Depop Tags Strategy: How to Use Hashtags Correctly for Maximum Reach

As a seller on Depop, you already know that great photos and competitive pricing are essential for visibility and engagement. But there's another part of your listings that can make a real difference in whether buyers see and click on your items: Depop tags. Depop tags are the hashtags sellers add to their descriptions to help categorize their items and make them searchable, and how you use them directly impacts how often your listings show up in search results and browse feeds.

The problem is that many sellers use tags incorrectly with overly generic or irrelevant terms meant to game the system, or even skip them altogether. In this guide, we'll walk you through how Depop tags work, which types of tags have the most impact, how to choose the best ones for your listings, and the common tagging mistakes that could be hurting your sales.

Key Takeaways

• Depop tags are hashtags placed in your listing description that act as additional searchable keywords, helping buyers discover your items through search and browse feeds.
• Depop's search algorithm prioritizes relevance and accuracy, so every tag you use should truthfully describe your item.
• A strong tagging strategy mixes different tag types, including garment, style, and brand tags, to help your listings appear in a wider range of buyer searches.
• Researching how top sellers and competitors use tags is one of the best ways to find effective tags for your own listings.
• Misleading or irrelevant tags violate Depop's policies and can lead to reduced listing visibility, listing removal, or even account suspension for repeat offenders.

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What Are Depop Tags and How Do They Work

Before you can use Depop tags effectively, it helps to understand what they are, how Depop's search algorithm interprets them, and how they relate to the other elements of your listing like keywords and descriptions. In this section, we'll cover the basics of Depop tags, explain how the algorithm uses them to rank your listings in search results, and clarify the difference between tags, keywords, and descriptions so you can use each one to its full potential.

What Are Depop Tags

Depop tags are hashtags that sellers add to their listing descriptions to help buyers find their items. They're written directly into the description text with the # symbol, usually at the end of the description, though some sellers weave them into the body of the text. When a buyer searches for a term on Depop, listings with matching tags are more likely to appear in the results.

Tags work alongside your other listing information, including the structured fields you fill out during the listing process like category, brand, condition, and color. While those fields determine how your item appears in filtered search results, Depop tags supplement them by helping your listing show up in additional searches. For example, if you've selected "Jeans" as your subcategory and "Levi's" as your brand, adding tags like #momjeans or #90sdenim helps your listing appear in related searches that those fields alone don't cover.

How the Depop Search Algorithm Uses Tags

Understanding how your tags factor into Depop's search results starts with understanding what the algorithm is looking for. When a buyer searches for something, Depop's algorithm scans listing titles, descriptions, hashtags, and listing attributes to find the most relevant matches.

The algorithm pays particularly close attention to the first few words in your description, which is why Depop recommends leading with the most important and searchable terms for your item. Tags are a way for sellers to supplement keywords in the description and give the algorithm additional information about what your item is and who it's for.

For this reason, it's important to ensure that your hashtags not only bring in traffic, but that they're accurate. Don't tag a generic hoodie with brand names it doesn't belong to, or add trending hashtags that don't actually apply to the item. Attempts to game the algorithm can actually reduce your listing's visibility, and Depop has outright stated that irrelevant or repetitive keywords, hashtags, brands, and tags can result in penalties that affect not just that listing but your overall shop reach.

Tags vs Keywords vs Descriptions

Keywords are the potential search terms that a buyer might use to find an item like yours on Depop. These include terms such as "vintage denim" or "high-rise jeans." They're incorporated naturally as part of the product description text, without the # symbol. Tags, on the other hand, are keywords prefixed with the # symbol that function as additional searchable terms. Depop treats both as searchable content when deciding how to rank your listing in search results.

While both have the same functionality, they differ in how you should use them. The item's description should give the buyer a complete picture of what you're selling in a way that's easy to read, while your tags should expand into related terms your description doesn't already cover. For example, if you've mentioned "vintage Levi's 501 high-rise jeans" in your description, your tags can add terms like #momjeans or #highwaisted to help your listing appear in those related searches as well.

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Types of Depop Tags Every Seller Should Use

Since each tag you add should be relevant and accurate, choosing the right ones for each listing matters. An effective Depop tagging strategy will use a combination of different tag types – from broad category terms to more specific queries – in order to appear in a wide range of relevant buyer searches. In this section, we'll go over the three broad categories of Depop tags that you should be using in your listings, and learn how you can implement each one for maximum effect.

Garment and Category Tags

Garment and category tags are factual descriptors used to describe what the item actually is. These include terms like #jeans, #dress, #sneakers, #hoodie, or #skirt, and they match the exact words a buyer might type into the search bar.

These tags should be part of nearly every listing; without them, your listing relies solely on its description and attributes to show up in relevant searches. This type of tag is especially useful for items that have more than one name – for example pants or trousers – which mean the same thing to different buyers, as well as items that can qualify as more than a single type of product – for example, shawl, wrap, or scarf.

Style and Aesthetic Tags

Unlike traditional ecommerce marketplaces, such as Amazon or Walmart, where buyers search for specific products, Depop shoppers often choose to shop by browsing their feed or searching for aesthetics that fit into their personal style. By using style and aesthetic tags, you can connect your items to the trends and subcultures that shoppers actively browse for. Tags like #y2k, #cottagecore, #grunge, #streetwear, or #indiesleaze help buyers who are shopping by style or aesthetic rather than by specific garment type find your listings.

