Keyword Explorer

Keyword Explorer helps you discover high-growth, low-competition keywords to optimize your Spotify playlists for search. By targeting the right keywords in your playlist titles and descriptions, you can drive organic follower growth—the only sustainable growth strategy for playlists on Spotify.

Industry Access Required: Keyword Explorer is exclusively available to Industry Access users. If you don't have access yet, you can upgrade your plan to unlock this feature.

Access Keyword Explorer

  1. Log in to your dashboard at app.artist.tools

  2. Navigate to Spotify SEO > Keyword Explorer in the sidebar, or visit app.artist.tools/seo/research directly

Search for keywords

1. Enter your search term

  1. In the search bar (labeled "Enter a keyword..."), type a keyword related to your playlist's genre, mood, or theme

    • Examples: "lofi beats," "workout music," "indie rock"

  2. Press Enter or click the search button

Expected result: A table of keyword results appears, showing metrics like Follower Growth Per Day, Google Search Volume, and Follower Reach.

Filter changes reset pagination to page 1. You may lose your position in the results table when adjusting filters.

2. Apply filters to refine results

Use the filter panel to narrow down keywords based on specific criteria:

  • Google Volume: Set minimum and maximum search volume ranges using the sliders

  • Follower Reach: Filter by the combined follower count of top-ranking playlists

  • Genres: Select specific genres from the dropdown to find keywords curating those genres

  • Market: Choose a country (defaults to US) to see region-specific data

Expected result: The keyword table updates to show only results matching your filter criteria.

Look for keywords with high Follower Growth Per Day and moderate Follower Reach. This indicates growing demand without overwhelming competition from massive playlists.

Understand keyword metrics

The Keyword Explorer table shows several key metrics to help you evaluate opportunities:

  • Keyword: The search term people use to find playlists on Spotify

  • Follower Growth Per Day: Average daily follower growth across top 50 playlists ranking for this keyword—higher values indicate more opportunity

  • Google Search Volume: Monthly Google searches for this term, indicating overall search demand

  • Follower Reach: Total follower count of the top 50 playlists—higher numbers suggest more competition

  • Genres: Top genres curated by playlists ranking for this keyword, shown as percentages

Target keywords where you can realistically compete. If the top 10 are all massive playlists (200K+ followers), it will be extremely difficult to rank. Look for niches where smaller playlists are succeeding.

Analyze keyword opportunities

View detailed keyword data

  1. Click on any keyword row in the results table

  2. You'll navigate to the keyword detail page at /seo/keyword/[keyword]/[market]

Expected result: The keyword detail page shows the top 50 playlists currently ranking for that keyword, along with trend charts and similar keyword suggestions. For more details, see How to use the Keyword Page.

Evaluate competition

When assessing whether a keyword is worth targeting:

  1. Check the top 10 playlists ranking for that keyword on the detail page

  2. Look at their follower counts:

    • Low competition: Most playlists have under 50K followers

    • Medium competition: Mix of playlists between 50K-200K followers

    • High competition: Multiple playlists over 200K followers

  3. Compare this with the Google Search Volume to find the sweet spot

CSV exports are limited to the current page results (maximum 50 rows). If you need to export more data, adjust your page size or make multiple exports.

Save keywords for tracking

Bookmark important keywords

  1. In the Keyword Explorer table or on a keyword detail page, click the ⭐ star icon next to the keyword you want to save

  2. A confirmation toast appears: "Keyword saved"

Expected result: The keyword is added to your saved keywords list and appears highlighted across the site, including at the top of the Keyword table on your Playlist SEO tabs.

To view and manage your saved keywords, see How to manage My Keywords.

Export keyword data

  1. From the Keyword Explorer results table, click the CSV button in the table header

  2. A CSV file downloads with all visible columns from the current page

Common workflows

Finding niche opportunities

  1. Start with a broad genre keyword (e.g., "rap")

  2. Sort results by Follower Growth Per Day (descending) to find growing niches

  3. Filter for keywords with Follower Reach under 500K to avoid heavy competition

  4. Click through promising keywords to check the top 10 playlists

  5. Save 3-5 keywords that match your playlist's curation and have manageable competition

Validating your current playlist keywords

  1. Search for the primary keyword in your playlist title

  2. Check if it has meaningful Google Search Volume (at least 1,000+ monthly searches)

  3. Review the genres of top-ranking playlists—do they match your curation?

  4. If your keyword has low volume or mismatched genres, use the Search Suggestions feature to find better alternatives

Troubleshooting

Issue

Likely Cause

Solution

"No keyword data found"

The keyword has very low search volume or isn't tracked in our database

Try broader search terms or check spelling. Use Search Suggestions to find related keywords with data.

Search takes 30-60 seconds

Large dataset being queried with complex filters

This is normal. Wait for the loading skeleton to complete. Consider narrowing your filters.

Saved keywords not appearing

Sync issue or browser cache problem

Refresh the page or check your saved keywords at app.artist.tools/seo under the Saved Keywords tab.

"Queued" badge on metrics

Data is being fetched from Spotify and Google APIs

Metrics update every 10-24 hours. Check back within 24 hours for updated data.

Export fails with "too large" error

Trying to export more than 10,000 rows

Reduce your page size or apply filters to export smaller datasets.

Limitations

  • Data freshness: Keyword metrics update every 10-24 hours. Real-time data is not available.

  • Search limitations: Supports exact match searches only (no regex or advanced operators). Maximum 50 results per page.

  • Market availability: Some smaller markets may have limited data or longer update cycles (up to 8 days).

  • Saved keyword limit: Industry plan users can save up to 100 keywords. Higher plans may have increased limits.

What's next

After finding promising keywords:

Getting help

If you encounter issues with Keyword Explorer:

  • Take note of the specific keyword you searched and any error messages

  • Check if the issue persists with different keywords or markets

  • Include screenshots of the results table or error states when contacting support

Was this helpful?