Using the Best Hashtags for SoundCloud to Increase Your Music Visibility

When promoting your music on SoundCloud, hashtags can help make your music easily discovered, improve awareness, and increase engagement. That means they are an important part of marketing SoundCloud music. However, if you use the wrong hashtags, you might not get the desired results with your marketing efforts.

Therefore, you should use hashtags that align with your niche for the best results. Mastering a hashtag strategy can be a powerful way of engaging with your audience and increasing your reach. This article will guide you through everything you need to know about using SoundCloud hashtags.

What are SoundCloud Hashtags?

A hashtag is a keyword preceded by # used in a track to help those interested in your music niche discover the track when they search for the topic using that hashtag. Also referred to as the pound sign, hashtags have become an important part of many social media sites. X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok encourage users to use hashtags to get their content discovered. 

This is no different from the SoundCloud site, where hashtags help artists get their music noticed. You can use them to correctly label your music so that users can easily see it. With over 80 million music uploads, your music can easily get lost if it's not correctly labeled with the right hashtags.

However, hashtags on SoundCloud differ from those on other social media sites. Unlike other social media sites, where users can post content in almost every niche, SoundCloud focuses on music alone. Overall, the goal is the same, but only the user strategy changes.

One of the questions you may have is whether hashtags and tags are the same thing on SoundCloud. The answer is yes, as they both allow users to find your music easily.

Why Hashtags Are Essential on SoundCloud

Compared to other streaming platforms, SoundCloud is usually richer in data. It focuses more on promoting independent artists, rich genres, and more. On SoundCloud, hashtags refer to the keywords that help people navigate the large music library. These may refer to tracks, artists, genres, common topics, etc. For instance, a user searching for a dance style can find it using hashtags such as #trendingdance, #dancing, etc.

By looking at your tags, a SoundCloud listener can easily tell the kind of music they should expect from you. It also helps people looking for your genre to discover your music. In most cases, a single tag consists of less than 20 symbols. 

If you are using hashtags to describe a music or genre, it's okay to use the full keyword of the hashtag, such as #RythmsandBlues, as well as the short one, such as #RnB. The idea is to capture listeners using hashtags to search for your music. Since genre tags are fast in music, they are usually the most popular types.

Impact of Hashtags on the SoundCloud Algorithm 

If you want to improve the discoverability of your SoundCloud music, you need to understand how the SoundCloud algorithm works. First, it's important to note that the platform uses what is referred to as the DiscoRank algorithm. This usually relies on the Explore Page and the Search algorithm to provide the best match for the searcher. That means it works similarly to Google.

Therefore, using SoundCloud tags can easily help your song reach a new target audience. When your listeners look at your tag, they can understand the type of music you create. However, you need to understand the role of tagging in the SoundCloud algorithm.

SoundCloud recommends that artists use tags that best describe them and are relevant to their music. Therefore, for the platform to recommend your music, you must use the most relevant tags. This is where the majority of artists go wrong. They choose what they consider to be the most popular hashtags in a bid to get more exposure.

If you have a hip-hop song tagged as Reggae, just because you find reggae music trending will not give you the needed exposure. Instead, this will only cause the SoundCloud algorithm to rank the track lower in the rankings. Therefore, use the most relevant hashtags and focus more on tags that reflect your music.

What Kind of Hashtags Should You Use on Soundcloud?

When creating SoundCloud hashtags, you should consider two major categories: genres and mood. When uploading music to the platform, you will have the option to choose the genre. You can add your own if your music doesn't fit well in any genre. However, selecting one of the genres already on the platform is always a good idea if you upload a popular type of music.

After choosing the genre, you shouldn't stop there; you must add a similar tag to the description. The next step should be to add the mood of the song, which should reflect the vibe of the music. The mood could be like #Dark,#Dancehall, and #Night. The main hashtag should be added to the song's page. The other descriptive tags should be added to the description.

Steps in Adding SoundCloud Hashtags

SoundCloud has a built-in system that can be used to add hashtags. Here are the steps to follow when adding them:

1. Visit the SoundCloud page where the track is.
2. Under the box for the description, add the tag you want to use in your track.
3. Once you have pasted the hashtags, press enter once, plus a space for the hashtag.
4. Long press the CTRL button and tap on the added hashtag to highlight the spaces and the hashtags.
5. You can now move the hashtag and space tag using the arrow keys to the right side of the description box.
6. Finally, tap edit, followed by Add Page Attribute. You don't have to take any action to add a new attribute. Instead, you can click on the Update Page. You have completed adding your hashtag, which will now be visible on your track.

How Many Hashtags Should Be Added to The Track Description?

If you're getting started on SoundCloud, it can be hard to determine the number of hashtags to include in the track description. You might be tempted to use as many hashtags as possible, but this will not have the desired effect. The most important thing should be to add the right thematic and specific tags that meet the user's preferences. It is advisable to use between three and five tags per song.

