The Number of Instagram Hashtags You Should Use in 2025
Using hashtags on Instagram is pretty important to help your account grow. Here’s how many hashtags on Instagram you should be using.
Posted last year
Written by
Mackenzie TaylorPosted last year
Oh, hashtags. They’re the bane of our existence and are still definitely needed when it comes to growing your Instagram account. The @creators account and Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri keep going back and forth on how many hashtags work for accounts—do you only use 3? 5? 10? All 30? Today, we’re going to break down how many hashtags on Instagram you should be using.
Flick’s tip: Want to find hashtags that work for your content quickly? Try our free Instagram hashtag generator today! Type in a keyword and see all the hashtags that will work for you.
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How do hashtags work on Instagram?
Hashtags are Instagram’s way of categorizing your content. Think of Instagram hashtags like keyword searches on Google. If you want to find a specific article or image on Google, how would you go about it? Searching for a specific word, right? Well, hashtags are the exact same thing on Instagram.
Hashtags help Instagram know exactly what your content is about and helps Instagram suggest that content to people who are interested in that topic. It also helps show that content to users who are searching for a specific topic as well.
Many people want to rank on a hashtag as it helps a user grow on Instagram by showing their content to the most amount of people as possible.
How many hashtags should you use? 🔢
Okay, so how many actual hashtags should you start using for your content? It’s definitely a question that is hotly debated, especially after the @creators page said 3-5, but the thing is—you can rank on all 30 hashtags, so why not use all 30?
Here’s the thing though (and the most important part!), the reason Creators said to use 3-5 hashtags is because they want you to start using the most relevant hashtags to your content. And usually, there aren’t 30 hashtags that are incredibly relevant to your post.
However, the more hashtags you use, the more opportunities you have to rank. So … what’s the solution? Use as many hashtags as you can but make sure that they are super relevant to your content and your specific niche.
When it comes to a hashtag strategy, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s all about experimenting and making sure that you’re using hashtags that make sense to your content.
What is the best Instagram hashtag strategy? ✍️
It’s important to use hashtags that will help you get the most engagement and reach for your content. Click here to find a breakdown of how to create an effective Instagram hashtag strategy. Here are a few rules for picking the perfect hashtags for Instagram:
1. Hashtags that are relevant
Do we sound like a broken record yet? Because honestly, we’re going to keep saying it over and over again—use relevant hashtags. The more descriptive and niche your hashtags are, the more likely your post will rank and reach new audiences. The thing with hashtags is if someone is searching for something on Instagram and you’re using the right hashtag, your content could be shown in the hashtag results.
2. Hashtags that are clever
Even though hashtags need to be relevant, you can still make them clever and interesting. Start thinking about descriptors like locations, brands, interests, and more.
3. Use a hashtag finder
Find and manage relevant hashtags for your posts, account size, interests, and more. A hashtag finder like Flick can help you find the perfect hashtags for your content.
What Instagram hashtags shouldn’t you use? 🚫
While hashtags are important, there are some that you shouldn’t be using. But which ones? Here are three hashtags you shouldn’t use if you want to rank on Instagram:
1. Hashtags that are too competitive
Here’s the biggest one: Do not use hashtags that have millions and millions and millions of posts. You’re going to be lost in the crowd of posts and there really isn’t a chance you will rank at all. Unless you have millions of followers yourself, it’s highly unlikely your content will be seen under that specific hashtag. Start paying attention to the competition on the hashtags you use.
2. Hashtags that are irrelevant
Um, we’ve talked about this once and we’ll talk about it a million times. Stop using hashtags that don’t make sense with your content. If your post is a sunrise, you’re not going to use #engagementring. It just doesn’t make sense. And even if your hashtag does rank … it doesn’t mean it’s actually going to give you the audience you think it’s going to. When you use specific hashtags, you’ll reach the audience you want.
3. Hashtags that are too repetitive
If you use the same hashtag over and over again, Instagram will penalize you for using the same hashtags. Make sure you use various different hashtags for your content so it’s not the same thing over again and you don’t get penalized by Instagram.
đź’ˇ Flick tip: Start a 7-day FREE trial with Flick to see all the relevant hashtags for your content.
Find The Best Hashtags For Your Instagram With Flick
Effective use of hashtags for Instagram is key to driving engagement for these posts. When you use a balance of low, medium, and high competition terms that are relevant to your brand, content, and each other are a proven way to be ranked highly by Instagram’s algorithms.
When you use Flick, we can help you with:
- Hashtag Search: Find hundreds of quality hashtags in minutes – based on your content category, your target audience, and previous content. Drive more impressions, profile views, and follows from untapped audiences.
- Competitor Research: While you search for hashtags of your own, you can observe top-performing hashtag content to help you figure out whether your content is the right fit.
- Avoid Banned Hashtags: You’ll never have to worry about banned hashtags ever again, as we filter them out for you.
Use our free Instagram hashtag generator to get the best hashtags for your content in seconds.
Sign up for a free 7-day trial to see the results for yourself, or learn more first with our free Instagram hashtag research course.
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