[FAQ]

Hi everyone,

I’m creating content regularly on LinkedIn and I’m always a bit unsure about the best hashtag strategy. I see some people using only one or two, while others use a long string of them at the end of their posts.

What is the current best practice in mid-2025 for the number of hashtags one should use on a single post to get the best results in terms of reach and engagement? I’m particularly worried that using too many might look spammy or even hurt the post’s performance in the algorithm.

Curious to hear what the data or your experience suggests. Thanks!

[Jeff Bullas]

The approach to using hashtags on LinkedIn is quite different from other social media platforms. On LinkedIn, the consensus and widely accepted best practice lean heavily towards using a smaller number of highly relevant hashtags.

The general recommendation from both LinkedIn itself and from marketing experts is to use between three and five hashtags per post. This range is considered the sweet spot. Using more than five can start to look cluttered or spammy to a professional audience and may not provide any significant additional benefit in terms of reach. In some cases, using too many irrelevant tags could even dilute the focus of your post for the algorithm.

The strategy for choosing these few hashtags is also important. First, you should aim for a mix of broader and more niche tags. For instance, you might use one or two broad, high-volume hashtags that are relevant to your overall industry (such as #leadership or #digitalmarketing) to expose your post to a wider audience.

Second, you should then use another two or three specific, niche hashtags that are directly related to the exact topic of your post (such as #contentstrategy or #b2bprospecting). These help you connect with a more targeted and often more engaged audience that is actively following or searching for that specific subject matter.

Third, you might also consider consistently including one branded hashtag for your personal brand or company (for example, #YourCompanyNameUpdates) to categorise your own content and make it easily searchable.

To assist with this process of selecting the right mix of hashtags, my team has put together a free ‘LinkedIn Hashtag Checklist’ you can use. You can find it at https://www.jeffbullas.com/docs/linkedin-hashtag-checklist/.

These hashtags can be placed at the end of your post for a clean look, or they can be woven naturally into the sentences of your post itself if it makes sense and reads well.

The reason fewer hashtags are more effective on LinkedIn is that the platform’s professional audience generally responds better to clean, focused, and uncluttered content. A long list of hashtags can appear unprofessional and detract from the core message of your post. The algorithm is designed to prioritise the quality of the content and the relevance of the discussion, with hashtags serving as a supporting tool for categorisation and discovery, not the primary driver of reach.

In summary, the best practice for LinkedIn is to use between three and five highly relevant hashtags per post. Focus on a strategic mix of broad and niche tags, and avoid the “more is better” approach that is common on other platforms.

Cheers,

Jeff

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