Hashtags Today Are Everywhere – Learn How To Use Them To Get Results

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Hashtags Today For Search Optimization

Hashtags today are everywhere today. No longer is Twitter the only social networking site you visit where you will see the use of #hashtags. They now can be found on Facebook, Google+, You Tube, Instagram and even  your own blog posts you can have hashtags. Everywhere and anywhere the use of hashtags has grown over the past year alone. How do you know if you are using them correctly? How many can you use on the different social networking sites? Learn how to use them on different social networks and how the SEO benefit of them can help your posts be found today.

Using Hashtags Today The Right Way On Different Social Networks

Twitter – Twitter was the first place hashtags began to be used since the 1970′s. Hashtags in the 1970′s were first used in programming. (They were used back then to label groups and mark special meanings).  Hashtags appeared on Twitter in 2009 and became trending topics in 2010. On Twitter, the best use of hashtags today is one or two per tweet. If you are using anymore hashtags than that you will appear spammy.

Vine – Vine is another video social website that integrates the use of hashtags just like Twitter. Be sure to use them there as well.

Facebook – Hashtags appeared on Facebook in 2013. They did not go over too well there and misuse of them there will make you look real spammy.  They should be used sparingly on Facebook.

Google+ – Now with Google+ you can use more hashtags and at times they will appear automatically in your stream.

Google+ automatically adds some hashtags. You can add your own or delete theirs. @Lisapatb @jakerluk

— Peg Fitzpatrick (@PegFitzpatrick) December 30, 2013

Check out this post in Google+ with several hashtags being used: (This one came up on page one of Google if you search the word hashtag.)

Instagram – This photo sharing social site uses many hashtags per post. I’ve found the more you use the easier it is for others to find your post.  Just be sure the words you use for your hashtags make sense. You can use Hashtagig to find the most popular hashtags on Instagram today.

Tumblr – Tumblr is a microblogging platform and social networking site that uses hashtags often to get your posts seen by more people. You don’t need (though many do including myself for a while) to use the # sign in front of your hashtags on Tumblr, they have a section under your post just for tags. Put a coma after each word and hit enter, that will be your hashtag and the # will appear. You can have as many as you want again as long as they make sense.

Pinterest – Let’s not forget to use hashtags today on this social image sharing site. Remember, some pins may appear years later with the right choice of hashtags.

YouTube – Using hashtags in your title on YouTube will help your videos get seen in search. It will also help those in your circles on Google+. I asked Ms. Ileane the Queen of YouTube how she uses hashtags on YouTube. Here is her response:

I’m not using hashtags in my YouTube titles but I use them when I share on other social networks. I reserved a Tagboard for #youtubetips and on occasion I find great people to follow from the tagboard. I also use that hashtag when I share on Google+. I’d love to hear more about people finding success using hashtags in YouTube titles so I can add it to a YouTube optimization list I’m currently creating.

LinkedIn – LinkedIn also started using hashtags back in February of 2013. A few months later they dropped the integration of hashtags. Hashtags no longer work on LinkedIn.  They will NOT be in highlighted text nor link to anything. So NO need to use hashtags today on LinkedIn.

With the Hummingbird update on Google hashtags today are like a form of SEO. They help your posts and pages be found more easily in the Google search. They can be used to help improve your visibility online not only on Google but in social search and other search engines like Bing.

Resources To Help You Use Hashtags More Effectively

Hashcore Plugin - You may remember the post I did on this one back in September. It is a plugin that allows you to use a hashtag today in your posts. When you hover over a hashtag you can see what others are tweeting with that same hashtag. This post had some additional resources for you to pick out the best hashtags.

RiteTag Optimizer – I love this new tool by Saul Fleischman. I have it right on my Chrome browser and it helps to pick hashtags and track them for you as well. It looks like this:

Trendsmaps – Great for finding out what is trending locally. You see which hashtags today are trending in your local area or another area of the world.  You can pay $9 – $19 /mo. for additional services with bells and whistles.

What The Trend – This is another alternative to see what is trending today and right now. It’s a quick way to see what is trending and you can choose by country.

Hshtags – A social media search engine dedicated to hashtags. This one is really cool as you enter a word and you can see what’s being said about it across many social networking sites.

There are hundreds of more websites that can help you choose hashtags more wisely and search the most popular ones of the day, time or place. I like to use the examples above from ones I’ve used and really liked. Do you have a favorite among them?

How are you using hashtags today?

Do you use hashtags today differently on the different social networking sites?

Top Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net