags that I use and couldn’t find any bans on them. I also just tried using one hashtag that was a less popular one, my picture would still not show up. Appreciate any advice you may have!!
Louise Myers says
Hi Amy,
There are problems with IG right now. Several features aren’t working for some people, but are for others. I think it’s similar to what some call “Facebugs,” when FB changes too many things too fast, and things go wrong.
Hoping it resolves soon!
Amy says
I think I figured it out! This is what worked for me: I deleted both the Instagram and Facebook app and then redownloaded them. Seemed to clear up any bugs. Thanks for your time and I hope this helps others!
Amy says
Disregard that last post 🙁 it removed all my pictures from the hashtags again when I went to post another picture. I guess I posted one too many hashtags? Pretty sure mine were tags that were not banned. I’m not sure what’s going on with Instagram but I really hope they fix this soon!
Anne L says
Argh! Can you please help me? I have tried to post one around 27-30 hashtag comment to each of my photos, and all I get when posting is the red exclamation mark error every time I try. I’ve tried everything. I’ve even tested it out by copying multiple successful instagrammers hashtags (they didn’t seem too spammy) to use on my photo, and those won’t post for me either. Please, please help.
Louise Myers says
I’m sorry to hear this. I’ve only heard of one other person who couldn’t post hashtags in a comment. They could in the caption, so you could try that. Or try posting several smaller groups of tags in multiple comments.
I’m sorry, I wish I knew more. Please let me know if you figure it out.
Anne L says
I’m the writer from above. I post mostly fashion and travel photos and have spent an actual day trying to find a combination that will work for fashion. I was able to get in some travel hashtags on one post a few days ago after eliminating my hashtags from 25 to 13. They aren’t even the hashtags I want.
Maurice Hunter says
I just saw a post on IG that had 70, yes 70 hashtags, I counted them. Did something change on the number of hashtags allowed ?
I personally still think less is more but was just curious.
Louise Myers says
Don’t know how they did that. I’m never able to post more than 30. Did the post actually show up in the hashtag feeds?
Melissa says
Do you happen to know about tagging? In one of my photos I want to tag the company that made my boots but the tag does not show up. There are only 19 hashtags so I’m not sure if it’s a hashtag/tag combo or if the other user has to be following you to tag them?
Louise Myers says
Hi Melissa,
I’ve never had a problem tagging accounts that don’t follow me. Not sure what’s going on! IG could be cracking down hard on that as well.
Doug says
This may sound silly. But I put a dozen images up to my account a while back and didn’t hashtag any of them. Should I just delete and re-post them with relevant hashtags? Or, since they never went to a hashtag feed, would they still end up as the date of original post? I have minimum followers and engagement, so I wouldn’t think it would be an issue would it?
Louise Myers says
Yes, if you hashtag the old posts, they will appear in the hashtag feed with other posts from the same time. So most likely, very buried.
I’d repost them. Don’t even bother to delete if there are enough posts in between so a visitor to your profile wouldn’t notice the duplication. Or go back to the oldest one, delete and then repost. Do the same the next time you’re ready to post. I wouldn’t delete them all at once.
Katie says
Any advice on how to discover what the trending but still less-popular hashtags might be for any particular niche?
Louise Myers says
You can try the Explore tab in IG to find related tags. They’re ranked by number of tagged photos, which is useful, but that’s not what I’d call “trending.” I’d like to see what’s rising in popularity, not what HAS BEEN the most popular.
Not sure of anything that offers that.
If you use HootSuite, try the TrendSpottr for Instagram app. I haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds cool.
There’s an iPhone app Hashtap that has really good reviews. It’s free, so worth a shot.
Would love to hear if you find something that suits your needs.
Maaike says
Hi Louise,
On my Instagram account for my website I used to have 10K people who had used my hashtag and now I only see 625 when looking on the particular hashtag. Is it possible that this has to do with this update? If so is there any way to retrieve all these pictures of all those people who had added the hashtag before to their pictures?
Thanks,
Louise Myers says
I’m hoping this is a bug that they’ll fix soon. On many hashtags I’ve looked at, it says there are 10 posts regardless of the number (which is dozens or hundreds).
I don’t think you can fix the problem yourself, but I’d love to hear if you come up with something!
Katie says
I’m having exactly the same issue – my hashtagged images (for my business account) aren’t showing up in the public feeds. This has been ongoing for me for about 3 weeks now. When I search from the affected account, they are there – but when I search for the same hashtag from any other account (e.g. my personal one), they’re not there. I’ve been reporting it to IG for weeks but still no improvement!!
Louise Myers says
Hi Katie,
This is a known issue to Instagram now. Apparently they’e been getting hundreds of complaints since Sept. 1. Don’t know why they haven’t been able to fix it!
erbua says
This EXACT same thing is happening to me and has been for the last several weeks and I can’t figure out what to do! I’m not using any banned hashtags and when I look from my business account photos are in the feed but when I look using my personal account my photos aren’t showing up! So frustrating.
Louise Myers says
This is happening to a LOT of people. Unfortunately IG isn’t responding.
Good luck!
Polina says
Hello Louise. I am somewhat frastrated… I click on hashtag where my post is among Top nine and see my photo there clearly. When I click on same hashtag from my daughter’s account, my photo is not there. Same with a few other tags. Also, suddenly from having 1200 likes on my posts, suddenly now I generate hardly 250…
Thank you in advance for your kind help,
Polina
Louise Myers says
Hi Polina,
Everyone sees different photos in the “top posts.” It’s based on an algorithm and is constantly changing.
I’m not sure why you’re seeing such a huge dropoff in likes. But the feed isn’t chronological any more, so that’s having an impact (another algorithm). I’ve also suspected that with so many more IG accounts, users’ likes are getting spread around. Both my accounts have dropped too.
Your images are beautiful. Will follow with my personal account.
Polina says
Thank you so much for your fast reply and explanation, dear Luise. And thank you for following me ?❤️??
Lauren Espino says
In my blog’s IG account there were really old photos i added hashtags to 2-3 weeks ago and right at that moment I started getting likes on these photos. With this Instagram feature, why did this happen to me? I am very sure of it and even used this technique to gain likes in the next few days.
Louise Myers says
Yes, that works, I tested it a few months ago. I’m virtually certain that all the likes (and comments) are coming from accounts that use automated engagement. If you’re not aware, there are tools you can set up to like or comment on posts with specific hashtags.
I had the same users like virtually ALL the photos I tagged, and I tested it 6 times, even using the same tags on totally irrelevant photos.
So yes, it will get you some additional likes, but they’re meaningless.
Mari says
Thanks for the tips will try on a few old photos see how it works 🙂
Amy Kate says
Hey Louise thanks for your article. I wanted to ask your or anyone’s help please I’m going nuts lol. yesterday for the first time when i commented hashtags right away right after i posted my (food) pic, it didnt work (it usually always does). none of the hashtags are broken or banned. my photo doesn’t even come up under the location tag. my profile is on public, i tried unlinking then again relinking my account to my Facebook profile. i tried deleting the ig app, updating the software on my phone, re-downloading the ig app, deleting and repasting the tags on my pic, nothing works! even worse, when i tried commenting one of my old photos with a random tag, it didnt show up even when i scroll all the way down to recent posts where it should be. (I recently blocked a bunch of people on ig I’m not sure if my tagging ability was blocked because of that or what). PLEASE HELP.
Louise Myers says
Oh no! Sorry to hear this. I’m hoping it clears up after 24 hours (or maybe a week). IG seems to be clamping down on any unusual activity.
I would love to hear what happens! Praying for good news!
Christina says
Hello, I just recently noticed that there has been a change to being able to view hashtags. It seems they only show you about the last months worth of hashtags. For example, if you search for #propellertable it shows only 3 posts but says there are 41 posts. My post on agoagainvintage from last year does not show. I also have a book shop that I carefully hashtagged by title and author and none of them come up anymore even though they are very niche. I will have to repost my whole store if I want people to find me by searching “flowerpotecology” for example. Did they publish new changes recently?
Louise Myers says
Thanks for letting me know of this, Christina. Not sure what’s going on. I just looked at a new hashtag with just under 200 posts, and the oldest one appearing was from June 2014. So they do still work.
It could be a caching issue, as I have noticed those on IG.
I wonder what would happen if you deleted the old hashtag and re-added it? Maybe after shutting the app, or even a hard shutdown of your phone? Not sure it would do anything, but maybe worth a try.
Please let me know if you try it!
hazel says
has it cleared up yet? do you know how to fix? i too have same issue lately
Lynn Nevins says
hmm… I thought I posted a Comment here but now I’m not seeing it, so I’ll try again (and sorry if my Comment appears twice!)
First off, thanks for all the great info. Very helpful!
Secondly, just want to confirm I understand correctly, your comment re: ‘hiding’ hashtags. This is for folks who may want their photo descriptions to appear ‘clean’ or uncluttered while at the same time, the hashtags are still there in the background, doing all their work to get more visibility for the IG user. Yes?
