Spotify SEO and 'Sad Indie Breakup' Playlists

[Inland_Isle]

Hey all, first-time poster here. I've created a "Breakups and Breakdowns: Sad Indie Folk Rock" playlist  (hope you check it out!) that got me thinking a lot about how playlists are found through Spotify's search feature/algorithm. 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4r2oaU3ZV8cuxR3IwwK1d0?si=ZQzGSqLLQ56Zvhtuu8f30w

While words like "sad," "breakup" or even "indie" can be simplistic for the complexity of great songs out there, I noticed that even on Google the terms "sad spotify playlist," "breakup playlist spotify" and "sad indie playlist spotify" are searched about 880, 110 and 50 times per month, respectively. 

I tried to naturally work these and other frequently searched words into my playlist title and description (and even the image file name) in hopes of reaching the type of listeners for which this playlist is intended. 

So far, I've seen a small daily trickle of followers, but it's certainly more than if I'd just posted a playlist without these keywords. 

As an SEO (search engine optimization) professional who typically focuses on Google for my clients, I'm wondering if anyone has noticed some key factors in helping your playlists rank legitimately for Spotify searches?

I know some black hat "artists" are naming their songs after popular searches, and I'm not talking about that type of degradation of songs or album names for the sake of "optimization."

But, for example, Google has long used the links back to a website as search ranking factors. Does Spotify also consider the number and quality of links/social shares to user playlists?

Anyway, figured I'd start this thread as a place for people to share their experiences with Spotify playlist SEO and how it's been similar to/different from other search engines.

Also, feel free to share your own sad indie playlists as well!

[etdonuts]

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1gIxMksL2QU7XNsyNviS7v?si=tJMf8gBtT0S0i1SlPuUiUQ

[anneteresting]

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1FNC5dCTolCmD78UGgjwE4?si=NEJyt1bQR06Tg3YK-1uFSA https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1pa8hwL0rQcfxeQ2Q3q7cs?si=kqIVnVC9SBq7kQrt7IKZmw https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5HO0c0kekCiNPjVQFcaHfl?si=uf9QlJeqRSaeQpUl2HCGNQ 

[GeanVertigo]

Hey there! Welcome to the community and thanks for sharing your playlist with us.

[Jpgchief]

Hi, @Inland_Isle, nice to meet you, my name is Javier, SEO is something that we have to be aware of nowadays, of course, if you're interested in people finding what you want to share, playlists, blog posts, articles, you name it. 

I do have a Spotify like this one, but I prefer to share a few tracks, I'm always looking to support unknown artists with a lot of talent so you might not know them but trust me, they deserve a chance, here a few options if you enjoy any of them you might want to give them a follow and add those tracks to your playlist:

This track was released as a single but if part of the Birds are better debut album titled "The Island - Part One" and I love this track:

https://open.spotify.com/track/5fdbh1d7iBvHI3H8lx55UB?si=21c4b747bc5a4b40 

Now Letting go is part of Kimaya Digss' album Quincy and we reviewed it on the blog, here you have a quote from the artist about the album

“Quincy was written and recorded during a really hard time in my life. But instead of writing sad songs (already did that on my first album!) I decided to chase the joy that I was missing in my life. I wanted songs that reflected my heartbreak but could also make you dance. I kept being drawn back to Corinne Bailey Rae and Amel Larrieux because they both capture bittersweetness in a way that brings sunshine.”

KIMAYA DIGGS

https://open.spotify.com/track/5FXAzbwTrnE3iZWfbdAnUd?si=200b95e9b10e4ba8 

And one last Alone in a Crowd by Max Canyon part of his debut album Max Canyon Blues released back in April.

https://open.spotify.com/track/26UJq5JLr3NZS2PB69v8uL?si=017160da0fa84352 

All the best!!!