Keyword Search

Keyword Search 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: The full keyword metrics and badge system are available to Industry Access users only.

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

  2. Navigate to Spotify SEO > Keyword Search 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 "Search keywords..."), 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 badges for Competition, Momentum, and Demand along with detailed metrics.

2. Apply filters to refine results

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

Available filters include:

  • Country: Choose a market (defaults to "all") to see region-specific data

  • Spotify Playlist Growth: Filter by Momentum badges — Breakout, Surging, Steady Growth, Stable Base, Declining

  • Spotify Competition: Filter by Competition badges — Easy, Moderate, Crowded, Dominated

  • Google Search Volume: Filter by Demand badges — Huge Demand, High Demand, Steady Demand, Low Demand

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

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

Combine filters to find your ideal keyword: set Competition to Easy or Moderate, Momentum to Breakout or Surging, and Demand to High Demand or Huge Demand to discover high-opportunity, low-competition terms.

Understand keyword metrics

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

Badge columns

The three badge columns give you an at-a-glance assessment of each keyword:

  • Spotify Playlist Growth (Momentum): Shows whether playlists ranking for this keyword are growing or declining

  • Spotify Competition: Shows how difficult it is to rank for this keyword

  • Google Search Volume (Demand): Shows the overall search interest for this term on Google

Momentum badges

Momentum indicates the growth trend of playlists ranking for this keyword:

  • Breakout: Rapid acceleration — playlists are gaining followers quickly

  • Surging: Strong upward growth — consistent positive momentum

  • Steady Growth: Moderate, reliable growth over time

  • Stable Base: Flat — neither growing nor declining significantly

  • Declining: Decreasing interest — playlists are losing followers

Target keywords with Breakout or Surging momentum for the best growth opportunities.

Competition badges

Competition indicates how hard it is to break into the top rankings:

  • Easy: Low competition — most top playlists have small follower counts. Good opportunity for new or smaller playlists.

  • Moderate: Balanced opportunity and difficulty — mix of small and medium-sized playlists competing.

  • Crowded: Many playlists competing for this keyword — harder to break into top positions.

  • Dominated: Top positions held by large, established playlists with 200K+ followers. Very difficult to rank.

For new playlists under 10K followers, target Easy or Moderate competition keywords. Avoid Dominated keywords until you've built a stronger follower base.

Demand badges

Demand indicates the overall search interest for this term:

  • Huge Demand: Highest search interest — many people searching for this term

  • High Demand: Strong search interest — solid potential traffic

  • Steady Demand: Moderate, consistent searches — reliable but limited

  • Low Demand: Limited search interest — niche or declining term

    High demand alone isn't enough — always pair with competition and momentum to find the true opportunity. A keyword with Huge Demand but Dominated competition may not be worth pursuing.

    Additional metrics

    • 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

    • Top Spotify Genres: Primary genres curated by playlists ranking for this keyword

    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 using badges

    The Competition badge gives you an instant read on difficulty, but for deeper analysis:

    1. Check the Competition badge for a quick assessment

    2. Click through to the keyword detail page to see the top 10 playlists

    3. Look at their follower counts to validate the badge:

      • Easy — Most playlists under 50K followers

      • Moderate — Mix of playlists between 50K-200K followers

      • Crowded — Several playlists over 100K followers

      • Dominated — Multiple playlists over 200K followers

    4. Compare with the Momentum badge to find growing niches with manageable competition

    Save keywords for tracking

    Bookmark important keywords

    1. In the Keyword Search 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 Search results table, click the Export as CSV button in the table actions menu

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

    Exports reflect the current filter state. Apply filters before exporting to get only the data you need.

    Common workflows

    Finding niche opportunities

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

    2. Set Competition filter to Easy or Moderate

    3. Set Momentum filter to Breakout or Surging

    4. Sort results by Follower Growth Per Day (descending) to find the fastest-growing opportunities

    5. Click through promising keywords to validate the top 10 playlists

    6. 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 the Demand badge — does it show High Demand or Huge Demand?

    3. Check the Competition badge — is it realistic for your playlist size?

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

    5. If your keyword has low demand or mismatched genres, search for related terms with better metrics

    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. Search for 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.

    "Unlock Spotify Search Insights" overlay

    You're on a free or Artist Access plan

    Upgrade to Industry Access to unlock the full keyword metrics and badge system.

    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 Search:

    • 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

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