If you are anything at all like me, you love to take a good photo of your lunch (or breakfast, or dinner, or brunch, or snack, whatevs) and post it to Instagram.

I’m now running two food blogs, which means two Instagram feeds to keep up with (@rebeccacoleman and @brunchcouver).

Now, one way to get followers and likes on Instagram is to use hashtags. There are literally millions of them, so how do you choose?

First off, the ones I’m about to list are the most popular food hashtags on Instagram. Believe it or not, using them could actually work against you.  This is because there’s a lot of competition for eyeballs on these particular hashtags–sometimes millions of photos are listed under one hashtag. Experiment around and see which ones get you the most love.

Secondly, don’t go overboard with the hashtags. While Instagram allows you up to 30 per post, keep yours to under 10. I usually feel like 5-7 is the sweet spot. Putting more than that makes you look desperate, ain’t nobody wants that.

Thirdly, ensure your hashtags are relevant. The whole concept behind a hashtag is that it thematically links posts. So, don’t hashtag something #burger if it’s a photo of spaghetti, just because you think the #burger hashtag will get you more eyeballs. It’ll get people angry, is what it will do.

One suggestion I have for you is to keep a list of the hashtags you use the most in a note on your phone. There might be 4 or 5 that you pretty much use all the time (and those will likely be the top generic ones), and then throw another couple specific ones at the end, based on the subject of your photo.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, so today on the blog, I did a roundup of my fave recipes that involve CHOCOLATE! Including vegan and gluten free options, like this to-die-for flourless chocolate cake with salted caramel sauce! #ontheblog #chocolate #valentinesday #vegan #glutenfree #dessert #baking #feb14 #valentine #fbcigers

A photo posted by Rebecca Coleman (@rebeccacoleman) on Feb 6, 2015 at 5:12pm PST

Here are the best hashtags for food bloggers. I’ve further broken them down into 4 categories: generic, specific, local, and camera-centric.

Top Generic Food Hashtags

#food–162M

#yummy–53M

#foodporn–49M

#instafood–39M

#delicious–31M

#foodie–15M

#eat–14M

#foodgasm–9M

#foodpic–5M

#cooking–6M

#snack–5M

#snack–5M

#nom–3M, #nomnom–4M, #nomnomnom–4M

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A post shared by Rebecca Coleman, Food Blogger (@rebeccacoleman)

Top Specific Hashtags

If you are a food blogger with a specialty, it could really pay (in likes) to advertise that via your hashtags. There are tons of searches going on all the time for specialty diets, like Vegan or Vegetarian.

#cleaneating–14M

#vegan–10M

#vegetarian–3M

#glutenfree–4M

Some days being a food blogger is a slog… And then there are days when a box of gorgeous, hand-made, artisan chocolates shows up on your doorstep! You guys, these came in a heart-shaped box *made of chocolate.* thanks, @chocola_tas! These are amazing. #chocolate #artisan #local #handmade #love #valentinesday #bloggerslife #yvr

A photo posted by Rebecca Coleman (@rebeccacoleman) on Jan 23, 2015 at 5:25pm PST

Top Local Foodie Hashtags

If you live in the 604 (can we even say that anymore?), you may want to tag in one of these local hashtags.

#YVRFood–6K

#YVRFoodie–3K

Camera-related Hashtags:

You can tag your photo based on how you took it. I shoot on a Canon, for example, or on my iPhone.

#Canon–9M

#iPhone–12M

Foodies!! Chime in–what are your favourite hashtags to use on Instagram? Let me know in the comments below.