A post covered in thirty barely-related hashtags used to be a common growth tactic, but platform algorithms have evolved considerably since then, and that scattershot approach now frequently does more harm than good — diluting relevance signals rather than strengthening them. Understanding how hashtag discovery actually works today, rather than relying on outdated advice, is the difference between hashtags that genuinely bring new eyes to a post and hashtags that are simply ignored or, worse, flagged as spam-like behaviour.
How hashtag discovery actually works
A hashtag functions as a searchable and browsable category — when someone searches or taps a hashtag, the platform shows a feed of posts using that tag, and being included in that feed is the actual mechanism through which hashtags drive discovery. Critically, platforms also use the hashtags on a post as a relevance signal feeding into their broader recommendation algorithm, helping the system understand what a post is about and who might be interested in seeing it recommended, even outside of someone directly browsing that specific hashtag. This dual role — direct browsable discovery plus an algorithmic relevance signal — is why hashtag choice still matters even though pure hashtag-browsing behaviour has declined as algorithmic feeds have become more dominant.
Why more hashtags is not automatically better
The old advice to maximise hashtag count under the assumption that more tags simply meant more chances to be discovered has become outdated advice for two related reasons. First, using many loosely relevant or entirely unrelated hashtags dilutes the relevance signal the algorithm draws from your tags, making it harder for the system to confidently categorise what your content is actually about. Second, some platforms' spam-detection systems specifically flag patterns associated with hashtag stuffing — a large volume of generic, high-competition tags bearing little specific relevance to the actual content — which can suppress reach rather than boost it. A smaller set of genuinely relevant, well-chosen hashtags now generally outperforms a maximal, scattershot set.
The mix of tag sizes that works best
A widely recommended approach is mixing hashtags of different popularity levels rather than only chasing the largest, most competitive tags. High-volume, broad tags (millions of posts) offer visibility to a huge audience but also face fierce competition, meaning your specific post is quickly buried beneath a constant stream of other content using the same tag. Mid-volume, more specific tags (tens of thousands to a few hundred thousand posts) offer a better realistic chance of a post staying visible for longer within that tag's feed, reaching a smaller but often more genuinely interested audience. Niche, highly specific tags (a few thousand posts or fewer) offer the best odds of ranking prominently within that narrow tag, reaching a small but highly targeted audience who searched or follows that exact niche. A mix across these tiers — rather than exclusively chasing the biggest, most competitive tags — tends to produce more consistent discovery than betting entirely on high-volume tags alone.
Relevance matters more than popularity
A hashtag that is popular but only loosely related to your actual content will not produce genuinely engaged discovery, even if it technically places your post in front of a larger audience — someone browsing a specific hashtag has a specific interest in mind, and a post that does not actually match that interest, however it got there, is unlikely to earn a meaningful click, like, or follow. Choosing hashtags for genuine topical relevance to your specific content, even at the cost of using smaller, less popular tags, generally produces better-quality discovery — the right, smaller audience rather than a larger but disinterested one that quickly scrolls past.
Researching hashtags before using them
Before settling on a set of hashtags, it is worth checking what a tag's existing feed actually looks like — searching the tag directly on the platform shows you the kind of content currently ranking within it, revealing both whether the tag is genuinely relevant to your content and roughly how much competition you are up against. A tag whose current top posts look nothing like your content, despite the tag's name seeming relevant, is a signal that the tag may be used differently in practice than its literal meaning would suggest, and is worth reconsidering before including it.
Brand and campaign-specific hashtags
Beyond discovery-focused tags, a unique, branded hashtag specific to your business or a specific campaign serves a different purpose entirely — not primarily to reach new people browsing that tag (since a brand-new branded tag starts with zero existing search volume), but to give your own audience and any user-generated content a consistent, trackable label, making it easy to find and collect all posts related to a specific campaign or your brand generally. The Hashtag Generator can help generate discovery-focused tag ideas around a topic, while a distinctive Business Name Generator or Slogan Generator output can double as the basis for a memorable, ownable branded hashtag distinct from your general discovery tags.
Refreshing your hashtag set over time
Reusing the exact same set of hashtags on every single post, indefinitely, is a common habit but not necessarily an optimal one — the composition and competitiveness of a given tag's content changes over time, and a tag that performed well six months ago may have become considerably more saturated or shifted in what kind of content it now surfaces. Periodically reviewing and refreshing your hashtag set, rather than treating it as a fixed, permanent list decided once, keeps your tags aligned with how each one is actually performing currently rather than relying on outdated research that may no longer accurately reflect the tag's present-day audience and competition level.
Placement and platform-specific conventions
Different platforms have different conventions and even different functional limits around hashtag placement and count — what performs well as a caption-embedded hashtag on one platform might be better placed in a separate first-comment on another, and the ideal number of tags varies by platform and even by account size and niche. Rather than applying one universal hashtag strategy across every platform, researching and following the specific conventions and typical practices of each platform you post to tends to produce better results than a one-size-fits-all approach copied from generic, platform-agnostic advice.
Key takeaways
- Hashtags serve both direct discovery (someone browsing the tag) and as a relevance signal to the recommendation algorithm.
- More hashtags is not automatically better — stuffing can dilute relevance signals and trigger spam-detection systems.
- Mix high-volume, mid-volume and niche tags rather than only chasing the biggest, most competitive ones.
- Check a hashtag's actual current content before using it, and use a distinct branded hashtag for campaign tracking rather than discovery.