Hashtag Selection for More Likes on Instagram

Your number of likes on Instagram directly affects who the algorithm shows your post to. Hashtags are one of the most critical signals for this visibility. With the right hashtag selection, you can reach not only your current followers but also thousands of new users whose interests align with yours.

As emphasized on the Instagram Help pages, hashtags are one of the fundamental mechanisms for discoverability. However, simply stacking popular tags does not guarantee likes; on the contrary, using the wrong hashtags can cause your post to get lost.

We can roughly summarize the impact of hashtags on likes under three headings:

• Reach: Tags allow your post to appear on Explore and hashtag search pages.
• Relevance: Tags that align with your content help you reach genuinely interested users, increasing your like rate.
• Signal strength: Well-chosen, niche, and targeted tags send Instagram a signal that “This content suits this audience.”

Platforms like Sepetbayım, which provide social media tools in Turkey, offer additional visibility opportunities to support your hashtag strategy. However, for long-term, sustainable like growth, your foundation should always be a healthy hashtag structure.

Why do hashtags still work?

The question “Are hashtags outdated?” has been asked frequently in recent years. As we explain in detail in the Sepetbayım blog guide Do Instagram hashtags still work in 2026?, hashtags are not the sole determining factor of the algorithm but remain a strong source of signals.

Especially:

• For organic discovery on small and medium-sized accounts
• To reach niche communities (e.g., #ankarafoodies)
• To facilitate tracking in campaigns, giveaways, and series content

they are highly effective. The key is to make a data-driven and purpose-focused choice rather than guessing. In the following sections, we will walk you through this data-driven approach to increase your likes step by step.

Before choosing hashtags for more likes, you need to understand how the algorithm interprets these tags. Instagram classifies your post not only by the hashtags you use but by analyzing the image, text, audio, and interactions together.

Content analysis and topic matching

Instagram uses artificial intelligence to scan objects in the image, words in the text, and speech in the audio. If your hashtag aligns with the content, the algorithm treats this tag as a strong topic signal. If there is no alignment, the tag’s effect weakens significantly.

• If there is coffee in the photo but the #fitness tag is used, the algorithm considers this an irrelevant signal.
• If the image shows coffee, the caption mentions coffee, and the #3rdwavecoffee tag is used, the signal is consistent.

Engagement rate and tag performance

The algorithm pays great attention to interactions (likes, comments, saves) received in the first minutes after your post is published. These interactions also determine the “quality” of the hashtags you used.

1. If your post receives above-average engagement in the streams of the hashtags you selected, the algorithm pushes your post to wider audiences.
2. Conversely, if not, the content is marked as a “weak signal” for that hashtag, and its visibility drops quickly.

Spam and banned hashtag signals

Instagram may partially or fully restrict some hashtags used for spam or violating its policies. Frequent use of such tags can negatively affect the reach of your entire account.

Warning: For every hashtag you use, click on it and check the latest posts. If you see adult content, bot posts, or “account restricted” warnings, stop using that tag immediately.

For safer and more sustainable growth, you should also review Instagram’s official policies and community guidelines. It is beneficial to regularly follow the Instagram Help Center for updates.

Relying solely on popular hashtags for more likes almost never works. The right strategy is to balance tags of different sizes. To get both quick engagement and long-term discoverability, you should use three main categories:

• Very popular (broad)
• Mid-level (targeted)
• Niche (very specific)

How to measure hashtag size?

On each hashtag page, you see the number of posts shared with that tag. This number gives a quick idea of competition level. Below is a sample classification table (prepared considering typical scales in the Turkish market):

What does an ideal hashtag basket look like?

Instagram no longer enforces the 30 hashtag limit strictly; 8–20 is generally considered healthy. A typical like-focused basket might be:

• 3–5 very popular hashtags
• 5–10 mid-level hashtags
• 5–10 niche hashtags

For more detailed recommendations on this approach, you can also check our Reels hashtag selection guide. The logic there can be easily adapted to photo and carousel posts as well.

