Why Can't You See Your Post On Instagram Hashtags? (Everything You Should Know) -

The good old hashtag for Instagram has been such a powerful tool to reach wider audiences than ever before. However, if your posts aren’t showing up on Instagram hashtags, nobody is going to see it.

The most likely culprit for why your posts isn’t displaying under your chosen hashtags is that your account has been shadow banned by Instagram. This is a somewhat new initiative that Instagram has taken to eliminate spam accounts being able to reach users, but there are some unintended consequences to this action.

Shadow banning may not be the only cause of this issue, and there are ways to prevent all of the potential reasons why your posts aren’t showing in hashtags on Instagram.

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Why Can’t You See Your Post on Instagram Hashtags?

There are several reasons why you can’t see your post on Instagram hashtags. The most common cause is shadow banning. This could happen if you violate Instagram’s policies regarding hashtag usage. This misuse may have been accidental, but Instagram doesn’t have the appropriate tools to discern intent versus accident.

Essentially what happens is that Instagram will block other users from being able to see the photo, video, or reel that was meant to accompany that hashtag. This can be incredibly frustrating, especially if you’ve worked hard on your post, only to have its reach become limited.

Why Shadow banning Happens On Instagram

Shadow banning on Instagram will hide your posts from being seen by others, including when they are searching for a popular hashtag. Your posts may be shadow banned on Instagram because you have used hashtags improperly according to Instagram’s guidelines.

If you use hashtags that have been banned by Instagram, your posts can also be blocked from being seen. It’s worth taking a moment to search the hashtag you want to use in the search bar and checking recent activity. If the hashtag is banned, clicking on the Recent tab will show you a message stating such.

However, Instagram doesn’t call this practice shadow banning. The explanation that Instagram has given – outside of hashtags being abused or used for spamming purposes – is that not all posts that use a certain hashtag will make it to the explore page.

This is because Instagram’s algorithm will filter posts based on what they believe is more relevant to those who would be searching that hashtag. When your post is shadow banned, only your followers will see the post, which defeats the purpose of using hashtags.

How To Remove A Shadow ban On Instagram

The best practice is preventing any type of activity that could be deemed a violation of Instagram’s policy. Stay away from using bots and be wary of any services you might consider working with to help improve your Instagram content.

You should also be cautious when adding hashtags to your posts. You’ll likely already know how to play with popular hashtags, but you shouldn’t overload your posts with hashtags that mean nothing to your content or brand just because they’re popular. Instagram might look at this as spam or may not favor including your post in the Explore page.

If you notice that your post is being restricted in its reach because of a bad hashtag, you can simply remove it and see if that helps. There are certain hashtags that either get banned by Instagram or are restricted in their usage.

Why You Can’t See Your Post On Hashtags; Other Reasons

Hashtags must be used with a certain amount of forethought for them to be effective. You should be researching hashtags relevant to your niche every month or two and keep a working list of hashtags you can try. If you type in a bunch of hashtags that don’t make sense for your post, your post won’t be spread through Instagram.

Outside of using hashtags that don’t work for your content, you want to avoid hashtags that are too general in their scope. These vague hashtags won’t get your content noticed because they aren’t likely to be searched.

You might be tempted to overload your post with as many relevant hashtags as possible, but that’s not your best course of action to get noticed. Too many hashtags could be concealing your content. Using the exact same hashtags in every post is also not recommended. These practices can get accounts flagged as spam, even when they aren’t.

Tips For Using Hashtags Properly

Hashtags are a bit of a science in that when they work, they work well. Hashtags are also evolving often, so you need to be on top of what’s relevant, what works for your niche, and which hashtags are oversaturated. As mentioned, too much of a good thing – in this case, hashtags – can be a bad thing.

You want to use specific hashtags that relate to either the content you are posting or the audience you are wanting to capture. Leave all the other hashtags out of your post. You should only be implementing trendy hashtags when it makes sense for what you’re posting. Don’t overload on hashtags either; stick to between five and ten, and don’t try to go over 30.

Having a master list of hashtags that you like to use is helpful and can save you a lot of time. That said, you should change up the hashtags you use in each post. If you use the exact same ones in every single post, your account could be flagged as spam. Updating that list occasionally will also help you avoid becoming an inadvertent repeat offender.

Final Thoughts

Instagram seems to constantly involve, which can be a blessing and a curse when you rely on the platform to boost your reach, engage new followers, and get your product, service, or brand noticed. Hashtags are a revolutionary tool that helps you do this, but when your posts aren’t showing in Instagram’s hashtags, all that effort seems wasted.

It’s always worth refining the hashtags you use, changing them up based on trends, and review what has worked for your posts versus what has resulted in your post not showing on Instagram’s Explore page.

Why Can’t You See Your Post On Instagram Hashtags? (Everything You Should Know)