31/05/2026
I was on a call with a client last week when she asked me the question I get more than any other right now: “do I still need hashtags?”
She had a folder of 30 saved hashtags she copied into every single post. Eight years in this space and I’ve watched that habit go from essential to almost pointless, so I told her what I’ll tell you.
Instagram no longer relies on hashtags to understand your content.
It works like a search engine now.
How often do you search for something on Instagram now instead of Google?
A recipe, a hairdresser near you, a business that does exactly what you need. It reads your caption word for word, scans the text on your screen, and listens to what you say to camera.
That’s how it decides what your content is about and who to show it to.
Which is why her photo dumps with a single heart emoji as the caption were going nowhere.
No words means no topic, no audience, no reason for the algorithm to push it.
The moment we started writing captions with clear keywords her ideal client would search, her reach climbed. Same content, completely different signal.
It’s also why Instagram is testing captions on every carousel slide.
More words it can read, more context per post. That tells you everything about where this is going.
So yes, keep your hashtags, but trim them to 3 to 5 niche ones and let your keywords carry the post.
If you’re ready to create content Instagram understands and pushes, my 3-Month Content Plan is a custom strategy I build for your business.
Comment “CONTENT PLAN” below for more info in your DMs.