The way to permanently increase your number of likes is to avoid the trap of “appealing to everyone” and choose clear niches. When you niche down, a significant portion of users who discover you genuinely like and appreciate your content.

Thinking framework by content type

For every new post, ask yourself these questions:

1. Who benefits from or is entertained by this post?
2. Which city, age group, interest, or profession is it specifically for?
3. What are the main objects, places, and emotions in the post?

You can directly turn these answers into hashtags. For example, if you share a coffee photo:

• General: #coffee, #coffeetime
• City: #istanbulcoffee, #kadikoycoffee
• Niche: #3rdwavecoffee, #v60brew

Like-focused niche examples

Below are niche examples that can bring likes for different account types:

• Fashion account: #minimalstyle, #basicwoman, #istanbulstreetstyle
• Food account: #homecookingrecipes, #istanbulfoodguide, #gaziantepkitchen
• Fitness account: #homeworkout, #womenfitnessturkey, #weightgainwanted

As you clarify your niche, you use the additional visibility gained from Sepetbayım’s password-free tools more efficiently. For example, with the free Instagram likes tool, you can catch the initial wave of engagement and increase organic likes with the right niche hashtags in a domino effect.

Accounts a few steps ahead of you in likes on Instagram are your strongest “data source” in the same niche. You need to analyze and adapt their hashtag strategy rather than copying it.

Step-by-step competitor hashtag analysis

You can create your own hashtag library with the simple process below:

1. Identify 10–15 accounts in your niche. Their follower counts should be slightly higher than yours, with strong engagement rates.
2. Look at their last 20–30 posts. Mark the posts with the most likes.
3. Note the hashtags that repeat in these posts. Those with high repetition may be the “backbone” tags of your niche.
4. Examine each tag individually. Filter out those with extreme post counts (less than 10 or over 10M).

Categorize hashtag lists

Instead of keeping collected tags mixed, divide them into categories like:

• General niche tags
• City/country-based tags
• Trending and seasonal tags
• Brand and campaign tags

This way, for each new post, you can prepare a strong hashtag basket within minutes by selecting and editing from the relevant category.

Additionally, by reading the Sepetbayım blog posts How to grow an Instagram account? and Does buying likes really increase engagement?, you can align your competitor analysis results with your overall growth strategy.

There is no single “best number of hashtags” on Instagram because it varies by niche, content type, and audience. However, many data analyses and field experience show some common sensible ranges.

Practical ranges for hashtag count

For a general content creator, safe starting ranges can be summarized as:

• Photo and carousel posts: 10–20 hashtags
• Reels: 5–15 hashtags
• Story: 1–5 hashtags

Even though you can use up to 30 tags, choosing fewer but higher quality tags usually performs better. You should run small A/B tests on your account to find the best range.

Should hashtags be in the caption or the first comment?

Currently, there are two approaches:

1. Hashtags in the caption: More transparent, all tags are in one place. Especially perceived as more professional by brands.
2. Hashtags in the first comment: Keeps the caption clean; preferred by accounts with high aesthetic concerns.

Instagram’s official statements do not specify a clear ranking advantage for hashtag placement. What matters is:

• Adding them immediately after posting (within the first 1–2 minutes)
• Using relevant and non-spammy tags in any case

During growth, to accelerate engagement, you can also test free Instagram follower and free Instagram view tools. Combining the initial engagement wave from these tools with correct hashtag placement sends strong signals to the algorithm to show your post to more people.

While trying to get more likes, you may unknowingly reduce your account’s reach. This is often due to banned or risky hashtags. Instagram may partially or fully hide certain tags due to spam, nudity, hate speech, or other policy violations.

How to recognize banned hashtags

Some signs that a tag might be risky include:

• The “Recent Posts” section is missing on the hashtag page
• Very few posts, most from foreign bot accounts
• Warning messages shown by Instagram

Even some very general and long-used tags can be restricted periodically. Therefore, it’s important to recheck your permanent tags from time to time.

