Every LinkedIn guide you've read in the past five years probably told you the same thing: use 3-5 relevant hashtags on every post.

Some guides were more specific. "Use exactly 3." "No, use 5." "Never use more than 10." "Mix broad and niche hashtags." "Research trending hashtags weekly." There was an entire cottage industry of LinkedIn hashtag advice. People were spending 10-15 minutes per post researching the perfect combination of hashtags, as if "#GrowthMindset" was the secret ingredient separating their 23-like post from someone else's 2,300-like post.

We tested this. We stopped using hashtags. Engagement didn't change. On some posts, it went up.

Here's what's actually going on. And yes, this means you can reclaim those 10-15 minutes.

The History: When Hashtags Actually Worked

Hashtags on LinkedIn weren't always pointless. In 2019-2022, they were a genuine discovery mechanism. This is important context because it explains why so much hashtag advice exists. The advice wasn't wrong when it was written. It's just obsolete now.

The way it worked: you'd follow a hashtag like #Marketing or #SaaS. LinkedIn would then show you posts tagged with that hashtag, regardless of whether you were connected to the author. Hashtags were a distribution channel. They put your content in front of people who had explicitly asked to see that topic.

During this period, using the right hashtags could meaningfully expand your reach. A post tagged #SalesStrategy would appear in the feeds of everyone following that hashtag. More hashtags meant more potential feeds. The "3-5 hashtags" advice was based on real mechanics and real testing. It was good advice. In 2021.

That was three to four years ago. The platform has changed significantly since then. The advice hasn't.

Pro tip: If you're reading LinkedIn growth advice, always check when it was published. A guide from 2021 might as well be from a different platform. LinkedIn's algorithm gets meaningful updates multiple times per year. Advice that's 2-3 years old is often dangerously outdated.

What Changed: The Shift to Interest-Graph Distribution

LinkedIn's algorithm now runs on interest-graph distribution. Instead of relying on hashtags to categorize content, it reads the full text of your post, analyzes the topic, identifies relevant audiences based on their engagement patterns and distributes accordingly.

In other words, LinkedIn doesn't need you to tag your post #AI. It can read your post, determine that it's about AI and show it to people who engage with AI content. The algorithm is doing the categorization work that hashtags used to do. It's like when GPS made paper maps obsolete. The paper maps still work (technically), but nobody needs them because a better system is doing the same job automatically.

This shift happened gradually through 2023-2024. By 2025 the interest-graph model was fully dominant. Hashtag-following as a distribution mechanism was quietly deprioritized. LinkedIn never made an official announcement. They just let the old system fade. No press release. No blog post. They just stopped routing meaningful traffic through hashtags and let the interest graph do its thing.

The result: hashtags now function as labels, not distribution channels. They tell readers what your post is about, but they don't meaningfully affect who sees it. It's like putting a "Fiction" sticker on a novel. The sticker tells you the genre. But it's not the reason you picked up the book.

Pro tip: You can test this yourself. Go to LinkedIn and try following a hashtag. Then watch your feed for a week. How much content are you actually seeing because of that hashtag follow? Probably very little. The interest graph is determining your feed, not your hashtag subscriptions.

The Test: What Happens When You Drop Hashtags

We ran a straightforward test. Posts with hashtags versus posts without. Same topics. Same formats. Same time slots. Same types of hooks. Same length range. We controlled for every variable we could think of.

The result: no meaningful difference in reach or engagement. Some hashtagless posts actually performed better, though the sample size isn't large enough to call that conclusive. What we can say conclusively: removing hashtags did not hurt performance. Not even slightly.

Other creators have reported similar findings. Multiple A/B tests published on the platform itself show that removing hashtags doesn't reduce distribution. A few show slight improvements. We haven't found a single credible test showing that hashtags meaningfully boost reach in 2025 or 2026.

Why would removing hashtags improve performance? A few possible reasons:

Cleaner visual presentation. Hashtags at the bottom of a post look cluttered, especially on mobile. They add blue links and visual noise that can distract from the content. Removing them makes the post look more professional and intentional. It's a subtle thing, but LinkedIn is a platform where people make snap judgments about credibility. A wall of hashtags at the bottom signals "I'm trying to game the system." No hashtags signals "I'm here to share something worth reading."

Pro tip: Look at the top creators on LinkedIn. The ones with 100K+ followers. Count how many use hashtags. You'll notice a pattern: the most successful creators rarely use them. They don't need to. Their content speaks for itself. When you see hashtags on a post, it's usually from someone who read a 2021 growth guide and is following it religiously.