As to the proper formatting, is the example below formatted correctly? And do I also understand that this formatting will only work in the photo Description section, but not in the Comments section? (….because in the Comments section, it does not normally allow for multiple Returns in one Comment)
…..#foodpics
…..#foodporn
…..#strawberries
Is the format above correct?
Thanks!!!
Lynn Nevins says
hmmm….tried the above format and my hashtags were all listed out as part of my photo description…they were not ‘hidden’….unless the idea is that the hashtags will still appear to me, the IG account holder (and while I am logged in to my account), but maybe they don’t appear to others?
Louise Myers says
Sorry for the lack of clarity on the format. I’m going to create an explanatory image now 🙂
Louise Myers says
Hi Lynn!
Good catch – I need to add an image to explain the format, and it is for a comment.
The formatting:
.
.
.
.
.
#hashtag #hashtag #hashtag #hashtag #hashtag #hashtag #hashtag (etc)
Lynn Nevins says
One more question if you please? 😉
I just did a ‘test’ search on a particular hashtag. I then see various photos appear on my screen, all of which apparently tagged with that particular hashtag.
I then noticed two photo thumbnails that had an IG user’s name imbedded in the bottom left corner of the photo, which made me think ‘gee, that’s a very clever way to immediately get your IG user name noticed among a sea of other users’ photos….no one even has to click on the image…they can readily see your name appear in the bottom left corner of the photo thumbnail’. However, upon further inspection of these two particular photos, it seems the photos may have been ‘reshared’ (or whatever the IG term is) by the business entity, and that it was another IG user who took the photo, and so the business entity wanted to give that IG user credit. At least, that’s what I think was going on there. Does that sound about right?
And on a related note, MIGHT there be a way for IG users to create some type of auto-label, whereby all their IG images and thumbnails CAN display their IG user name in the bottom left corner of all their pics? That WOULD be another great way to get our photos and our IG accounts even more readily noticed by others who are looking at hashtag pages full of random users’ photos… 😉
Thanks!
Louise Myers says
Hi Lynn,
Yes, there are third-party apps that “regram” another user’s image. I’ll be writing about that soon (it does violate IG Terms of Use, so you should get permission from the other account).
There’s not an auto-label feature, but you can add your name (often referred to as a “watermark”) in any of numerous third-party apps that add text to photos.
Eva Johansson says
Hello. Thank You !
I have some hashtags in my Note ready to be copied. When I do so the post doesn’t get published!?
When I move them around and loose some and use some new it suddenly work ! How and why? What is wrong ? @evapluppen #evasbetongstudio
Plz answer to my mail vanillafrason@gmail.com
Have a great day / Eva Johansson
Louise Myers says
Hi Eva,
Not sure of what you’re asking.
My method is to copy the hashtags, make my Instagram post, then paste the hashtags into the first comment.
If your comment isn’t publishing, you may have more than 30 hashtags. It’s also possible (but not likely) that you’re blocked from commenting. But as far as I know, Instagram will pop up a message if this is the case.
Tim says
Hey Louise,
I have been using this method for a while on my climbing/travel page, and I have recently noticed that if I reuse the same copy paste from notes, after a while I can’t use it anymore and my comment won’t post. Apparently you can’t post the same comment with the same hashtags multiple times. However, I’m not sure how it works exactly, because if I delete one it still won’t post, but if I delete around 10-15 and replace with new ones, it’s considered different.
This is frustrating because I can’t use a lot of the hashtags that work for me often. Any experience with this?
Thanks,
Tim
Louise Myers says
Wow, this is interesting. How often do you post to IG?
I post about once a day and use almost the exact same set of tags – about 6 of them change out, but I use the same 24 or so constantly.
Let me know how often you post, and I’ll try to find more info too.
Marty says
The hash-tags are not enough to get popular. You must work hard to get many followers. You also have to do fit content, timing, communicate with users and so on. But it is possible. Do not be afraid.
Louise Myers says
Of course, there are many things you can do to build your presence. But I won’t use, recommend, or mention automated engagement apps. You’ll have to promote that elsewhere.
Erin says
Wow this post was really helpful. I happened upon your post because my hashtags stopped working for me. One day I was getting 75 or more likes, next day nothing. When I search for my post among the hashtags they are there, but for some reason the likes have greatly decreased. I’m using the same great images and captions, any ideas?
Louise Myers says
The dropoff you described seems really strange, if you haven’t changed your posting at all. There’s been some drop due to the algorithm, but it shouldn’t be this huge unless something’s happened to upset it. If you’ve had people reporting you as a spammer, maybe YOU can see your post in the hashtag but IG is hiding it from others. Is it possible your account was hacked? I’ve had a lot of innocent-looking accounts posting spam lately.
This is all I can think of, as I haven’t heard of a drop this severe before.
Gail says
I’ve never been able to get even a small list of #’s to post in comments. I always get a red exclamation mark . .. Any ideas as to why I can’t add hashtags in my comments? I’ve double checked the list to make sure sure that the hashtags aren’t repeated from the ones under the caption. Thanks!
Louise Myers says
Hi Gail, I’ve never had this happen unless my comment would take the hashtag total to more than 30. Other than that, perhaps you’ve included a banned hashtag? You’d have to Google for a current list.
Sorry, this is a new one to me! I’d love to know if it spontaneously clears up, meaning it was just a temporary ban of some sort.
Nikki says
When I try to post hashtags as a comment on my post, it says “couldn’t post”. It offers a retry button, but that doesn’t yield any results. Have you heard of this? It has been happening for years, on both new and old IG accounts. Google hasn’t provided any solutions to this, nor reported it happening very often from what I can see.
Louise Myers says
When I get the retry button, it’s because I’ve gone over 30 hashtags.
If you’re using the same hashtag combo more than once a day, that could also trigger a block.
Or, possible that you’ve got a banned hashtag or word in there.
Paul Bradburne says
Hi Louise,
I am very new to Instagram and have set up an account for a cake decorating business. A friend has posted 3 pics and hash tagged them with my own name #thecuriouscakeemporium
All pics he posted show in the feed but I have tried 11 posts using the same hashtag and mine do not show in the feed.
None of my pics seem to go to any different hashtag feed I try. I gave changed no settings and my account is not private so I am totally stuck. Any help would be great
Thanks Paul
Louise Myers says
I wish I could help! It’s very strange. Two thoughts:
1, I’ve seen strange caching issues with hashtags, sometimes it takes a while for new posts to show up. When I search for that hashtag IG tells me there are 10 posts, but when I go to the hashtag feed, it tells me there are 0 public posts. Weird!
2, you have posted a lot in one day. That might trip an algorithm, IG suspects you might be a spammer. A new account needs to dial it back. Try one post a day and maybe the tags will work again.
I’d love to hear what happens!
Rossmore says
Great post!! Very very thorough. Thank you:)
Louise Myers says
Glad you liked it!
Michael Hinson says
Thank you Louis for this beautiful read. I have finally found someone who says it’s okay to post 30 hashtags. I always found that was the best way to get engagement I tried to cut down a few times and saw a drop in engagement. It would be awesome if you could look at my page and give me your thoughts on my hashtag game! My ig is @forever.aesthetic . Thanks a lot hope to hear from you!
Louise Myers says
Looks good, Michael! I don’t know your niche hashtags – just make sure you include a few around the million-uses mark to get more activity right after posting.
Best of luck! Keep tagging 😉
johnny U says
Hi, great blog,thanks!
I have an issue: I have 58k followers and all of a sudden, none of my posts show up in any of my #s. They have all been removed. My account is active (I am able to post) but if I post to a # and then search that # my posts are not there. (other users can post using my # and their photos show up, but mine don’t). I am so frustrated and can not figure it out! Any insight? thanks!!
Louise Myers says
I’ve been hearing this recently but don’t know what’s up. Possibly a temporary glitch with IG.
If you post more than once daily, you might try cutting back to one to see if that has any affect,
Kristijan says
Hello there!
I have a big problem…I’m new on Instagram app!
I open my account and linked with FB account, but I notice that my posts doesn’t show in hashtags that i use! I update the app, uninstall and reinstall but didn’t work!
Do you have any idea ?
Thanks a lot,
Chriss
Louise Myers says
I’m not certain – just heard this from another user with a new account. Maybe IG has a temporary hashtag block on new accounts now, idk.
I would say, post only once a day and be sure you don’t trigger any spam filters with your words, content, or activities. I hope the block is over soon!
Saeeda says
I’m on the same boat Kristijan!
However, mine WERE working at first. I’ve been on Instagram for just over one day now. All my posts appeared on their hashtag pages until 14 hours ago. They’re not there anymore 🙁 so I’m not getting any new interaction besides from my followers.
AC says
I just open my new instagram account and none of my hashtags and geotags worked…hopefully it is because of a new account
Louise Myers says
That’s what I’m hoping too. It’s very odd.
Rachael Grindley says
I’m having this exact sme problem too Instagram is not responding to help requests Amy advice on how to get this fixed
Louise Myers says
IG doesn’t seem to respond any more. I’m sorry I can’t help. Hoping it resolves for everyone soon.
Saeeda says
Question Louise –
I created a personal account with 9 posts in the same day, with different hashtags per post. The last 2 or 3 posts had a couple of similar hashtags though as I was starting to favour some, including one I created.
