You probably know what hashtags are. I will tell you 5 pillars to design a hashtag SEO plan that maximizes the organic reach of your content.
First pillar: do you really know what hashtags are?
The first pillar to drawing up a hashtag strategy for SEO is to know what hashtags are.
In technical terms, a hashtag is a clickable metadata tag preceded by a pound (#). A hashtag is made up of a sequence of characters that make up one or more words in a concatenated manner.
To understand what hashtags are, we can compare them with the keywords of web search engines. By putting a tag on a post we are indicating that this content is related to the tag itself.
Hashtags allow you to organically reach an audience specifically interested in your content. They expand reach visibility and interaction.
Three ways hashtags expand the reach of your content
With one click. When a user clicks on a hashtag, the social network shows all the publications that used it
In search engines. Social networks allow you to search for content by hashtags
Following hashtags. This function is enabled on some social networks such as Twitter, Instagram, or Linkedin. When a user follows a hashtag that you use, your content appears directly on their biography even if they don't know your profile
In addition, hashtags allow you to discover new audiences: by clicking on a hashtag you can see all the users who have used it.
Second pillar: how hashtags improve your SEO positioning
You already know what hashtags are, but what is their relationship with SEO positioning?
Using relevant hashtags makes it possible for the social media algorithm to understand your content. Therefore, Hashtag increases the organic reach of your publications and improves your SEO positioning in search engines. In this way, hashtags help to overcome the limits of your community.
The first step to improving your SEO positioning is to optimize your biography with key hashtags for your niche. Don't underestimate this step! It will make your profile appear in the first places in the searches carried out by users.
Understanding what hashtags are is knowing how they can improve the SEO positioning of your posts. Using hashtags relevant to your audience will make the algorithm show your content among the first results in its internal search engines.
At the same time, the use of hashtags extends the organic reach. The algorithm better understands your content and ranks your post as relevant to your audience. With this, your publications will appear to a greater extent on the homepage of your users.
Third pillar: classification for optimized use
The third pillar to outline your hashtag strategy for SEO in social networks is to identify the different types of hashtags:
1. What are generic hashtags:
Generic or popular hashtags are those that are widely used. They have a large volume of publications and can be a trend. They are generic tags. For example:
the identity of a community (#healthylives),
the name of a product (#sportswear),
a geographical location (#lima),
a time of year (#Christmas), among others
These hashtags expand your visibility. However, due to the large volume of publications that they bring together, they can easily make your content get lost. Therefore, they must be complemented with the following types of hashtags.
2. What are niche hashtags:
They are hashtags that are specific and relevant to your business. They are the keywords that your audience searches to locate your products or services. These hashtags have a lower volume of traffic but are highly effective in attracting your ideal customer.
3. What are brand hashtags
Brand hashtags are hashtags created to position the image and personality of your company. They may be:
the name of your company
words that you consider relevant to the identity of your products,
hashtags created to boost a campaign
These hashtags are useful for generating engagement and community. You can encourage your audience to use them to show their satisfaction with your products and their commitment to your brand.
Fourth pillar: 10 good practices for your SEO positioning
You already know what hashtags are, how to classify them, and their relationship with SEO positioning. It is time to consider some general recommendations to optimize your hashtag strategy for SEO:
Plan your hashtags along with your content schedule. Ask yourself what story you want to tell through your posts and what keywords are the narrative core of each post. It will be the door to your hashtags.
Analyze your hashtags. You need to identify which hashtags are relevant to your audience. You can start by researching social media search engines and reviewing what hashtags your audience uses in related groups or pages.
Differentiate your hashtags according to social network. Not necessarily the same hashtag works on all networks.
Diversify your hashtags. Use the different types to combine visibility and reach among your potential audience with engagement among your current users.
Vary your hashtags: Your posts will show different aspects or dimensions of your value proposition. Make sure you have specific hashtags that maximize the reach of each post
Check the trends. If your content corresponds to a trending hashtag, do not hesitate to use it.
Don't abuse popular hashtags. If there is no match between a popular hashtag and your content, don't use it. You will mislead your audience and the algorithm.
Use hashtags that reflect your brand even if they don't mention it. Use values or defining characteristics of your brand that are easily assimilated by your audience.
Review a hashtag before using it. Check that the publications made are associated with the image you want to give of your business
Measure your hashtags. Use web analytics tools to measure the reach and interaction that your hashtags bring
Fifth Pillar: What are hashtags and how do they work on each social network?
What are hashtags on Twitter?
Twitter is the information and debate network par excellence. When choosing your hashtags, you should think about what information you are offering and what debates you want to participate in.
Recommendations:
Use up to two hashtags. A generic hashtag linked to the topic of your tweet and a hashtag from your brand. Using more hashtags can decrease your reach by up to 20%. Keep in mind that the network prioritizes the consistency of your content.
Check the trending topics and use them if there is correspondence with your content.
Place the hashtag in an integrated way with the text as long as it does not affect the fluency in reading
Use short hashtags. Tweeter is the network of synthesis.
Avoid hashtags that use well-known brands. They will not contribute to your positioning
What are hashtags on instagram?
The ability to expand your reach and visibility on Instagram thanks to hashtags is enormous. The key is the diversification of your hashtags
Use up to 5 hashtags in a diversified way. Two general, two niches, and one brand.
Make sure your images match your hashtags. When users search, they see an image or video. If the image is not related to your hashtag, users will dismiss your post.
Place your hashtags in an integrated way to your copy as long as it does not affect the flow of reading. In order not to invade your reader, you can place your hashtags at the end of your post, separated from your copy by points.
If you offer products locally, use hashtags related to your location.
Do not use hashtags from more than 1 million posts. They are saturated hashtags and your post will be lost in an avalanche of content
What are hashtags on Facebook?
On Facebook, the reach of hashtags decreases because user profiles are private. However, search engines allow you to locate hashtags and your business page is public. Therefore hashtags will be effective for your audience to find you.
Use up to two hashtags in your posts. One with a key topic for your sector and one related specifically to your content.
It is recommended to write in capital letters to facilitate reading
Hashtags are key allies for your SEO positioning on social networks. They increase your visibility and reach, allow you to find audiences specifically interested in your content, and contribute to generating engagement and community. However, for all this to happen you must develop a hashtag SEO plan. That is, identify the keywords for your audience and establish an exact correspondence with your content. Think about your value proposition, think about the story you want to convey. You will have the gateway to your successful hashtags.