Over the past few months, I’ve analysed tons of local brands’ Instagram accounts. And one thing most of them have in common? An overkill of hashtags. So let’s put the record straight: in 2026 we’re prioritising keywords over hashtags. So please, please, please, cool it on the hashtags.
Why I never was the biggest fan of hashtags
Look, I get it. At one point, every so-called growth hacker preached that flooding your posts with as many “relevant” hashtags as possible granted you overnight success. And sure, it might have boosted your numbers for a second, but what’s the real value of vanity metrics like followers and likes? Especially coming from people that aren’t part of your target demographic and have no real interest in your brand. Because, let’s face it, this technique was especially loved by engagement farms.
Not to say that I never use(d) hashtags. In fact, when they first became a thing, I contemplated how to use them strategically in my texts. As someone who loves snackable content, I didn’t like implementing the hashtags within the text, as it broke the flow of the copy in my opinion. And adding them at the bottom of the copy also felt forced to me. That’s why I always tried to minimize the amount of hashtags.
On top of that, hashtags on Instagram were not optimized for search. As a social media manager, I often had to look for very specific content on the platform. And specific content also means specific keywords (think: fails from Belgians for example). But the thing is, you couldn’t combine separate hashtags in your search. And that made those searches impossible.
What’s up with social SEO?
Somewhere along the way, we started using social media as a search engine. In fact, research has shown that 67% of Gen Z’ers use Instagram for their search queries, while 62% use TikTok. So the platforms had to change accordingly. And I’m happy about that, cause that means that those specific searches aren’t impossible anymore. And that the platforms fit our behaviour more organically.
But how does social SEO work exactly? In essence, there are three parts to social SEO:
- First of, optimize your profile for search. This means making sure every field of your profile is filled in and organically includes relevant keywords. This in itself is low-hanging fruit for most brands, as in my experience most brand bios are as vague as possible.
- Next, improve your content for search. From captions, to on-screen and spoken text: all of these components are important for discoverability. Keyword research can help you find relevant terms to include. I mainly use Google’s keyword planner, Google trends and AnswerThePublic for this.
- Lastly, accessibility also plays an important part in SEO. So be sure to provide a short but descriptive alt text for your post and include the main keyword. Not too many brands are investing in accessibility right now, so again, this is an easy win. Btw, don’t just assume you don’t need it because you’re posting on a visual platform. This excludes users with a visual impairment and that’s not okay. I literally had a discussion with a lead on this topic once and it’s flat out discrimination.
So is this the end of hashtags?
No, not exactly. But it is the end of flooding your posts with irrelevant hashtags. In fact, Instagram’s Adam Mosseri has stated that hashtags won’t help your reach and using generic hashtags can even hurt the performance of your post. So niche is the way to go, as well as minimizing the amount of hashtags to 3 or 5. After all, hashtags still serve a purpose for categorization. But please, do me one favour. Unless you’re Coca Cola or Apple, avoid branded hashtags at all costs.
The conclusion? Hashtags are out, social SEO is in, so change gears accordingly. Complete your profile with relevant keywords, prioritise discoverability in your content, add alt text and be sparse with the hashtags.
Want more social media tips? Check out how to manage your community during a crisis and what not to do.