Fundamentals · 3 min read
Keyword vs Tag vs Hashtag
Three words used interchangeably that mean three different things.
Definitions
A keyword is a phrase someone types into a search box. It exists in the searcher's head before it exists in your content, and your job is to match it.
A tag is a label you attach to a piece of content to organise it. It exists in your system and its main audience is you, plus anyone browsing your archive.
A hashtag is a tag published inside a post that the platform turns into a clickable topic feed. Its audience is other users of that platform.
Why the confusion causes problems
Treating tags as keywords produces tag fields stuffed with search phrases nobody browsing your site would ever click. Treating hashtags as tags produces captions full of internal labels that mean nothing to a reader.
Keeping them separate means each one can be written for its actual audience.
How they connect
They overlap at the subject. Decide the subject once, then express it three ways: as the phrase a searcher types, as the label your archive uses, and as the hashtag that names the community.