Everything was working great until my 10th post the next day (as far as I knew). When I posted the 10th post, I noticed it didn’t appear in the hashtag pages I used for it. Then I noticed that ALL my previous posts weren’t in any of the hashtag pages they once were. Easy to notice when the hashtag page I made showed 0 posts and the ones that only had a few 100s didn’t show mine where it was chronologically just the day before.
My question is did I get caught in an automated algorithm where Instagram thinks I’m spam? I kept reading you say “don’t post more than once s day”. And if yes, is that why ALL my posts got taken off their respective hashtag pages?
I’d understand if it was just the new post not appearing. But ALL my posts?!
I do also think something’s wrong with Instagram as I tried making a new account a couple of days before (even with a different email address) but my one single post didn’t appear on any of its hashtag pages so I deleted it.
I thought this last one was a working one but then this happened 🙁
hazel says
has it resolved?? this is happening to me with my new account
Emily says
Thanks for the tips! What are your thoughts on Instagram punishing users for using too many hashtags? I am wondering if their algorithm would possibly be set up to do that since one day I posted without hashtags (accidentally) and had more likes than usual.
Louise Myers says
Hi Emily,
We were just having a discussion about this in a FB group! Everyone agreed that they get way more engagement by using 30 hashtags.
Is there any way you might have included a banned hashtag when you were using them? Or did you post at a different time?
I’d love to look at your account and the post that did better without hashtags. PLMK
Andre says
Not only are hashtags SO IMPORTANT on IG but it is just as important to research the right hashtags to target your intended audience. Nice post Louise… keep up the good work!
Louise Myers says
Thanks Andre!
P.S. I don’t allow keywords instead of names for comments. Just be yourself 😉
Lisa Glasgow says
Brilliant! Thanks so much Louise for posting this. Hashtags seem to be part of a complex new language and your post is really helping me understand it better.
Just wanted to confirm one thing with you – are you saying not to add any hashtags in the description but add them all (using the . . . ) in a comment as if i am commenting on my own pic? or perhaps i can comment as another user…?
Many thanks, Lisa.
Louise Myers says
Hi Lisa,
I think it’s fine to add a few in the caption / description. Maybe 3 to 5. If you’re using hashtags of a million or more uses, that’s where I would put them, so they post right away.
You can’t add hashtags to a post as another user. They won’t work. If you see people do this, often they are suggesting the original user add the tag themselves. Or they just don’t know!
Bill Joyce says
Where do you draw the line between popular, less popular and too small to bother on hashtags? Are you using the numbers of posts as your guide? #Realestate has 5 million posts and #realestateSacramento has 11 posts. Do you have any suggestions for the kind of volume that represents that sweet spot?
Louise Myers says
Sorry for the delay. Just found this in spam folder.
Try 5K to 50K as number of posts. See if you appear in Top Posts for those hashtags. If not, go lower. If you appear in all and stay there, try some higher-use hashtags.
Tiffany Kahn says
First off, I just want to say to others, I had the same problem, and it was glitch or something in the IG that prevented me to hashtag my photos. So you need to update your IG right now because its working. Mine is now working but there is a drop in the numbers. It may be due to people not knowing that the hashtags are not working and needs to be updated. Or that people are busy this time of the month, which is September. I hope this helps for all! And thank you Louise for this forum and your expertise!
Louise Myers says
You’re welcome, Tiffany! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.
Adriana says
Louise! Please help! I have sent endless tech support messages to Instagram but, no response and, my problems with hashtags are getting really frustrating!
I’ve read your insightful article, and I seem to be doing everything you are recommending. For a month now, and really really bad lately, I am having issues with my photos disappearing from hashtags. I am being extremely careful not to go past 30#. Double and triple checking to make sure none of the hashtags I am using are banned. My traction is suffering incredibly. And yes, though this is not a matter of life and death, I am highly discouraged. Any ideas??
Louise Myers says
Hi Adriana,
So sorry this is happening. Unfortunately, it’s a fairly widespread problem, and Instagram is not fixing it.
It’s been going on for many accounts since Sept 1, and I don’t know of a fix for it.
ModSock says
Wondering if you have had any luck getting your hashtag problem fixed? I am experiencing the same problem you describe for one of my Instagram accounts.
Nora says
I have the same problem 🙁 my photo shows up but only for a minute or so and then dissapears. I’m not using anz banned hashtags or more then 30… it’s so disturbing!
Michael says
Oh yeah, I totally agree with this article. But often hash-tags are almost useless. So, that is the reason why people usually use special services, zen promo as example.
Louise Myers says
I couldn’t disagree more about hashtags. If someone is finding them useless, then they’re using the wrong ones. I would also strongly discourage anyone from using “special services” that are automated. This is against IG’s rules.
Stephen Quirke says
Hi Louise – thanks so much – this is very useful information
Louise Myers says
I’m glad you found it useful, Stephen!
Dave says
I’ve noticed some people seem to be able to use 30 tags in both the caption and the comments (60 total). How is that possible?
Louise Myers says
I’ve heard this works but never saw or tried it. Have you tried it, Dave?
Louise Myers says
Well, I just tried it and it works. Considering using it going forward. Thanks for reminding me of this loophole. I heard of it ages ago and can’t believe they haven’t fixed it!
Kriston says
Hi there, I loved this article. Thank you so much for posting it. I have a quick question. I just tried the . . . . . 30 hashtags in the post and then 30 more hashtags in the first comment and it did not work for me. Does this only work for some accounts and for some reason, not others?
Also very quick second question, is it 30 hashtags total so that even if someone else hashtags in the comments, that hashtag does not work for your post, meaning, it does not show up in that hashtag list on Instagram. I only ask this because first, I always do exactly 30 hashtags, but I also have another account on Instagram and sometimes, I go and put a few extra hashtags in a comment from that other account when it’s a post I really want to get out there, thinking that will get the post on a few other hash tag lists, but I just noticed recently that although the comment stays, the post never actually shows up on those newer (now over 30) hashtags. So, is it 30 total, no matter who posts in comments, or maybe does IG know that other account belongs to me as well and so disregards. So perhaps organic hashtag comments from others (over 30) work? Or is it just 30 hashtags no matter what?
Okay, so that questions wasn’t so quick, lol, but I wanted to give you all the details. Thank you so much for all your insight!
Kriston
Louise Myers says
Hi Kriston,
If you put 30 hashtags in the post caption, you can’t add any more. Try it the other way. 😉
Additionally, hashtags left in a comment by ANYONE other than the account itself DON’T add the post to the hashtag feed. If you’ve ever seen this happen, let me know. IG says it doesn’t.
Stephen says
Hi all you do is post your photo and then put 30 hashtags in your comment. Then after this go back and add edit the photo and put 30 hashtags in the hashtag. So you can have 60 hashtags.
Also about people think this would be too much and look spammy. I disagree that this many hashtags is negative. As long as you post awesome content and spacing out your posts and not posting all at once then most people don’t care. They just want to see great pictures in their niche.
remember to first make awesome content, and don’t EVER buy followers or likes. With the tools available, some effort and time anyone can make a great IG account.
Cheers.
Louise Myers says
Yes, this works, as I mentioned above. I have found that my business account gets penalized for doing this, but not my personal account. So it’s definitely “use at your own risk.” While IG can’t seem to detect the extra hashtags (yet), they’re aware that immediately editing your caption is suspicious behavior.
Guest47 says
Hi, thanks for the insightful article. I am sure the gist of what is said is sound, and perhaps indeed the more hashtags, the greater the subsequent engagement levels. However, based solely on your extract of the study you cited (which could be taken out of context), it seems the authors of that study have no statistical background at any level. Those raw figures clearly suffer from noise and no elementary regression or hypothesis testing was performed. I wouldn’t base my argument on that study.
Louise Myers says
That’s an interesting observation. All I can respond is, it works for me, so I’m gonna keep doing it. Others can do their own testing to see if it works for them. I’d highly recommend trying it.
I have no “argument,” axe to grind, or thing to sell. I’m just providing loads of helpful advice. Try it!
Raymond says
Hello Louise,
i want to ask you, a few months ago my account instagram get banned by IG until twice.
before get banned, my follower increase appx 500-1000 follower / daily.
And after recovered by IG, my follower drop (app a hundred daily) and sometimes increase only below 100 a day and tommorow dropped again.
my question, how to recovered my follower growth like before banned? Is it important to use hastags? Because after banned, i use hastags and not useful.
please the best answer of my problem.
you can reply me in my cooment or in my email.
thank you.
Louise Myers says
My question for you would be, how were you gaining so many followers before being banned? It seems highly unlikely by any organic means.
Raymond says
if you have an email, i can send you a picture of screenshoot about follower report before banned and after banned louise.
or you can check about my IG @capcussss in socialblade louise. (but in socialblade report only seen after banned and before banned not seen again).
thank you.
Justin Barclay says
Great post Louise! Thanks for keeping us up to date.
P.S. That idea about hiding the hashtags was worth it’s weight in gold!
Louise Myers says
Glad you liked it, Justin!