More usable character space. "#LinkedInTips #ContentMarketing #GrowthStrategy #B2BSales #SocialMediaMarketing" is 87 characters. That's 87 characters you could spend on actual content. In a format where 500-1,200 characters is the sweet spot (0.83% engagement rate in our data), every character counts. Eighty-seven characters is roughly 15-20 words. That's a whole additional sentence. You could add another data point, another specific example, another line of your story. All more valuable than a string of blue links.

No accidental category-limiting. There's a theory (unconfirmed but logical) that hashtags might actually constrain distribution in some cases. If you tag a post #Marketing, the algorithm might prioritize showing it to #Marketing followers rather than the broader audience it could reach through interest-graph matching. By removing hashtags, you let the algorithm decide who should see it based on the full content, not a handful of labels.

Think about it this way: you write a post about how marketing teams should work with sales teams. You tag it #Marketing. The algorithm might route it primarily to marketing people. But the post is equally relevant to sales people, who might have seen it through interest-graph matching if the hashtag hadn't told the algorithm "this is marketing content." Without the hashtag, the algorithm reads the full text and says "this is relevant to both marketing AND sales audiences." Broader distribution.

This is speculative, but it aligns with the slight improvement some creators see when removing hashtags. We can't prove it definitively, but the logic holds.

What the Data Actually Says About Discovery

Our dataset of 10,222 posts across 494 creators tells a clear story about what drives distribution. And hashtags aren't part of it.

Here's what actually affects reach, ranked by impact:

Format

Image posts: 0.93% engagement rate.
Text posts: 0.50%.
Polls: 0.07%.

That's an 87% gap between image and text. No hashtag strategy in the world closes an 87% gap. If you're spending time on hashtag research instead of adding an image to your post, you're optimizing the wrong variable. It's like rearranging the deck chairs on a ship while ignoring the giant hole in the hull. Fix the big things first.

Pro tip: If you currently spend 10 minutes per post researching hashtags, redirect that time to creating or finding an image. A screenshot, a simple chart, a relevant photo. The 10-minute investment in an image will produce measurably better results than 10 minutes of hashtag research.

Hooks

The first two lines of your post determine whether anyone clicks "see more." In our data, the most viral posts have specific, curiosity-driven opening lines. "I'm calling it right now" (5,465 likes). "I'm ex-LinkedIn, and this is the reason why your impressions have plummeted" (2,144 likes, 688 comments).

A great hook delivers more reach than any hashtag ever could. The hook determines your click-through rate from the preview to the full post. The hashtag sits at the bottom where most people don't even see it. Most readers either click "see more" or scroll past. They never even reach the hashtags. You're optimizing a part of your post that most of your audience never sees.

Pro tip: Here's a simple test: if someone reads only your first two lines, do they want to read more? If yes, your hook works. If no, no amount of hashtags at the bottom will save it.

Comments

Comments carry roughly 8x the algorithmic weight of likes. A post with 20 likes and 10 meaningful comments gets more distribution than a post with 100 likes and 2 comments.

Writing content that prompts real comments (not "Agree?" bait, but genuinely debatable takes) is the strongest distribution lever available to you. No hashtag delivers this. A thoughtful question at the end of your post will generate more reach than 10 perfectly researched hashtags.

Pro tip: The comments that drive the most algorithmic boost are the long ones. A one-word comment ("Great!") signals low-quality engagement. A three-sentence comment where someone shares their own experience signals high-quality engagement. Write posts that make people want to share their own stories, not just drop a single word.

Timing

Tuesday: 0.92% engagement rate. Saturday: 0.46%. That's a 2x difference based on which day you publish. Hashtags don't create a 2x difference in anything. Moving your posting day from Saturday to Tuesday is free and takes zero effort. It's a bigger lever than hashtags ever were, even when they worked.

The Exception: Very Niche Professional Hashtags

There's one scenario where hashtags might still help: extremely niche professional communities.

Hashtags like #CyberSecurity, #DataScience or #SupplyChainManagement represent small, specialized audiences where topic-specific following is still somewhat active. In these niches, the people following the hashtag are genuinely looking for that specific content. They're not casual followers. They're actively seeking professional information in a narrow domain.

Software Engineering content in our data has a 2.57% engagement rate, the highest of any category. This suggests that niche professional audiences are highly engaged. If niche hashtags help surface your content to even a fraction of that audience, the ROI might be worth it.

But even in this case, we're talking about marginal gains. The hashtag might bring you an extra 5-10% of your impressions at best. It's not going to transform a mediocre post into a hit. It's a rounding error, not a strategy.

If you're in a niche professional field, try one or two highly specific hashtags. Not five generic ones. #SupplyChainOptimization is potentially worth it. #Business is not. And track whether they make a difference for your specific audience. Run 10 posts with and 10 posts without. Compare the results. If there's no difference (there probably won't be), stop using them.

