Depends on factors like which account is looking at the tags, your account size vs the rest in the top, different leagues of competition, etc. I don’t think it’s a change in algo since ive seen top9 tags with less than 100 likes for several years now. Even after hiring ppl in the marketplace here to look for tags. Always had some below.
Why would ig make it difficult for new accounts or small accounts to compete and reach the top? Think about it. Doesn’t make sense.
Anyway, keep testing / researching and you will find your answers / better hypothesis.
what’s for you the major factor that make post go top 9 ? you think engagement from own follower the biggest factor ?
i say this cuz one time i just posted first post on a new slave acc , and got engagement mostly from shoutout of one of my other accounts even tho post got lot of engagement the fact that it wasnt from my own followers (since there wasnt lol) , made the post rank only on few hashtags and tbh just the shittiest ones , this test made me think : what are clearly the most impactful things to go top9 if even engagement from users that are from same niche (not following you) cant impact it that much
Aart from choosing the right hashtag to play in:
The content is number one, the history of content from that account I think has a lot of weight (but not 100% sure), then the engagement from existing followers, then speed of engagement from all other sources (likes, comments, saves, shares…).
Those I’d say are the top factors. Just theory on my end.
Account History – if an account dominates one or two hashtags mid or top level then often they rank in other related hashtags.
Within the first 10-30 minutes of posting – if hashtags are used along with other posts from other accounts and that post is doing great with one owns followers ( likes, saves, and so on) – it often ranks.
IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE YOU PUT HASHTAGS – captions/comments – it is fine.
contrary to where you think. I have had both always rank
Many times you will not see your own post on the hashtag within the hashtag search. I never know why just be prepared and it shows up hours later
I use a mixture of big and small hashtags. The small ones for longer exposure, yes.
I don’t look at min posts/hour at all ~ Great question. You should test this! I have not tested using this metric before, so I cannot comment on how effective that would be, or how it impacts the engagement.
bcs the traffic on the ones that you get ranked on and that dont have much post/hour will come pretty slowly (maybe after 1/2hours) so there is no instant impact .
compared to big/medium hashtags that we get engagement from them the moment we get ranked (if ofc the post is quality) , so even when we get on top post on 1 of the small hashtags , they need to have traffic coming all day long i suppose , even tho i see many accs that use those small hashtags just to make the ranking on bigger and active ones easier (just as a leverage)
Could you give some examples? I have the similar idea of “building credit history” on IG exactly by gradually hitting hashtags top9 (hoping IG favor accounts systemically ranking for Top9), but the “entry levels” are 2-3 times higher that I currently got. My average likes in the first 24h is around 50, and most of the hashtags I’ve seen require at least 100 likes to hit top9.
well it depends thats why its important to know not only the avg likes a hashtag get but also lowest engagemet to get top9 , that way you can see if you have a chance or not to figure there when you hit 50 likes (ofc depens on many other factors too)
I have not tested using this metric before, so I cannot comment on how effective that would be, or how it impacts the engagement.