Marko says
Hi, just wondering if you can help at all? I’m newish to Insta so still getting to grips with it. I post 2-3 pics on a daily basis and normally use between 20-30 hashtags per post. On posting I immediately start getting likes and normally end up with around 60-70 likes for each pic. Sometimes I will post a pic and I get no likes whatsoever, even though I’ve used pretty much the same hashtags. Do insta treat this as spam and block your hashtags? Is it that I have an invalid hashtag that is blocked by insta so it makes the post useless? If you get blocked how long is it for? I’ve never had any messages to say otherwise. If you have a really popular hashtag and it flies down the feed in seconds (so would therfore more than likely be ignored) does that mean all your other hashtags are the same and are ignored and pushed down their own individual category hashtag?
Many thanks!
Louise Myers says
Have you checked to see if your posts appear in the hashtag feeds? I’ve heard that if you repeat the same group of hashtags more than once daily, they won’t work.
Marko says
I did check on the individual hashtag feeds and they were showing but they weren’t showing for a friend when I asked them to search them. It baffles me.
Marko says
If since tried a complete different post with hashtags I’ve never used before and instead of posting them in the caption I’ve posted them in the comments and surprise surprise still no likes. Any ideas?
Louise Myers says
I haven’t heard of this specific problem – hashtags work sometimes but not others – but I have heard of various issues with new accounts. Perhaps Insta has new accounts sort of “on probation” and flags / blocks them for any suspicious activity. So maybe cut back to posting once a day. If you’re doing anything else like liking / tagging / following a lot of accounts, definitely stop that.
Alina says
Thank you for the great articles, havent managed to hide hashtags yet…! Five periods each followed by return, no space.
Louise Myers says
Hi Alina,
That should work in a comment. Doesn’t work in captions though. But Instagram is hiding most comments anyway, these days.
Jason says
Hi Louise, great article, thanks. I’m wondering about hubs. If I am using their hashtags, should I also include their tag name (@____), or is the hashtag alone enough? If I should use the tag name, does it matter where it goes (enter it when posting photo, enter it in caption, or enter it in a comment)? Lastly, some people state in their bios that they are a “member” of certain hubs. Does that mean something different than a follower? Thank you.
Louise Myers says
Hi Jason,
Each hub has their own rules about tagging them (most don’t want it but some do) and becoming a member. Usually they state this in their bio.
Enjoy!
Jason says
Much appreciated Louise, thank you.
Katie says
Hi Louise
thanks so much for your help! i’m from Cape Town – and started my IG account 4 weeks ago! i want to be authentic and relevant and as true as possible so that i can attract the right consumers and followers – HOWEVER i’ve followed your advise (thank you) BUT all of a sudden – IG stopped allowing me to post hashtags as a comment y’day – – i have to add it as part of the orignal post (which is not ideal when i want to promote that post) , is this something you’ve recently found? is it common? urgh! frustrating when i’m trying to keep consistency and not flood the page with # and nonsense
thank you so much
x katie
Louise Myers says
I haven’t heard of this, Katie, but it seems lately that newer accounts are subject to different standards than established accounts. So do they just not work in a comment or does IG actually prevent the comment from posting?
Dee Sanchez says
Wow. Your blog is just amazing! I can’t believe I haven’t seen this up until now! It is very insightful, relevant, legit and most of all straightforward! I just love how you reinforce your points by using both pictures and recaps in bullet form. This article is also amazing, you really did a great job justifying your points using stats. I can’t wait to try this on my next posts on IG!
Louise Myers says
Wonderful, thanks for your great comment, Dee!
karin says
hi there,
thanks for this! really helped me.
one more question i am not sure about because there are different opinions about it:
one ig professional consultant told me that hashtags should never put in the caption but in the first comment? is that true?
thank you!
karin
Louise Myers says
It doesn’t matter. They do “disappear” when in the comment, but there’s nothing “horrible” about putting some (or even all) in the caption.
Sam says
Let’s try to understand the “hashtag ghosted” Gates 🙂
I experienced this:
1) my photo disappear after few min
2)after almost 12/13 mins
3)after 50 mins almost
4)sometimes doesn’t appear from the beginning.
My account is aged more than a year.
A competitor with the same set of 30 hashtag doesn’t suffer of this issue, and he post 50 daily.
Other people, with new accounts, don’t suffer of this issue.
It sometimes happens that after a change of ip, if i login via browser i have to verify my account for suspicious activity (just if i change ip) ( in my personal account, that is on the same phone, same ip’s, don’t happen!)
Trying to stop commenting , liking, posting for 2 days didn’t solve the issue at all (first days well, then photos start to disappear again)
Is a good option to disable my accound for 2 days?
How can we contact, in a good way, instagram?? 🙂
Sorry for replying long, but i’m getting stressed 😛
Thanks louise, you have a great blog!
Louise Myers says
I’m sorry for this awful situation, Sam! Definitely frustrating. I don’t know of a way to contact Instagram. Sorry I can’t help. Have you tried sticking to only one device to access your account?
Ann says
Hello Louise,
Thank you for your wonderful post.
I’m new to IG, nearly 4 weeks. I’m not very good at social media, and I certainly don’t understand the “ins and outs” of IG.
I’ve been posting 1 picture a day, with a few hashtags in the caption area. As far as I know this is the only way to use hashtags. I don’t understand this whole system of adding hashtags to a comment. Do I make a comment on my own post by adding the hashtags in the comment?
For the past week my hashtags simply stopped working. I get no likes and no comments at all–ZERO. I was getting and average of 40-50 likes per post. I did use some hashtags such as #photography without knowing it’s banned, but it did work. I was mostly using the same #s and maybe adding a few more depending of the post. I post my own photos, no selfies, nothing obnoxious nor improper. I don’t know what to do. It’s very frustrating. I’ve reported to IG on a daily basis at no avail. Any tips?
Thanks,
Ann
Louise Myers says
Hi Ann,
“Do I make a comment on my own post by adding the hashtags in the comment?”
Yes. The only purpose of this is to hide your hashtags and keep the post caption looking clean. It’s not necessary.
“For the past week my hashtags simply stopped working.”
I’ve heard of this a few times. You should be able to repeat the same hashtags on one post a day (more than that might make them stop working). It may be a temporary thing. Keep reporting. You may want to stop posting for a few days. You could check what other readers have done about blocked comments here. Generally, you just have to wait it out. Probably the same with the hashtag issue.
Ann says
Thanks, Louise,
I’ll wait a few days or week until I post again.
Could you please list the steps for adding the hashtags in a comment without looking too cluttered?
I tried this morning but it didn’t work. I typed 5 periods (…..), hashtag right after the last period without any space, hit the return key and did the same thing again for the other hashtag. 1 hashtags per line.
Thanks,
Ann
simona dedek says
Hi, what a great post, thank you!
But, I am ready to throw my phone through the window….
From your post: You can hide your hashtags, so they can’t look spammy! Make them invisible by preceding them with five dashes or periods, each one on a line by itself. NO space after the period or it won’t work. If you post this in your first comment, IGers will just see […] after your name in the stream.
OK, I give UP… HOW DO I GET A NEW LINE (Yelling intentional) in the IG app?
I CANNOT make a new line. You specifically say to place a period on each new line. Is there some magical trick to this?
Thank you!!!!
Louise Myers says
Sorry for lack of clarity. In a caption, you can make a return via the number keypad. But on a comment, you can’t. You need to set up your hashtag groups in your phone’s Notes app.
simona dedek says
ohhhhhhhhhhh
but, didn’t know about the number keypad hack either. which number performs this magical trick?
Louise Myers says
Still no trick – when typing a caption, the button on lower right of the number keypad says “return.” But when typing a comment, it says “post” or “send.” So you can’t create returns in comments within the IG app. But you can in a caption if you wish. The return button is visible on the number keypad when writing a caption.
irfan Naseem says
Hi Louise
i have tried this also on Android and it does not work for me either. put the hastags in notes and pasted out and it puts the first dot next to the caption and username
i think its been deactiavted?
Louise Myers says
Hi Irfan,
Yes, the first dot goes next to the username.
If you’re not getting the hidden comment though, most likely you have a space after your punctuation. The returns won’t work in IG if there’s a space at the end of the previous line.
This still works for me every day.
Luna says
I think this may not work anymore? I’ve tried more dots, less dots, five dots. I’ve tried posting in comments and in the descriptions and no matter what I do it still shows.
Louise Myers says
I just tested it and it still works. However, the comment is only invisible in the news feed. If someone clicks to see comments, yes, they will see the hashtags. Is this where the confusion is coming in?
Shauna says
Help! I can’t get it to post in comments. I looked for spaces already.
Shauna says
Ok got it to work. Had too many hashtags. So do you change these up daily or by post or use the same ones and copy and paste?
Louise Myers says
I use mostly the same ones every day. However if you post more than once a day, you’ll have to change them up. I’ve heard Instagram will start blocking them if you use the same set more than once daily.
Tamara Blair says
Hi there, I have recently been having problems with my instagram account for the past month or so where my hash tags where only my followers seem to be liking my pictures. I am not gaining he amount of “likes” comments or new followers as I normally would. This happened after I he posted a few pics in a row from a trip at the beach. Normally my content is health and fitness. Could I have been blocked is there any tricks I can do to fix it? I have also been stopped to post, comment or like anything numerous times as well ? I have contacted instagram but have heard nothing! This is so frustrating!