How to Find the Right SoundCloud Hashtags

Choosing the right hashtags on SoundCloud can be confusing. Fortunately, a few tips can help you make the right choice.

Consider Your Genre

Understanding your genre is one of the most important steps in using SoundCloud hashtags. As noted earlier, consider your music genre when uploading music. This should be your main tag.

Check Your Competitors

This is a simple but effective strategy. Remember that well-established musicians already have a better understanding of what hashtags work best to achieve the right results. However, this doesn't mean you copy their hashtags blindly, as there are some exceptions to the rule. For instance, the tag #Soul should only be used for Soul and RnB songs. If you find a musician using a popular hashtag but aren't comfortable using it, you can check out other musicians.

Use Hashtag Research Tools

You can use various tools to find hashtags for your SoundCloud Music. Some of the most popular options include:

• Rite tag. With this tool, you can get an instant hashtag for your SoundCloud, helping to drive engagement.
• Keyhole. This tool can help you find great hashtags and provides essential data on different factors.
• Hashtagify.Me. You can use this tool to search for popular trends and the popularity of hashtags.
• All Hashtags. This is good for creating hashtags for different platforms.

While the above tool focuses more on popular social media sites such as Instagram and TikTok, they can still be effective for finding SoundCloud tags. Remember to search for keywords related to music in your genre to see the hashtags that appear. On top of that, you can use social listening tools such as Sprout Social to determine what music fans are talking about.

How to Use the Best Hashtags for SoundCloud Music

You can now add your other tags to the additional tag. This is where you add the mood tags. When considering the tags for this space, ask yourself one question: What is the mood of the tag?

For instance, if you post a pop track, you can consider its vibe. Is the song moody or a summer hit? All these are potential tags to use in the music as they are some of the popular tags that SoundCloud users are searching for. The RiteTag suggests that some of the most popular mood tags are #Happy, #Study, and #Dark.

Remember that tags aren't the first thing people look for when using hashtags. Therefore, they may easily miss your major tags. One way to overcome that is utilizing a tagboard that helps you create a single tag for your release. That way, all the people you would like to target will be in one place.

Top Tips for Using SoundCloud Hashtags

You need to follow these steps when using SoundCloud hashtags for the best results. These are:

Use specific tags

When considering the right tag, start with the main genre and narrow your choice down to the sub-niches. For instance, if the genre is #CountryMusic, be specific if it's # Bluegrass or #AlternativeCountry. 

Be as descriptive as possible

Use tags that best explain your music. For instance, if you have an instrument prominent in the music, add it to one of your tags. It could be #guitarinstrumental or #drumsolo. This can be a good way of reaching more listeners who understand the kind of music they are searching for.

Avoid overusing keywords

The more hashtags you use, the broader your audience will reach. However, this is not the case. Instead, you must focus on three to five highly relevant hashtags for your music track.

Use your brand name

SoundCloud tags aren't only about getting your music discovered. You can use them to promote your brand name and increase your branding on SoundCloud. 

Use short, memorable, popular hashtags

Use a few words instead of using so many words in each hashtag. Avoid hashtags that look clever and obscure. Using a hashtag that nobody uses is a waste of space and will be hard to find. In return, it will not cause any traffic.

Use specific and detailed hashtags

Using specific hashtags can lead to better results than using very broad hashtags. While broader keywords have bigger search volumes, they also have high competition. If you use them, your music videos will likely get lost in other unrelated keywords. To reach a specific audience, remember that the algorithm will consider your type of music and whether it fits the tag before recommending it to users.

Research well

Experts say the best tags are well researched and will work well for your track.  That is why it is important to take the time to research the best SoundCloud hashtag to use for your track.

Best SoundCloud Tags to Get Music Plays

When creating SoundCloud hashtags, the most important thing is to remain congruent. You want to ensure that you always get it right with your tags. This applies not only to SoundCloud but also to other social media sites such as TikTok and X. By doing that, you can make it easier for people to find you on major social media outlets.

Whether you have online chats or events, make sure you are using the right hashtags. This will make it easier to appear more credible and help you connect with other artists. People can search for specific tags that best describe your song and aren't too generic. For instance, if a song is tagged #vocaldubstep, when you look at the tag, it will be clear that it describes a vocal song, dubstep, and may have bass in it.

While each track is unique, there are some universal tags that you can use to get more exposure. The most searched SoundCloud hashtags are Rap, Pop, Rock, Happy, House, Indie, and Dark.

Finals Thoughts

Statistics indicate that over 100,000 tracks are uploaded to SoundCloud every day. With such a high number of music, the success of your music depends on how easy it is for users to find it. Therefore, using hashtags in your tracks effectively is more beneficial than ever. Following our guide should make it easy to find and use hashtags that will give your music more exposure.