Instagram’s hashtags can sometimes stop working and your reach can drop drastically. Useless hashtags will stop getting commissions on views, likes and comments. Most of the time, it happens through the user’s own fault and bad hashtag practices. However, sometimes a bug or technical difficulties at the end of Instagram are to blame.
If you’re experiencing hashtag issues, rest assured you’re not alone and millions of Insta users are in trouble. Let’s look at the most common hashtag problems and how to fix them.
There are many reasons why hashtags stop working. Here is a list of the most common causes and tips on how to fix or overcome them.
If you’re serious about increasing your visibility on Instagram, you may have done your homework and found the most popular hashtags for your niche. No matter how good it is to stuff your posts with the most competitive hashtags, it’s a double-edged sword.
While your posts will rank high in recent posts for added hashtags, they will quickly be replaced by loads of other posts with similar hashtags.
It is very difficult to stand out among hundreds of thousands or millions of similar posts. So, tweaking your hashtag strategy a bit can actually give you a chance to reach more people. Choose hashtags that are not among the most popular but still relevant to your field.
One of the biggest sins of using hashtags on Instagram is constant repetition. If you posted a post that was wildly popular and decided to apply the same set of hashtags to subsequent posts, Instagram will penalize you.
You can lose traffic and exposure. Also, Instagram can shadow you for spamming other users. A series of posts with the same hashtags is a sign that you are trying to cheat the system and artificially increase your numbers instead of constantly providing valuable content.
To avoid being flagged as spam and being shadowbaned, you should make a list of at least 40 to 50 (the more, the better) relevant hashtags that you will translate between posts. This way, you not only stay under Instagram’s cheating radars, but also diversify the reach of your posts.
This is a sin that many Instagram users are guilty of. With 30 available hashtag slots per post, it’s easy to include hashtags that have nothing to do with the post. Also, using hashtags that are too generic can land you in the circle of irrelevant hashtags of Instagram hell.
Because users don’t like to see content unrelated to the hashtags they follow, Instagram penalized profiles that used irrelevant or inappropriate hashtags in their posts.
To avoid this problem, research your niche thoroughly to see what works and apply it to your profile. Also, be sure to update your list of relevant hashtags from time to time as some of them may become obsolete over time, especially if they are linked to certain events related to your niche.
Instagram limits the number of hashtags per post to 30. Although various experts and sources claim that different number strategies are best, there is no official guideline on the optimal number. Some may say adding just 5-10 per post is the way to go, while others may swear on the Bible that using all 30 available hashtag slots in each post is the right thing to do.
The truth is, no one can give you the definitive answer to this question. If you suspect you’re using the wrong number of hashtags, start experimenting with the numbers and see what works for you and your profile.
Stay on your feet though, because Instagram periodically changes its algorithm. This means that a strategy that worked wonders last year could completely ruin your reach this year.
Among the many reasons why hashtags don’t work, the use of banned hashtags is in the top ten. As of this writing, Instagram has banned more than 114,000 hashtags.
You can expect to find clear, violent and discriminatory labels on the ban box, and you’re right. However, as unlikely as it may seem, Instagram has also banned a number of completely innocent and unassuming hashtags. For example, #happyThanksgiving, #kansas, #desk and #books are on Instagram’s ban list.
Added to the list in 2019 include #mileycyrus, #parties, #prettygirl, #likeforlike, #pushups, #sopretty, #kissing, #humpday, #curvy, #beyonce, #americangirl, #stud, #valentinesday, #women and others.
Your Profile Has Been Marked as Spam or Shadow Banned
Finally, if you’ve broken the rules too much in the past, Instagram may have flagged your profile as Spam. Alternatively, you may have been shadowbaned as a repeat offender. In both cases, you will be allowed to continue to post, but your access will be limited to users who already follow your profile and your posts will not be shown to new users.
Instagram’s strict anti-spam policy is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it’s great for cleaning up intentional spammers and users who are clearly trying to abuse or abuse the platform. On the other hand, shadowban attractive can also attract many unintentional spammers and inexperienced users.
You should read Instagram’s Terms of Use and Community Guidelines thoroughly to avoid spam badge and shadow ban. You should also take some time to improve your hashtag game and potentially improve the content you post.
See Your Account Grow Again
If your profile has suffered from bad hashtag strategies in the past and there are very few accounts that don’t, your best bet is to review your posts and see where you went wrong. Take some time to learn what works and what doesn’t, and your profile will soon be on the fast track to recovery.
Have you had issues with hashtags in the past and how have they affected your profile’s performance? What is the best hashtag strategy you know and use? Tell us all about it in the comments below.