Louise Myers says
If you repeat the same hashtags more than once a day, IG sees it as a duplicate comment (which they see as spam).
Milly says
Hi – great information – cleared up plenty for me.
Two Questions:
1: I’d like to set up a text shortcut with my hashtag sets with my iPhone, but the “returns” seem to get stripped even though I don’t have any spaces. It works if I paste directly from the notes – but If I paste that same string to the shortcuts spaces get added in where the returns should be.
2: You mentioned “I use mostly the same ones every day. However if you post more than once a day, you’ll have to change them up. I’ve heard Instagram will start blocking them if you use the same set more than once daily.” Does that mean I have to use an entirely different set or sail out a few within the set – so have a morning set and an evening set?
Thanks again!
Louise Myers says
Hey Milly, sorry I don’t have answers for these as I haven’t tried them. I believe you can mix up the order and change out some hashtags, but I haven’t tested it.
Blake Miller says
Can you clarify if the Hashtags (with 5 periods or dashes with carriage returns) are to be put in the Caption at the time of posting? Or in a comment after the posting. When I look at a post where it’s in the comment, they are not in the caption (which makes sense) but only in a “View 1 comment” which is from myself. It does not show up as the […] to click more. It shows up as a comment (and doesn’t show who) Does that still meet the intent of including a bunch of hashtags to a post?
Louise Myers says
Yes, it meets the intent of including a bunch of hashtags in a post.
As to why the comment is sometimes completely hidden and sometimes shown as […], I don’t know. But regardless, hashtags in a comment are more hidden than in a caption. Eventually they should be buried by other comments.
Alicia says
Hey Louise!
Thank you so much this post has tons of great info! I was curious if there is a tool that makes it easy to see what the speed/popularity of certain hashtags is? Or do you just check their popularity number in instagram to decide on them?
Thanks,
Alicia
Louise Myers says
I use their popularity on Instagram, and how often I can rank in Top Posts for that tag. Which aren’t always exactly the same!
Trish says
This is amazing! I’ve learned so much between the article AND the comments. Thanks for answering everyones questions.
Louise Myers says
Glad it helped!
Allison Wilman says
Hello,
I’ve been trying to post hashtags in my comments and it won’t let me do it. It shows a little red note on the bottom saying “couldn’t post. Tap to retry”
Is this stil working for everyone else? I tried it in 3 different accounts and shows the same.
Do you know why this happens?
Thanks a lot! Great post…
Louise Myers says
That’s so odd! Are you sure you have no more than 30 in there? And it’s not a repeat of a comment you posted in the last 24 hours? That’s about all I can think of. Unless there’s a banned tag in the group! Or your connection is intermittent.
carlos says
What-s the point of offering a pdf that contains the exact same information as this blog post?
Louise Myers says
Many people like to have it to refer to later. Close to 3K people have downloaded it!
Isabel says
Hi Louise,
First of all, wonderful post, very helpful 🙂
I have read through the comments to see if anybody else is having the problem I have found but I can’t find anybody who has…
What happens is I post a picture with my hashtags as caption and the picture posts without the caption. Why? When I try to edit and ad them, the app tells me changes has not been able to be done… so frustrating…
Am I using banned hashtags without knowing? If so, shouyldn’t they be telling me? How do I know which hashtags are banned?
Sorry… I’m not very good with these things. I hope you can help 🙂
Many thanks in advance and happy Wednesday!
Louise Myers says
Hi Isabel,
Is it possible you have included more than 30? Otherwise, do check for a current list of banned hashtags. They do change. And I don’t think IG does tell you. Google it…
The last possibility is your account is currently blocked from using hashtags. This just has to be waited out.
Rangus says
What are your thoughts on deleting the comments after a while? Is it worth keeping the hashtags there, or are they only useful for the initial period after posting? Would be nice to have a nice, clean and tidy post after the hashtags have done their initial work.
Louise Myers says
I get some random, automated likes and comments (based on hashtag targeting) after MANY weeks. But no big deal. You can delete them if you want, but it’s highly unlikely anyone will look at those posts after a couple days, anyway.
Rangus says
Great, thanks for taking the time to respond, appreciate your thoughts. 🙂
Louise Myers says
You’re welcome 🙂
Vladimir Ladev says
Have you tried using a virtual android emulator such as ‘andyroid’ to speed things up and simplify things?
Louise Myers says
Nope, I don’t see how that would help.
Peanut butter says
Could you give me a template to copy paste please ??
Perry Davis says
Louise, great article! I’m new to getting my business up and running and I am now the concept of using hashtags. Do you recommend using the hashtags in the caption, comments, or both? I personally, feel it would look cluttery and over done if I was to see tons of hashtags in a caption. I prefer seeing them in the comments because quite frankly, I don’t really have to see them. However coming from the business standpoint, I want to do what is going to be the most fruitful for me. I know I’m late to this thread but hopefully you could give me some insight!
Louise Myers says
I prefer them in a comment, they’re quickly buried and become “invisible.”
Leo says
Use the right and relevant hashtag for your photos in Instagram. But don’t use too much hashtag, 4-10 is fine for each post.
Louise Myers says
Fine but not optimal.
Dampas says
If I add 5 periods in comment it hides that comment in photo list, but then I can only use 25 hashtags.
Is that for all or am I doing something wrong?
Louise Myers says
I’ve never had this happen. No idea why.
Emma says
Hi Louise,
Thank you for this instructional blog on instragram hashtags. I am sure this question has likely been addressed, however I have trawled through and not come across it. I understand that the reach of an instagram post is significantly expanded proportionate to the number of hashtags that one uses. I have noticed some accounts that put the majority of their hashtags as their ‘first comment’ rather then in the actual post itself. Does this still get the same reach? Social media managing accounts such as grum.com offer a feature whereby you can input your ‘post’ and your ‘first comment.’ I am just trying to understand better and would appreciate your expertise.
Best regards
Louise Myers says
As far as I know, and since many pros use this tactic, I do believe hashtags get the same reach whether in a comment or caption.
Lisa Smith says
Hi Louise Myers, Many many thanks for this amazing, helpful, informative article! If someone can implement your post , then must be getting more traffic/followers in their business. There are many issues to gel maximum followers, in your post you outlined almost all of them. So i think this is an ideal post for Instagram.
aamir says
Hi Louise,
The information that you have provided above gave a lot more clarity how the hashtags really work and I am thankful for that.
But I am facing some issues from last few days that my posts are not appearing in the hashtags feed, sometimes they appear for few minutes and again disappear. I am not getting the engagement and likes as earlier, I tried using different hashtags and also not using Instagram for few days, but the problem still persists.
please help me as this is discouraging me not to use Instagram.
Thank you
Louise Myers says
Hi Aaminr,
There are so many possible reasons for this! I’ve been through it myself in the form of a shadow ban.You may want to research further to see if you can pinpoint your problem.
Best of luck!
Julia Elizabeth says
Hi Louise, Thank you for this post! So if I am understanding correctly, the only reason to put hashtags in a comment rather than in the caption is to make your post look “cleaner” in a way? I’m not sure I completely get why not to just enter the hashtags in the captions themselves. Thanks, Julia 🙂
Louise Myers says
Yes, exactly. It’s a very popular trick among Instagrammers, but it’s certainly not necessary.
Jenny says
Hi Louise, this is an excellent read, thanks so much for posting. Have you found a way to include the . [return] x5 in a text shortcut on an iPhone? Many thanks!
Louise Myers says
Yep! Use the Notes app.
Mirian K. Shade says
Hide your hashtags in a comment with . and return, 5 times… 😀 Thats one of the secrets to a clean looking post Louise ;).
It’s such a mess looking at a post with 20+ hashtags in caption. Distributing them in set of 7-9 (caption) and rest in comments…separated by dots is a great growth hack tip for Instagram.
Louise Myers says
I doubt it’s a growth hack, but it does look better.
Deval Shah says
Hi Louise,
Honesty says first I didn’t believe in this kind of #hashtag on Instagram,
but I posted 1 pic with hashtags and in response, I get many engagements on my pics and get likes too.
So now am believer in the power of the #HASHTAGS.
Now I need to ask, if I use the hashtags on the someone’s comment then I also get the engagement that I get in the pic?
Louise Myers says
If I understand your question – You can’t add someone else’s photo to a hashtag feed, only your own.
Yulia says
Hi. Seems that I’m shadowbanned on IG but not sure about the reason because I’ve been very careful. I don’t mind posting without using hashtags for a week or so but the main problem is that when I unfollow this account from my personal one and check my custom tag I can’t scroll down as if it was blocked. But I think it’s important to use it if I want it to be my branded hashtag. Do you know if IG will unblock my custom tag after few days? Thanks for all the information ?
Louise Myers says
I think if your tag was blocked you’d see a message from IG on the tag feed.