Hashtag behaviors that create spam perception

Not only banned tags but also your usage patterns can put your account at risk:

1. Using the same block of 25–30 hashtags on every post
2. Adding tags unrelated to the content just because they are popular
3. Using foreign language tags that don’t match your target audience

These can cause the algorithm to categorize your account as “template user, low-quality content.” Instead:

• Keep a core list of 8–10 tags fixed and update the rest according to the post.
• Once a month, remove low-performing tags and test new ones.

For more awareness on account security and data protection, you can visit the official KVKK page and the KVKK disclosure text on Sepetbayım’s site. This is especially important long-term for commercial or influencer accounts.

You have set your strategy, created good hashtag sets, and started using them. Now you reach the most critical stage: measurement. You can’t improve what you don’t measure. The goal is to find which tags really bring likes and systematically use them more.

Using Instagram Insights

When you switch to a business or creator account, you can see detailed statistics for each post. The following data is especially important:

• Reach sources: Explore, hashtag, profile, home feed, etc.
• Likes per post: Compare within similar content
• Saves and shares: Evaluate alongside likes

Since detailed hashtag-level reporting is not directly provided, you need to track this manually or with a spreadsheet.

Creating a simple hashtag performance table

You can prepare a table with the following columns in Excel, Google Sheets, or Notion:

• Date
• Post link
• Content type (photo, carousel, reels)
• List of hashtags used
• Total likes
• Hashtag-driven reach (from Instagram Insights)

By comparing similar content types together, you identify “fast-like” and “underperforming” tag clusters. When combined with your long-term growth plans, you can use boosts from platforms like Sepetbayım much more effectively.

For a broader measurement perspective, we recommend checking other posts in the analysis and measurement category.

You can apply the hashtag logic you learn on Instagram to other platforms, but each network has different dynamics. Since Sepetbayım offers password-free tools for Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X, knowing these differences will be useful.

Instagram vs TikTok hashtag usage

On TikTok, hashtags are closely related to For You Page (FYP) dynamics. The TikTok community guidelines also emphasize the importance of correct tagging. General differences:

• While 10–20 hashtags are reasonable on Instagram, 3–8 are more common on TikTok.
• Trending tags on TikTok change very quickly; daily checks are necessary.
• Video content and sound effects often carry as much or more weight than hashtags.

To support TikTok visibility, you can try free TikTok views and free TikTok likes tools to run quick tests with trending tags.

Instagram vs Twitter/X hashtag logic

On Twitter/X, hashtags are more important for tracking trends and real-time conversations. Official rules are available on the X terms of service page. General differences:

• On Twitter, 1–3 strong hashtags usually perform better than a long list.
• Hashtags are integrated within the text; adding them as a block at the end like on Instagram is less common.
• Trending topic tags can bring instant visibility but have a very short lifespan.

On Twitter, you can also strategically use free Twitter likes and free Twitter retweet tools to accelerate initial visibility and grow organic engagement with the right hashtag matches.

You have built a strong hashtag strategy, your content is high quality, and your niche is clear. Still, especially in the early stages, it may take time for the algorithm to notice you. This is where ad-supported and user-free tools can step in to speed up the process.

Password-free, risk-reduced growth approach

One of Sepetbayım’s standout features is offering tools for your Instagram/TikTok/Twitter accounts without passwords. This significantly reduces account security risks. For example:

• When you start a new content series, you can speed up initial engagement on the first posts with free Instagram followers and free Instagram likes tools.
• You can combine this initial wave with the right hashtag set to help the algorithm show your post to more relevant audiences.

Maintaining balance for long-term growth

Important point: You should use external tools not as a replacement but alongside your organic strategy. That means:

1. Hashtag and content quality should always be your core strategy.
2. Use Sepetbayım tools to test new content formats or speed up visibility in specific campaigns.
3. Regularly measure performance results and analyze which combinations (content type + hashtag set + external tool support) bring you the most likes.

For constantly updated tactics, algorithm changes, and platform tips, follow the Sepetbayım blog, especially the Instagram category, to keep your hashtag strategy always current.