In addition to visible listing tags, Depop also allows sellers to add backend style attribute fields at the listing creation stage. Sellers can select from options like Streetwear, Grunge, Boho, Retro, and others, and indicate to the algorithm what styles this particular item is most suited for. When a new user opens a Depop account, they're prompted to describe their style in order for Depop to be able to create a home feed. If a listing's backend style tags match a shopper's aesthetic, it's much more likely to appear in their feed.

Brand and Designer Tags

If the item you're selling is from a recognizable brand, a brand tag is one of the most effective tags you can use. Tags like #nike, #levis, #adidas, #carhartt, or #prada help you reach buyers who search specifically by brand name.

When using brand tags, accuracy matters more than anything. Only tag the brand that the item actually belongs to. Listing a generic hoodie with a #nike tag because it "looks similar" is misleading, violates Depop's policies, and only frustrates buyers. In a similar vein, make sure to select the correct brand from Depop's dropdown brand field when creating your listing. Even vintage items or lesser-known labels can benefit from a brand tag, especially if the brand has a dedicated following on Depop.  

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How to Choose the Best Depop Tags for Your Listings

Like all things Depop SEO, choosing the right tags comes down to research. The most effective way to find tags that work is to look at what's already working on the platform. From our experience helping sellers crosslist to Depop, we've found that the sellers whose stores perform well are the ones who take the time to research tags, rather than relying on the same generic set for every listing.

Begin your research by searching for items similar to yours on Depop, and looking at which tags appear on the listings with high engagement such as likes or sent offers. Look at sellers with high sales volumes and a large number of followers, and analyze how they use their tags.

Another great tool for finding popular tags for your listings is Depop's search bar. When you start typing a keyword, Depop auto-suggests popular search terms based on what buyers are actually searching for. A term that appears in auto-suggest is one that real buyers actually search for, making it a strong candidate for a Depop listing tag. To find up-and-coming trending hashtags, we recommend checking Depop's Discover page. It surfaces trending searches, styles, and aesthetics based on current buyer behavior. This is not only helpful for finding tags for items in your inventory, but can also give you insights into what styles and items you may want to source next.

After researching tags for a given item, you'll need to decide which ones you want to incorporate into the listing itself. While it's easy to just copy and paste all the relevant tags into the product description, we recommend a more measured approach. Aim for a balanced combination of garment, style, brand, and descriptive tags, and try to limit yourself to around 5 tags total. For example, if you're selling a pair of vintage Levi's jeans, a solid tag set could look like: #jeans, #vintage, #levis, #momjeans, #90sdenim.

Finally, if an item isn't selling, it might be worth revisiting your tags to see what can be improved. Try swapping out a tag or two for different terms, and updating the description to incorporate more active keywords. Remember that Depop is a trend-focused platform, and those trends can shift quickly. If something about a listing simply isn't working, your best course of action is changing it to better align with marketplace trends.

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Depop Tags Mistakes That Hurt Your Visibility

While tags might seem like a relatively straightforward aspect of Depop SEO, even experienced sellers sometimes get them wrong, and end up making mistakes that ultimately hurt their listings. One of the most common mistakes sellers make is using irrelevant tags, like adding brand names or trending hashtags that don't actually apply to the item. While this might seem like a way to get more eyes on a listing and encourage sales, it tends to have the opposite effect. Depop can reduce visibility for listings with misleading tags, and buyers who click expecting one thing will simply leave without purchasing, which signals to the algorithm that the listing is low quality and ultimately hurts its ranking.

On the other end of the spectrum, using tags that are too generic, like #fashion or #clothes, does little for SEO, and can put your listing in competition with millions of others. Hashtags should not be used for attributes that are already covered by the listing fields you've already filled out – category, color, size, or condition. This information is already available to Depop's algorithm, so adding it again in the form of tags only clutters your listing description.

Finally, many sellers opt to skip tags altogether, preferring to let their item description do the work. Unfortunately, skipping tags means missing out on searches that description alone can't effectively cover without becoming excessively long or hard to read.

Ultimately, adding a curated set of relevant tags to every listing is one of the simplest things you can do to help more buyers find your items.

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FAQs

Q: How many tags can you use on Depop?

Depop doesn't have a strict hashtag limit, but the widely accepted best practice among experienced sellers is to use a limited number of relevant tags per listing. Since tags are effectively keywords, the quality of the tags you choose matters more than the quantity. It's important to ensure that each tag accurately describes your item, and that it targets a search term that buyers actually use. Stuffing your description with excessive or irrelevant hashtags only serves to hurt readability, and may lead to your listing being penalized or removed.

Q: Do Depop tags actually help you sell more?

Yes, when used correctly, Depop tags can increase your listings' visibility and help you reach more relevant buyers. Tags function as additional searchable keywords that help Depop's algorithm match your listing with buyer queries. Listings with well-chosen, relevant tags appear in more search results, which increases visibility and the likelihood of a sale. However, it's important to note that tags alone won't compensate for poor photos, unclear descriptions, or uncompetitive pricing.

Q: Can you get penalized for using wrong tags on Depop?

Depop advises sellers not to include irrelevant or repetitive brands or tags, and their policies state that violations can result in listing removal, warnings, or account suspension for repeated offenses. Using the occasional imperfect tag isn't likely to get your account shut down, but consistently using misleading or irrelevant tags puts your listings and your account at risk.

Q: Should you use the same tags on every listing?

No. Each listing should have tags tailored to the specific item. While some tags might overlap across similar items, like a brand tag or a general category tag, copying the same set of tags onto every listing makes your descriptions look formulaic and doesn't accurately represent different items. Tailoring your tags to each listing ensures that the right buyers find the right products and keeps your shop looking professional and trustworthy.