“Recent posts from #yourtaghere are currently hidden because the community has reported some content that may not meet Instagram’s community guidelines.”
jean says
Hi,
I forgot to put hashtags in my first IG posts (2 days ago)
Is it too late to go and put them now?
Should I delete them and post them again with hashtags?
Thanks in advance for your advice
Jean
Louise Myers says
I wouldn’t delete them. Just use hashtags going forward.
John Fox says
Hi Louise,
I read your great article and all of the comments. I knew many of the details already, but ran into a hashtag problem this morning on Instagram.
I started an account years ago, but left it private for many years and didn’t use it much. More recently, I opened my account to the public and started to post my professional level photography on my feed.
In order to gain new followers, I used 30 hashtags for each of my photos. I would post about once a day or once every other day. Most of my hashtags I used were active hubs where some of my photos could be featured. In 4 months I gained about 900 new followers. It was fun and exciting to see new people into my photography work. I typically post a landscape shot, then wildlife, then nature, and maybe some throwback work, so as to not repeat content or hashtags on a frequent basis.
This morning I posted a photo of a close-up Bobcat profile photo. Immediately I noticed that the initial “likes” weren’t coming in at the typical regularity. Usually when you tag accurately, the first 1-20 minutes nets a lot of Non-follower activity (likes, new followers etc.) That is the point of hashtags. My Bobcat photo did not. Instead I noticed that every like came from a follower of mine. Then one of my friends commented and said “check your hashtags, they don’t work, tried them twice”. So I checked myself, and sure enough my photo of the bobcat was not in any of the 30 hashtags I used.
I decided to log out of my account and log back in. Then I waited a few hours and made a new post of Milky Way over Half Dome. I did 30 new hashtags for it. I posted it and checked in on the shot 3 minutes later. No “non follower” likes, and my photo was not in any of the hashtag “most recent” feeds I chose.
Did I do something wrong?
Will this reset somehow on its own if I stay inactive for a duration of time?
How can this be avoided going forward, if it does reset?
For a photographer like myself, getting my work in front of new followers is one of my goals, and there is no other way to really do this besides using hashtags.
Any help or insight would be appreciated.
Thank you!
-John
Louise Myers says
Hi John,
This is a continuing problem. It’s so frustrating!
Instagram says it’s just a glitch, but IGers call it “shadowban.” Google it. Good luck!
John Fox says
Thanks Louise,
From what I read about shadowban, it says only accounts not following you cannot see your posts in the hashtags you use.
This is not what happened to me. I can’t see my pictures in my hashtags. My followers can’t either. No one can.
Is this a different type of shadowban than what I read about?
Louise Myers says
There’s really no way to know, because “shadowban” isn’t recognized or defined by IG. But the same fixes should help. Most important, make sure none of your hashtags are banned.
Terez says
Hi John, how did you fixed it? I have the same trouble right now. My posts are disapearing from feeds 🙁 do you have any advice?
Silvia says
Hi!
My posted photo won’t appear my tagged hashtags. This problem showed up yesterday for the first time…
Louise Myers says
Google “shadowban” and you should find some suggestions. Good luck!
Emmanuel Mariere says
Thank you this was helpful
Bav says
Very useful article thanks. I was trying to aim for 30 most popular hashtags, but his article makes so much sense.
Louise Myers says
Glad it helped!
Ariel says
Good tips! Thanks.
For me it should all start with planning and scheduling not just the hashtags but the entire post itself. It helps me a lot in designing, editing, analyzing and scheduling my IG posts. 🙂
Theodora says
Hi Louise, this post was very informative! The initial reason I opened it though was in case you knew how many posts start a hashtag. Meaning, if a hashtag doesn’t exist and I want to start it, how many posts does it take for them to start appearing under that hashtag name. Any ideas? I’ve looked elsewhere too but couldn’t find anything and you seem to be on the know so I thought I’d ask! Thank you! ?
Louise Myers says
Hi Theodora,
I’ve clicked on hashtags that have 1 post showing under them. So I’d guess it’s fairly immediate. Are you creating a brand hashtag?
anjali says
This is really useful – I feel like I’m always still learning more about how to optimize Instagram so these tips are helpful!
Anastasis says
Is it worth adding hashtags to old posts? I used to post pictures with zero hashtags.
Louise Myers says
Unlikely old posts would surface in hashtag feeds, unless they were extremely popular.
Melisa says
Thanks for this post. I’m trying to clarify – you recommend putting the hashtags in the comments (with 5 periods above them) and not the post itself?
Louise Myers says
I do. Keeps it cleaner.
Henosis says
Hey Louise! Your article is awesome! I agree with you on this “Use more hashtags that are relevant to your niche. ” With great content specific for a brand and relevant hashtags will enable a business to take advantage of the traffic and improve client engagement.
Miles says
Hey Louise, great article and thank you. Now if I add 30 hashtags and then post, then erase and add 30 different hashtags. I’m I still active in the first set of 30 tags?
Louise Myers says
I believe if you still see your post in a hashtag you deleted then you’re probably seeing a cached version. Only someone who’s seen it before would see the cache.
Adding hashtags to older posts is kinda pointless though, unless they’re so niched that you’ll still be near the top of the feed.
Ted says
Hey there!
Great article thank you for sharing! I have realized if you delete the hashtag post in the commentsan repost exactly the same you have immediately some likes even though the date of the original post is taken into account! How is that possible?
Louise Myers says
Possibly just by adding a comment looks like new engagement on the post.
Amira Leyva Cervantes says
Comments are still displayed in full when viewing from the desktop browser. this trick does work when using a mobile browser (IOS, Android). Anyways thanks for the article. your writings are amazing.
Holly says
I’ve found that none of the hashtags I’ve added to my posts have worked – the post does not show in the hashtag page. This is the case for every hashtag on every post I’ve made since I started the insta feed five days ago. Do you know why this might be? Mine’s a business feed and I need to grow it but I’m struggling to without working hashtags. Any advice would be welcome! Thanks.
Louise Myers says
Read the middle section of this post about shadowban.
Or it could be that you’ve included a banned hashtag. Then none will work.
Also, IG has affirmed that not every post is shown in hashtag feeds. There could be an algorithm for this and your account may be too new.
Jonah says
Hi Louise. I’m Jonah from Hashtagify.me. I’ve just read your article and want to thank you very much for introducing our tool to your readers 🙂
Louise Myers says
Cool! Nice to meet you, Jonah.
Eva says
Hi Louise,
great article, but I’m getting confused, for the lady couple of month we were told that the hashtags now have to go into the caption and that they won’t work in comments. Is this no longer true?
Louise Myers says
I don’t know what lady you refer to, but this hasn’t been true in the years I’ve been on Instagram.
Leanne says
Hi, so you can’t put hashtags on an account you aren’t signed into? is that correct? how long do the hashtags last. Its seems you an take them down 2 weeks later and do a whole lot of new ones and it goes back to the top?
Louise Myers says
“you can’t put hashtags on an account you aren’t signed into” Correct.
“It seems you can take them down 2 weeks later and do a whole lot of new ones and it goes back to the top” If that works for you, great. IG says they’ll appear in the hashtag feed with other content posted at the same time (NOT the time that the tags were added).
shanu robin says
Hello Louise,
Thanks for the valuable informaion, and i think these post is going to help me very much. Even still I don’t know how many hashtag can be used in instagram. But after reading your post I have come to know how many I can use and even how to use also. And I even want to know one thing, is this works where I can promote my brand and can you tell me how much time it’s take to get popoluar ?
Louise Myers says
“how much time does it take to get popular”
This will totally vary depending on your niche, content, and how much time you spend on your account.
Jeremie Moritz says
Hi Louise, I’ve been told lately that the way hashtags are used is changing and that we should not use more Than 5 to 8 hashtags vs. 20 before as Instagram is penalizing accounts using too many – any feedback on this?
Louise Myers says
I would love to hear if you experience more engagement using less hashtags. I personally haven’t found this to be true.
Evie Seifu says
Thank you very informative. Learned quite a bit – so much info out there and yes conflicted and conflicting.
Louise Myers says
Glad it helped, Evie!
Manuel says
Thank you, Louise. I’ve been looking for this kind of well investigted article for like hours. Just wanted to say Thank You!
Louise Myers says
Great to hear it 🙂
Pradip Kalkani says
Hello Louise Myers
first of all thank you for this post its very useful to me but i have a Questions for hashtags
1) if i add tags in my insta photo comment its work or not ? it can be show on hashtags page right?
2) how many time i can add 30 tags sets in photo comments ?
Louise Myers says
1), yes and yes.
2), one time.
Karin says
Wow. Thank you for the simple no fuss article!! Quick Question:
If I delete my hashtags out of the comments a week after the post, will people stop seeing the post. I noticed all the big insta accounts I follow (20k + followers) don’t ever seem to have any hashtags on their posts.
Thanks a bunch
Louise Myers says
If you delete the hashtags, your post won’t be in the hashtag feeds. But after a week, it would likely be pushed very far down anyway.
Most big brands use only a few hashtags. But they have other ways of growing their accounts.
Daniel Erlich says
Hi Louise! your article is amazing! just one question that got me confused.
At one point you wrote to put hashtags only in post caption but after that you wrote to put hashtags in a comment. So I hope you clarify that!