For most creators posting about broader topics (marketing, leadership, entrepreneurship, AI), skip them entirely. Your time is better spent on literally anything else.

Pro tip: If you do use niche hashtags, put them at the very end of your post, separated by a line break. Don't put them in the middle of your content. Don't bold them. Don't make them prominent. If you're going to use them, at least make them unobtrusive.

What to Do Instead of Hashtags

Here's where to redirect the mental energy you've been spending on hashtag selection. Every single one of these tactics has more impact than hashtags, backed by our data.

Write Better Hooks

This is the highest-impact change you can make. Our data shows that hooks drive everything. The first two lines determine whether someone reads the rest. Spend the time you used to spend choosing hashtags on writing a sharper opening line instead. One good hook is worth a thousand hashtags. That's not an exaggeration.

Four hook types that work:

Bold prediction ("I'm calling it right now...")
Personal reveal ("This one feels surreal...")
Insider secret ("I'm ex-[Company] and here's what...")
Specific number ("$1,300 tickets. Room full of founders.")

Any of these will generate more reach than five hashtags combined. Practice writing two or three hooks for every post, then pick the best one. That 60 seconds of hook-writing does more than 10 minutes of hashtag research.

Pro tip: Keep a swipe file of hooks that stopped YOUR scroll. Every time you read a LinkedIn post and think "I need to read this," write down the first two lines. After a month, you'll have a collection of proven hook patterns you can adapt for your own content.

Use Images

Image posts get 87% higher engagement than text. We've covered this extensively, but it bears repeating because it's the largest single variable in our dataset. If you're not using images, fix that before worrying about anything else. Seriously. Stop reading this section and go add images to your next three posts. We'll still be here when you get back.

Optimize for Comments

Comments carry 8x more algorithmic weight than likes. End your posts with a specific, genuine question that invites a real response. Not "Agree?" but "What's been your experience with this?" or "What would you add?"

In our data, Social Media Marketing gets 210 average comments per post. Entrepreneurship gets 123. These aren't accidents. They're categories where the content naturally invites debate and discussion. Write your content to do the same. Pick topics where your audience has opinions. Frame your insights as starting points for conversation, not final words.

Pro tip: Respond to every comment in the first hour. Each reply counts as additional engagement. A post with 10 comments where you replied to all 10 has 20 total comment interactions. The algorithm sees an active discussion. Plus, people who get a reply are more likely to comment on your next post. You're building a habit loop.

Hit the 500-1,200 Character Sweet Spot

The highest engagement rate in our data (0.83%) belongs to posts in the 500-1,200 character range. That's roughly 100-200 words. Most people write too long. Cut until you're in the sweet spot, then cut a little more. If your post is 1,500 characters and you're adding 87 characters of hashtags, you're now at 1,587 characters, well past the optimal range. Removing hashtags literally moves you closer to the sweet spot.

Post Consistently on the Right Days

Tuesday (0.92%), Monday (0.72%), Thursday (0.71%). Three posts a week on these days will outperform five posts a week on random days. Consistency on the right schedule beats volume on the wrong one. This is free optimization. It costs nothing. It requires no creativity. Just move your best content to Tuesday, your second-best to Thursday and your third to Monday.

The Bottom Line

Hashtags in 2026 are like fax machines in 2015. They still technically exist. They still technically function. But nobody is using them for anything important. Spending time optimizing them is time you could spend on things that actually move the needle.

There's something almost comforting about hashtags. They feel productive. "I researched my hashtags. I picked the best ones. I'm optimizing." It's the LinkedIn equivalent of organizing your desk instead of doing the actual work. It feels like progress. It isn't.

Drop the hashtags. Write a better hook. Add an image. Post on Tuesday. Aim for the 500-1,200 character sweet spot. Ask questions that generate real comments.

Those five things, backed by our data from 10,222 posts, will do more for your LinkedIn performance than any hashtag strategy ever could. And you'll save 10-15 minutes per post that you can spend on actually writing something worth reading.

Pro tip: If letting go of hashtags feels uncomfortable (habits are hard to break), try this transition: use one hashtag on your next 10 posts. Then zero on the following 10. Compare the results. When you see no difference, you'll feel comfortable dropping them permanently. Sometimes you need to prove it to yourself with your own data.

Data sourced from ViralBrain's analysis of 10,222 LinkedIn posts across 494 creators. ViralBrain tracks what actually drives engagement on LinkedIn so you can focus on what matters, not on outdated tactics.

LinkedIn's Hashtag Myth: Why We Stopped Using Them (And Engagement Went Up)