Hashtags and SEO: What You Need to Know

Hashtags are everywhere in social media, but do they actually help your website's SEO? It's a question we hear regularly from Melbourne businesses trying to maximise their online visibility. The answer is nuanced — and understanding the distinction between social media visibility and search engine rankings can save you from wasting time on tactics that don't move the needle.

Hashtags and Google Search

Let's be direct: hashtags on your website do not directly improve your Google rankings. Google's algorithm does not give any ranking boost to content that includes hashtags. In fact, using hashtags on your website pages can look unprofessional and cluttered — they signal "social media content" rather than "authoritative business page."

However, hashtags on social media platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter/X can indirectly support your SEO through a chain of effects: increased content visibility leads to more website traffic, which generates more brand searches, which strengthens your domain's authority signal in Google's eyes.

Where Hashtags Actually Drive Business Value

Instagram (still highly relevant): Hashtags remain one of the primary discovery mechanisms on Instagram. For Melbourne businesses, location-specific hashtags are the most valuable. Using tags like #MelbourneCafe, #MelbournePlumber, or #FitzroyRestaurant puts your content in front of local audiences actively browsing those categories. The strategy that works: use 3-5 highly specific location and niche hashtags rather than 30 generic ones. Instagram's algorithm now prioritises relevance over volume.

LinkedIn (underrated for B2B): LinkedIn hashtags help categorise professional content and make it discoverable beyond your immediate network. For Melbourne B2B businesses — accountants, IT services, consultants — following and posting with industry-specific hashtags like #MelbourneBusiness or #AustralianSME can put your content in front of decision-makers you'd never reach organically. LinkedIn posts with 3-5 relevant hashtags see an average 30% increase in impressions compared to posts without hashtags.

Twitter/X: Hashtags help with real-time discovery but have diminishing returns for long-term visibility. The platform is most valuable for trending topics and industry conversations. For most Melbourne businesses, the effort-to-return ratio on Twitter hashtags is lower than Instagram or LinkedIn.

TikTok: Hashtags on TikTok function primarily as content categorisation signals for the algorithm rather than discovery tools. The algorithm surfaces content based on engagement patterns, not hashtag searches. However, niche hashtags like #MelbourneSmallBusiness can still help the algorithm understand who should see your content.

YouTube: Hashtags in YouTube titles and descriptions are clickable and searchable, making them genuinely useful for discoverability. YouTube is also the second-largest search engine, so hashtag strategy here has a more direct SEO connection than other platforms.

The Real SEO-Social Connection

The genuine value of a strong social media presence with strategic hashtag use comes through these measurable mechanisms:

Brand search volume: When your social content reaches new audiences through hashtag discovery, a percentage of those people will Google your business name. Google tracks branded search volume as a strong trust and authority signal. We've seen Melbourne businesses increase branded search volume by 40-80% over six months through consistent, hashtag-optimised social content.

Backlink generation: Social content that goes semi-viral (even locally) generates backlinks as bloggers, journalists, and other businesses reference your content. One Melbourne restaurant client gained 12 quality backlinks from a single Instagram reel that performed well in #MelbourneFood.

Direct traffic and engagement: Social visitors who land on your website send positive engagement signals to Google — time on site, pages per session, low bounce rate — all of which correlate with improved rankings.

What Melbourne Businesses Should Actually Do

Instead of putting hashtags on your website (which helps nothing), invest that energy into these high-impact activities:

On your website: Focus on proper keyword optimisation in title tags, meta descriptions, H1/H2 headings, and body content. Implement local schema markup with your NAP (Name, Address, Phone) details. Create location-specific landing pages for each suburb you serve. These directly impact your Google rankings.

On social media: Develop a consistent posting schedule with strategic hashtag research for each platform. Use tools like Hashtagify, Later, or even Instagram's native search to find hashtags your target audience actually follows. Track which hashtags drive the most profile visits and website clicks — not just impressions.

The bridge between both: Include your website URL in every social bio. Create social content that references your blog posts and service pages. Use UTM parameters in social links so you can track exactly how much website traffic (and revenue) your social efforts generate in Google Analytics.

Platform-by-Platform Hashtag Strategy That Actually Drives SEO Results

Rather than treating hashtags as a blanket tactic, Melbourne businesses need a platform-specific approach that creates genuine SEO value through the indirect benefits of social engagement:

Instagram (still relevant for discovery in 2026): Use 5-10 highly targeted hashtags per post rather than the old advice of 30 maximally broad tags. Combine one branded hashtag (#YourBusinessMelb), 2-3 location hashtags (#MelbourneEats, #SouthbankBusiness), and 3-5 industry-specific hashtags. The key for SEO: Instagram profiles now rank in Google search results. A well-optimised Instagram bio with your website link and consistent location hashtags strengthens your local entity signals.

LinkedIn (highest SEO crossover value): LinkedIn posts rank in Google search results more frequently than any other social platform. Use 3-5 industry hashtags (#AustralianBusiness, #DigitalMarketing, #MelbourneSEO) on thought leadership posts that link to your blog content. LinkedIn articles with hashtags often appear in Google's "Perspectives" filter, driving qualified professional traffic directly to your content.

YouTube (often overlooked for SEO): Hashtags in YouTube video titles and descriptions are indexed by Google and appear in both YouTube and Google search. For Melbourne businesses creating video content, hashtags like #MelbourneBusiness or #[YourIndustry]Melbourne help videos surface in local search results. Video results increasingly appear in Google's main search results for how-to and explainer queries.

TikTok (emerging search behaviour): 40% of Gen Z users now use TikTok as a search engine for local recommendations. Hashtags like #MelbourneFood, #MelbourneThingsToDo, and industry-specific tags drive discovery. While TikTok doesn't directly impact Google SEO, the brand awareness generated creates branded searches on Google — which is one of the strongest ranking signals available.

Hashtags on Your Website: When They Actually Make Sense

While we've established that hashtags don't directly boost Google rankings, there are two legitimate use cases for hashtags on your actual website:

Blog content discovery: If your blog has a robust tagging and category system, using hashtag-style tags as clickable filters helps users navigate your content. This improves user engagement metrics (time on site, pages per session) which indirectly supports SEO. The key is that these tags must function as actual navigation — not decorative text.

Social proof embedding: Displaying social media feeds that include hashtagged customer content (user-generated content) on your website provides fresh, authentic content that Google values. A Melbourne restaurant showing an Instagram feed filtered by their branded hashtag creates constantly updating, genuine content on their website without any additional work.

Measuring the Real SEO Impact of Your Social Hashtag Strategy

Set up Google Analytics 4 with proper UTM parameters to track exactly how much traffic social media drives to your website. Create a custom report that shows traffic from social platforms alongside branded search volume (available in Google Search Console). The correlation between social engagement spikes and branded search increases is the clearest measure of how effectively your hashtag strategy supports SEO.

Monthly tracking framework: Monitor branded search impressions in Search Console, social referral traffic in GA4, and new backlinks from social shares (use Ahrefs or Semrush). Track these metrics monthly and look for correlations between social posting frequency, hashtag reach, and organic search performance. Most Melbourne businesses see the strongest correlation after 3-4 months of consistent social activity.