Louise Myers says
The reference to putting hashtags in the caption was ONLY referring to super popular tags. Don’t wait to put them in a comment. Of course, I don’t think you should use them at all, but my advice was to those who insist on it.
jak says
Hello
For a while, my hashtags will not be displayed to me and my friends
What is the reason for this problem
Is it hid by Instagram?
Previously, 100 hashtags were displayed with my photo. But now on the hashtags page, the hashtag will not be displayed with my photo
Louise Myers says
You can’t use 100 hashtags. Plus Instagram has confirmed that not all hashtagged posts will appear in the feeds. They may even be penalizing you for breaking the rules.
jak says
thank u very very
Randy Fresh says
Awesome article, thanks for the tips. I Have one question. Can i post 30 hashtags in the Post and 30 in the comments?
Thanks
Fresh
Louise Myers says
You would have to add them to the caption after the comment, and I can’t guarantee this is effective. Instagram knows this is a hack but hasn’t stopped it yet.
DJ steve says
Thx for the helpful info Louise!
I am a super fan of someone and want to help their IG. Does it help them when I use hashtags in my comments on their videos and photos? Thx
Louise Myers says
Nope, you can’t add hashtags to someone else’s post. Commenting helps though!
Dani says
I’m just dipping my toes in the Insta-pool for my voiceover work. Having noticed the hashtags in comments thing, I started to wonder.
So glad I came across your post.
And I like your patience in dealing with people’s queries/ comments.
I’ll be back!
Louise Myers says
Thanks Dani, and best of luck!
Diane says
Great tip and I’ve seen it done, but it won’t work for me. I use the preview app first, with their comments below the caption. I try to add my own hashtags in the comments, but all I get is an error message.
Louise Myers says
Not sure what you mean by preview app, or exactly your process. But if you have 30 hashtags in the caption, you can’t go back and add more in a comment.
Chetan bhagat says
Thank you so much for the article .
I use 30 hashtags on every post , i try my best to keep them as close to the content as possible.
Can i get blocked for using too many hashtags??
Louise Myers says
30 is the allowed amount.
Lauren says
Hi Louise,
If you post a photo but your account is on private, should I go public after I post? Before?
I want to get the most engagement but im not sure if that works on private, or how long i should leave my profile on public before going back to private.
Help!
Louise Myers says
Why would you switch back and forth? I think you need to decide if you want strangers to see your posts (public account) or not (private).
ayomide olanrewaju says
hello
can I create a personal hashtag for my self or instagram account
Louise Myers says
Yes! Just start tagging your posts with it, and it will create is own hashtag feed.
Daniel says
Hi, Louise. Thank you so much for your amazing tips!
But I have a question…
If I change hash tags in my original posting, which hash tags are released to the public?
Original? or After edit?
Louise Myers says
Hashtags are released when you post them (unless your account is private). Removing a tag will remove you from the tag feed. Adding new tags to old content that hadn’t been popular will probably not get you much if any engagement tho. Unless they’re super niche tags with few posts in the feed, your content will be buried bc the feeds are chronological (unless you can snag a Top Post).
Theodore says
Hi Louise, lots of great tips, all based on experience, thanks!!
About hashtag popularity, I have a question. My account has around 4K followers and I get around 400 likes average, few
reaches 700, some stays around 300. For a travel shot, which hashtags should I target more, hashtags like #travelmore -> 75M , #travellingtheworld ->2M or #besttravelshots -> 400K ?
Louise Myers says
You could split test, but in general I recommend not using tags over 1M.
Theodore says
Thanks for your kind reply! That was great advice and worked very well! I did a lot of googling lately and you are definitely the best source on Instagram hashtags, thanks:)))
Louise Myers says
You’re welcome! I love to get nice comments like this – so thank you too!
peter says
I am still confused about why the popular hashtags should be added in the caption rather in the comment. How does the hashtag feed work?
Louise Myers says
The popular hashtag feeds move so fast that one second is too long to wait to add one to your post.
Marcin says
Hi , I have a question regarding the info that it is not allowed to use same hashtags in every post? Is it true? And if so, is it also not ok to use own hashtag in every post either?
Thank you for your answer.
Louise Myers says
The issue is using ALL the same hashtags in every post. There shouldn’t be a problem as long as you’re changing up some of them. But, Instagram is very fickle so I can’t guarantee anything 🙂
Anthony says
Thank you for the great article Louise! I just learned that since February, you aren’t supposed to use the exact same hashtags in every post. So to clarify, to the best of your knowledge :
1. If I am posting 30 hashtags for each message, how many hashtags would you recommend changing from one post to the next before it is likely safe to not get penalized by the algorithm as suspected spam? Five? Ten? Fifteen?
2. How long would you say it’s OK to go before using the exact same set of 30 hashtags again? I only post once a week, and was wondering if I could use three slightly different hashtag lists on a rotating basis. So this would mean that each list would repeat once every three weeks with two other alternate list posts in between. Would this be OK?
Thank you!
Louise Myers says
What you’re suggesting is probably OK. There’s really no way to know, so I wouldn’t want to say x is safe… because no one knows.
Elizabeth says
I am facing problem posting 60 hashtags (first 30 in the comment and additional 30 in edited caption) since yesterday. Does anyone face the same problem?
Louise Myers says
yes, IG finally figured out how to disable this
Michael says
Wow such a great article, I’ve finally found one that explains it all so well! Thank you for this. I’m a photographer working mostly in Boudoir/portrait. I have been having a very tough time gaining exposure though I do get messages from fellow photographers and models complimenting my work. It just needs to be seen!!!! I’m sitting at 280 ish followers and have over the last month made a personal effort to grow my account. I’m hoping with my new found understanding of hashtags I can gain some traction. Thank you!
Michael says
So to be clear I should not be copy and pasting the same hashtags on all my photos even if they are the same niche? I should maybe save 20 and manually input additional different ones in each post so that IG doesn’t crack down on me correct? (I was reading the fellow comments and one mentioned something about repeat hashtag use)
Louise Myers says
This seems to be the case. It may just be a 24-hour thing, ie, don’t use the same set within 1 day. But it’s always good to mix things up and keep them as relevant as possible.
Louise Myers says
Bonus tip, if you’re getting attention from fellow photographers and models, you may need to look into the hashtags your AUDIENCE would be looking for. Not what your competitors are looking for.
Michael says
Very interesting point, Hmmm. Is there an easier way to discover that information? or just guess? Maybe take cues from other photographers use of hashtags?
Louise Myers says
Options:
Copy photographers using hashtags that are getting them clients
Lots of trial and error
Buy the course Hashtag Hero
disclosure: I may get a referral fee if you purchase the course… but I’m betting it would save you tons of time.
Michael says
I have yet to be successful with hiding my hashtags! Can you confirm that it still works? I’ve tried Evernote assuming it was my note app not working properly. I copy and past the hashtags I want to use then add my 5 (.) and returns. I make sure there is no space after the hashtags by hitting delete and confirming cursor location. I’ve tried two different times with same result.
Louise Myers says
Yes it works. The space problem I mentioned is after the . and before the return.
Hunter says
Michael, did you figure it out? From you comment, I read that you are copying the hashtags and adding the 5 . in IG before pasting. That is not correct according to Louise article and screenshot. The 5 .’s and returns are added in your text document before the hashtags and the entire list, (.’s and #’s) are copied and pasted. If I’m not mistaken.
Louise Myers says
You can do them in IG as long as you delete the space after the period.
scotty says
This doesn’t work! I tried typing them directly into IG and also tried pasting from Notes. There’s no space after the period. They comment shows up as a comment. What am I doing wrong? Can someone explain? Or did IG change this?
Louise Myers says
It may look different if you’re looking at it in the feed (where you don’t see the comment) or tap on the image to open all the comments. Very few people will actually do that. So, it still “works” for the majority of views.
Nicin says
Hey. My name is Nicin. I really liked the article … but there are a few questions, I hope you can help me. As I understand it: better than 10 good hashtags than 10 good and 10 not so good? Bad hashtags can mess up a photo search … right? Or is it better to add all 30 … and then change? I am new to this issue. Now I want to study this issue. You need to know and understand what is happening with the account. There are new subscribers 20 per night (I’m a beginner) … I can not understand that hashtags have affected so … can this be?
Louise Myers says
Sure, if you’re using banned hashtags they could hurt you.
Paulina says
Love the article, can you show an example of How to make the hastags invisible? Thanks in advance ?
Louise Myers says
There’s a large graphic showing this, right in the article.
Maggi Scott says
How do you collect hashtags? Manually or you use services?
Louise Myers says
Manually is best.
Sean says
Thank you for this. I had been doing the ….. thing to keep the tags separate already but only using a few tags on each post. Results were “ok”.
After doing a post with 30 of the top tags things really took off. I tried another post where only one of the tags was over a million and got similar results.
The biggest difference seemed to be the number of comments for some reason. I used pictures that had been posted previously over a year ago just to rule out the quality of the pic in the responses.
Anyway, great results, lots of engagement and several new followers. Thanks a lot!
