https://steemitimages.com/500x600/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmW82oLxYYLzb2qU6k59s4ESHhHMMhBrRrrU4sjZTh8uLZ/pexels-gustavo-fring-3985062.jpg ^{Image Source} By now you should know what goes wrong with a post, how to comment on a post, and how to write a diary post. If you have missed out on my posts related to these topics they are at the bottom of this post. What remains? Shopping! You might like shopping or you might hate it. I am one of those who don’t like shopping. There is one thing we all have in common when shopping is that we all look at the tags or the labels. That my friends are exactly what #hashtags or tags are. It is what we use for our “shopping” on Steemit. The usage of #hashtags or tags is one of the key elements which is required in Steemit. ![footer.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmdCpXikwadX1naF2cRuJJeiAm2sWLcsFWuFceBxC8Ani9/footer.jpg) |

What are tags?

| |--| When shopping we look at the tag or label which will give us more information about the product, for instance, the brand, size, fabric, price, ingredients, nutrition, etc. Without these tags or labels, we will be clueless about what to buy. Tags are used all over the internet. It is used on the websites we search, forums, and social media platforms. These days you will also find tags on eCommerce sites. We all have one goal on Steemit and that is for our content to be visible to other Steemians and that is exactly what tags do. It groups your content “together” under a “name” to make it visible. >Tags are a way to categorize your content, so that others can find it. The more relevant the tags are to the post, the more like-minded people will come across it. - Steemit FAQ ![footer.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmdCpXikwadX1naF2cRuJJeiAm2sWLcsFWuFceBxC8Ani9/footer.jpg) |

Why should we use tags?

| |--| There are numerous reasons why tags should be used. For me, there are four main reasons for using tags on Steemit. 1. To create readership engagement 2. For analyzing data 3. To organize posts 4. For classification Let me share some interesting stats with you regarding the various tags used on Steemit. Tag |All time usage --------- | ---------- #life |3,820,428 #photography | 3,233,695 #steemit |2,253,882 #steemexclusive |924,309 #betterlife | 363,343 #thediarygame | 296,495 #club100 | 50,083 #club75 |48,667 #club5050 | 203,372

^Note:

^{Data obtained from @morpheussa} The tag used the most in the last 7 days, #steemexclusive and it was used 4,821 times. ![footer.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmdCpXikwadX1naF2cRuJJeiAm2sWLcsFWuFceBxC8Ani9/footer.jpg) |

What tags should we use?

| |--| >Try to use tags that are relevant to your post, and that will be popular for other people to browse. For example, "mytriptoalaska" may be relevant to your post, but readers are probably not going to go searching for that. Using "travel" would be a better choice for a tag in this case. All tags must be lowercase letters. Spaces aren't allowed, but hyphenated words with a single dash are. - Steemit FAQ The tags you use are your choice. If you are selling a shirt labeled as “cotton” and it is “polyester” you are the one who will have to sit with the consequences. The same on Steemit. There are no set rules for the use of tags. It is your choice but choose wisely or be prepared to sit with a negative result. Before I get to the kind of tags you can use we first need to look at the clarifications of some of the tags. Tag |Clarification --------- | ---------- #Steemcurator01-09 | NEVER to be used #Steemexclusive | ALWAYS to be used #Yourcountry |ALWAYS to be used #Clubstatus (100/75/5050) |PLEASE use this as it helps curators and moderators perform their tasks #Contest |ONLY to be used in the announcement of contest and NOT for participating in contests #learnwithsteem |NO longer to be used

For the best tags to use for your post let’s go back to what the various curator teams in the previous months used. Team |Tag --------- | ---------- Arts | #art, #crafts, #photography, #music, #poetry, #creativewriting, #writing, #poetry, #music, #dance, #handicrafts, #creative, #diy, etc. Finance & Technology | #fintech, #finance, #business, #crypto, #science, #technology, #computing, #cryptograph, etc. Lifestyle | #lifestyle, #health, #fitness, #sport, #leisure, #food, #travel, #garden, #gardening, #recipe, #betterlife, etc. My Life | #mylife, #thediarygame, #mytownin10pics, #actsofkindness, #charity, #news, etc. Steem Growth | #steemgrowth, #steempromotion, #powerup, #marketing, #development, etc.

Again these tags are just suggestions however, they have proven to be successful my advice is thus to stick with them. For my education post, I use #education or #learn. Of importance:

DON'T tag bots. #krsuccess is not acceptable by some of the curators
Be careful not to use tags that are not related to your posts. You might get moderators and curators “shouting” at you. Best of all, you might lose out on votes
Make sure you follow the guidelines of the various communities
Make sure you read and adhere to the rules of a contest

Be mindful when choosing tags. If your tags aren’t related to your post, your post may get downvotes for mistagging. - Steemit FAQ ![footer.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmdCpXikwadX1naF2cRuJJeiAm2sWLcsFWuFceBxC8Ani9/footer.jpg) |

How many tags can I use?

| |--| Way back when I joined Steemit the number of tags was 5. This has subsequently changed. >You can use up to 8 tags per post - Steemit FAQ ![footer.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmdCpXikwadX1naF2cRuJJeiAm2sWLcsFWuFceBxC8Ani9/footer.jpg) |

How do we use tags to search for posts?

| |--| When we shop we look for a specific product or products. Well, not if you are a mom and you have the kids with you. Supermarkets are very clever in where they place their products. “Eye level is buy level” and so often these products are not the cheapest product on the shelf. Did you know that the most successful spot in a supermarket is not in the aisles but at the end of the aisle or at the checkout points? In Steemit we can also search for posts related to specific tags and in four categories.

Trending - https://steemit.com/trending
New - https://steemit.com/created
Payouts - https://steemit.com/payout
Muted - https://steemit.com/muted

https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmUrJUryXvzCKi3W5tqxg1wiPEe6mDFY6CybbTjdPVPkNY/Image%201.png All that you now need to do is to add the tag you are interested into the category search. https://steemit.com/trending/art https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmdU7s279bV4zUb9dxAuHZXc3AinyWuxKhk6S6gboifPZ9/Image%202.png That my friend, this is how easy it is to shop on Steemit provided that the right tags are used. Happy tagging and happy shopping! https://steemitimages.com/500x600/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmVaosQJsQcoFDQCxNk3yakLnVwvxdR275EjrXy5GucS7W/pexels-gustavo-fring-3985096.jpg ^{Image Source} Posts: 1. [The 5 main reasons why posts goes wrong](https://steemit.com/hive-153970/@patjewell/the-5-main-reasons-why-posts-goes-wrong) 2. [Make your comments and replies count! Tips to write a good comment... ](https://steemit.com/hive-153970/@patjewell/make-your-comments-and-replies-count) 3. [How to write that perfect diary post...](https://steemit.com/hive-153970/@patjewell/how-to-write-that-perfect-diary-post)