Hashtag Library: Keep a Simple Spreadsheet of Tags That Fit Your Content

By Tagbloom Editorial Team (how we write) · Published 10 October 2026 · 5 min read

Most creators find their hashtags the same way every time: they type a few from memory, copy a list from an old post, or search for ideas in a hurry. The result is a set of tags that slowly drifts away from the content. Some are out of date, a few are misspelled, and one or two no longer mean what you thought.

Quick answer

Keep a small spreadsheet that records each tag, its topic group and its notes, then review it once a month and drop anything that no longer fits your content.

If your question is a little different, these guides cover it: Instagram Hashtag Research for Small Accounts: A Free Step-by-Step Method; Instagram Hashtag Mistakes That Make Posts Look Spammy.

A hashtag library is a simple fix. It is a spreadsheet where you keep the tags you have chosen on purpose, grouped by topic, with a few notes. It takes about an hour to set up and a few minutes a month to maintain. This guide shows you how to build one. It does not promise that any tag will increase your reach, because nobody can promise that.

Why keep a library at all

Consistency. You stop retyping the same tags and making small mistakes.
Relevance. Each tag has been checked against your content at least once.
Speed. You can pick a group in seconds instead of searching from scratch.
Learning. Notes show you what you tried and what you decided.

A library also guards against copying and pasting a giant list onto every post. Instagram's current guidance points to a small number of relevant tags, as we explain in our guide to how many Instagram hashtags to use. The library helps you choose a few good ones, not collect as many as you can.

The columns to use

You can build this in any spreadsheet program. Start with these columns and add others only if you need them.

Column	What goes in it
Hashtag	The tag exactly as you will type it, with capital letters for each word.
Platform	Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or all.
Topic group	The content theme it belongs to, such as "dinner recipes".
Type	Broad, niche or long-tail, as you judge it.
Notes	Anything you learned: what it shows, what you decided, any doubts.
Status	Use, test, or drop.
Last checked	The date you last looked at the tag page in the app.

The "Type" column is your own judgement. Tagbloom's labels for Broad, Niche and Long-tail are estimates too, because the tool does not have live search-volume data. Treat both as rough guides, not measurements.

Tags describe a post. A few relevant ones work better than a long list.

Group tags by topic, not by popularity

The most useful way to organise a library is by what your content is about. If you post about cooking, you might have groups such as "weeknight dinners", "baking" and "kitchen tools". Each group holds a handful of tags that describe that theme well. When you post a dinner recipe, you choose from the dinner group, not from a general pile.

Three to six groups is plenty for most accounts. If you have more than that, your account may cover too many topics. Our guide to choosing a niche can help you decide what to focus on.

Fill the library carefully

Start with ideas, then check every tag before it earns the status "Use".

Gather candidates. Use your own ideas, the app's search suggestions, similar accounts and the Tagbloom tag generator. Our guide to hashtag research for small accounts shows how.
Open each tag page in the app. Look at the posts that appear. Do they match your content? Are they the kind of posts you would be happy to appear next to?
Check the spelling and meaning. Read the tag aloud. A tag made of joined words can accidentally spell something else. Also check whether it means something different in another language your audience uses.
Check the readability. Capitalise each word, for example #WeeknightDinners, so that people and screen readers can read it more easily.
Write a note. One short line is enough, such as "Mostly recipes, good fit".

What to leave out of the library

Tags unrelated to your content. Popular does not mean relevant.
Tags that attract spam or unsuitable posts. If the tag page is full of content you do not want to be associated with, drop it.
Other people's brand names. Do not use another brand or creator's name to borrow attention.
Anything you cannot explain. If you do not know why a tag is there, remove it.

Our guide to Instagram hashtag mistakes has a fuller checklist you can use while you review.

Clear, specific words help people and search find your post.

A 20-minute monthly review

Once a month, open the sheet and go through it in this order.

Filter by "Use" and open a few tags in the app. Do the top posts still match your content?
Look at the tags you used in your last month of posts. Note anything that clearly fit or clearly did not.
Move tags that no longer fit to "Drop". Do not delete them, because the note is useful if you consider them again.
Move a few promising tags from "Test" to "Use" if they check out.
Update the "Last checked" dates.

If your platform shows you insights about how people found a post, you can note what you see. See Instagram Insights for small creators for how to read those numbers carefully. One post is not enough to prove that a tag worked, so avoid strong conclusions from a small sample.

Keep different platforms separate

Instagram, TikTok and YouTube all treat tags differently, and the guidance on each one changes. Use the "Platform" column so that you do not paste an Instagram list into a YouTube video. Our guide to a cross-platform hashtag strategy explains how to adapt the same topics for each platform.

Start from one clear idea, then adapt it for each place.

Worked example: a hypothetical baking account

This is a made-up illustration, not a real account and it includes no results. Imagine a home baker who posts on Instagram.

She creates three groups: "sourdough", "cookies" and "baking tips". In the sourdough group she writes four tags, such as #SourdoughBaking and #HomeBakedBread. For each, she opens the tag page and notes what she sees. One tag, a short abbreviation, mostly shows unrelated posts, so she marks it "Drop". She adds the note "Not a good fit". When she posts a sourdough loaf, she picks two or three tags from the sourdough group and one specific to the recipe. A month later she opens the sheet, checks that the tags still match her posts, and moves a new tag from "Test" to "Use".

Common mistakes

Collecting hundreds of tags and using them all.
Never checking whether a tag still fits.
Copying the same group onto every post.
Forgetting to note why a tag was dropped.
Using the library as proof that a tag works, when it only records your choices.

Frequently asked questions

How many tags should be in the library?

As many as you will actually use and keep up to date. For many small accounts that is a few dozen, split into a handful of groups.

Can I use a notes app instead of a spreadsheet?

Yes. The columns help, but the habit matters more. Use whatever tool you will open regularly.

Does a library improve my reach?

It helps you choose relevant tags consistently. We cannot promise that it will increase views or followers, and neither can any other tool.

Conclusion

A hashtag library turns a scattered habit into a small system. Keep a simple sheet, group tags by topic, check each one in the app, write short notes, and review it monthly. You will end up with fewer, better tags and a clear record of why each one is there.

To fill your first group, try the free Tagbloom tag generator for 20 ideas, then keep only the ones that pass your checks.

Official sources

Platform features and rules change. For the current wording, check the official help pages:

Tagbloom Editorial Team

We write each guide ourselves and check platform rules against the official Help Centers. Read how we research and update guides, or tell us about a mistake.