@frankietakescanada
Louise Myers says
Cool! Here’s to continued success.
v2 says
Found this article very insightful. Thanks Louise. I have a business account and off late, I am not able to tag people. When I do so, the app crashes. However, when I do it in another account, the tagging feature works. What could be happening? I suspect that I am shadow banned. How do I get out of it?
Louise Myers says
I’ve never heard of anything like this with shadowban. Weird that the app crashes. If you have another device, see if it gives the same problem. No idea how to solve it though.
Kiarra Julien says
Thank you for your suggestions! I hope they work. I will be trying them out tonight for my Digital Marketing Business’ IG Account. Your post was very informative! I might even sign up for the product you suggestion, so I hope you get that commission! 🙂
Henry says
I’ve been trying these tips for a few months now and I’ve only got 140ish followers, what am I doing wrong?? I don’t think my feed is that bad…
Louise Myers says
Hashtags are important but only part of Instagram success. The biggest way to get engaged followers is probably liking and commenting on other accounts.
Alexander F says
Hi Louise,
The article was incredibly informative and thank you for sharing! I was curious was resources do you use in order to discover relevant, trending, and popular hashtags? And likewise, how to know which hashtags are banned?
Best,
Louise Myers says
I personally only use Instagram to find hashtags. I’m sure there are apps and tools as well.
Arnel Gonce says
I thought you said you used tailwindapp?
Louise Myers says
I use Tailwind for Pinterest. I don’t use Instagram for business, just personal, so I don’t need an app for that.
moon says
less popular and too small to bother on hashtags? Are you using the numbers of posts as your guide? #Realestate has 5 million posts and #realestateSacramento has 11 posts. Do you have any suggestions for the kind of volume that represents that sweet spot?
Louise Myers says
10K to 1 million.
Rob Dean says
Good job!! It really is worth creating a hashtag strategy for your brand if you want to grow your account!
Louise Myers says
Definitely!
Arnel Gonce says
Why would you want to save hashtag groups if repeated use gets you shadowbanned? Confused…
Louise Myers says
Only if you’re using them in a spammy way, which isn’t specifically defined, but probably using the exact set more than once in 24 hours. I just change up a few. But I only post 1x/day as well…
Rick says
I added 20 new hashtags to post that we’re over a week old. Just thought I would share because it ended up getting me a bunch of likes immediately and a bunch of followers.
Louise Myers says
Cool! I noted that less-popular tags can be added much later. I don’t think top tags will work though, as your post is too far down in the feed.
Let me know if you used ones with millions of uses! I’m curious what worked for you.
Erin Byrd says
Hi! Great article, I learned so much information in a clear and concise way. About the hashtag issue, what about when weddings have a specific hashtag they want everyone attending to use to see all the photos taken—would that make Instagram have an issue with it because so many posts are going up in a short amount of time or within 48 hours that then those hashtags are then not shown in search? I definitely need to try the comment with the saved hashtags in my notes.
Louise Myers says
Not sure why they wouldn’t be found in the hashtag feed after 48 hours, unless you have hundreds to thousands of them going up every day.
Davey says
Unknowingly, I continued to use the same set of hashtags and have been shadowbanned.
I have tried numerous ways to remove the shadowban (contacted IG, stopped using hashtags, removed all hashtags from all posts, greatly increased the engagement with my followers, bought ads and now have logged out for a week) and the ban still remains.
Do you have successful recommendations?
I am beginning to think I just need to start a new account.
Thank you for any insight you could provide!
Louise Myers says
Hi Davey, I don’t know what you can do except wait it out. IG will not help as they insist there’s no such thing as shadowban.
Davey. says
Thank you for taking the time to reply. Some people say it takes a full two weeks for the ban to be removed. I am just not sure.
IG may not call it a shadowban, but it definitely exists.
IG is definitely limiting the people who can see my posts on the hashtag pages.
I have asked people who are not following me to check if they can see my posts on the hashtag pages and they cannot.
If any of your other resources have any answers, I am open to suggestions.
It seems IG wants you to use their platform, but only under their unwritten rules – very frustrating as this ban is definitely affecting my business.
If I had only know, you could not repetitively use the same hashtags, I would not have done so.
It makes me wonder what other unwritten rules I am unaware of.
Thank you again for taking the time to reply. You articles are very insightful and great reads!
Romana says
Grazie Louise,
per questo bellissimo e completo post, da ora metterò in pratica tutti i tuoi suggerimenti per il mio account.
Farò sapere se sono riuscita e se hanno funzionato.
Grazie grazie grazie, pochi post sono così completi come il tuo.
Louise Myers says
Prego 🙂
aileene says
Thanks much for this Louise, your article was great as a confirmation of many points! 🙂
Gloria says
I am new to IG and want to promote my handmade wreaths. I posted a lot of photos but didn’t know about tagging each photo. Can I delete all photos and start all over? And how do you search hash tags as you wrote? And what is the hash tag page?
Louise Myers says
Don’t delete the photos. Post them again if you like.
To search hashtags, use the search icon at the bottom of the app. Tapping a hashtag will take you to the hashtag feed (or page).
Jeff says
Thanks Louise for the useful tips. Besides hashtags, use of cross-platforms can also help a lot in growth. Your account grows fast when fans on other platforms get to know your Insta presence. Plus buying IG services can also help grow an organic audience as people love to follow those with massive counts on profile.
Louise Myers says
I can’t recommend using services to get followers. I tested one that was 100% manually done by VAs. I did get followers but it killed my account.
John says
Hello Louise thanks for the help. Where does the 442% number come from that you use in 11 or more hashtags for engagement?
Louise Myers says
It is simply the 79.5% engagement for 11 or more divided by the 18% engagement for 0.
John says
Awesome got it!
Jennifer says
That just means she’s bad at math. That’s not how it works out at all.
Louise Myers says
Oh? What is your answer?
To clarify mine, 79.5 is 4.4166666 times 18, which is the same as 442% more than 18. Or, 18 x 442% = 79.56.
I’d love to see your math.
Dibakar Bala says
Extremely well written article on hashtags.
I was wondering if i should use hashtags in comment or into the caption.
Also, now I guess I’ll analyse my competitors and copy their hashtags and create groups of 30
Hailes says
Hi Louise,
Can you update this? I believe you cant post hashtags now in comments is that right?
Louise Myers says
This was recently updated. I just posted hashtags in a comment this morning, which was after the timestamp on your comment. So I think you’re mistaken.
Panu says
I’m sorry but this is incorrect. I just read this article before I made an Instagram post and tried to add hashtags to the comments the way you describe. Unfortunately Instagram won’t publish the comment. Instead I get a red text stating simply “too many hashtags”.
Louise Myers says
You can add up to 30 hashtags TOTAL in either caption or comments. If it’s over 30 it won’t post.
Rogger Lad says
I was banned several times with shadowban :/
Jennifer says
What is your source for this information? I read the same exact things in many other spammy sites such as this, so it’s certainly not original.
But worse, much of it does not work. You can’t add hashtags that are too popular, you can’t add hashtags that aren’t popular enough, you can’t add banned hashtags, even though there are over 100,000 of them, and you never know what they are, or whether that’s the reason something isn’t working, you can’t add hashtags later, you can’t add too many hashtags, but you can’t add too few hashtags, and on and on and on.
I used to get over 500 likes on my pictures, and many, many followers a day. I haven’t changed anything I do, but I went down to 100 likes, then 50, now around 10 likes per post no matter what I do. I have obviously violated some invisible Instagram rule, but I have no idea what, and articles like yours are no help.
Why does Instagram do this? Why do they want us to use their service, then make things as difficult as possible for us? Why do people like you post completely useless articles, repeating the same useless information over and over again, while we’re just trying to do business? Why is everyone out to harm our businesses? Including Instagram themselves?
Louise Myers says
If you’ve decided my site is spammy and useless, why would you even bother asking me 6 questions?
Good luck, sounds like you’ll need it.
Erik says
Well said hahahahah
Saqoiya says
Thank you I found this very helpful. I’ve recently launched a site for a brand we’ve been working on, looking to gain exposure more than anything. Hopefully this helps make actual connections, that’s the real goal not the “likes”. ☺️
Louise Myers says
That’s a great attitude! Best of luck with your site. I hope you can move off Wix and install a WordPress self-hosted domain soon.
Cullen says
This is great information! A couple of questions that came up after reading through it.
1.) You mentioned keeping a list of 30 hashtags you use, with different types of posts. Does this ever trigger Instagram to hide your post’s, since the same list of hashtags are being used over and over?
2.) Is there any data that shows if people are more likely to click on the first hashtag as apposed to one in the middle of the pack of 30? For example, if you have a hashtag you want people to click on, is there any data that shows you should place it in the beginning of the list as apposed to the end of the list?
Again, great information here. I am new to Instagram, and this post was extremely helpful.
Louise Myers says
1, I believe I mentioned in the post that you can’t use ALL the same 30 repeatedly. I will check, since it might have been in the comments only.
2, I don’t know of any data, but I would put my brand hashtag first. My guess is few people click on ANY of them, but a unique one is probably more likely to pique their interest – if they bother to look at hashtags at all.
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