SoundCloud MP3

So, you’ve created a channel and you’ve created your first track to upload to SoundCloud. Now what?

You will be able to work out how to upload a track just by doing it but there are some wrinkles.

Locate your Mp3 file/s and upload them. This will take a while, but you can spend that time productively filling in the required form fields.

Upload MP3 to Soundcloud

• The only required field is Title. That should give you a clue to its importance. SoundCloud will try to use the filename for the title. You can override that.
• Description: Surprisingly backlinks from the SoundCloud description field will transfer juice to your own website on Google. That’s a giveaway so always include your website URL in the description field.
• Genre: could be an important tag for others to find your music but is somewhat abused so its relevance is questionable. Look on the Jazz page, very little jazz!
• Tags: These are essentially keywords. The value of tags to rank is unclear. I’ve A/B tested with and without them but, like all personal testing, the datasets are too small to say definitively whether they are within the margin of error. ‘Keyword stuffing’ tags can probably hurt you much more than it can help you.
• Upload your own, carefully thought-out thumbnail

You can move backwards and forwards around the tabs.

They are…

Metadata tab: the buy link should be filled in with a backlink to your website (or somewhere the track can be bought)

Monetization tab: a waste of time in my opinion

Permissions: here you can allow users to download your track. Personally, I think there is more value in getting users to my website but don’t be precious if you have nowhere better to send them let them download!

Comments

Comments are a PC only feature that pop up ‘snackbar’ style messages during the track, which you can use for a CTA (call to action).

Once posted, add the first comments yourself; this will encourage others to comment (nobody wants to be the first one).

The sooner a visitor clicks off the less juice is awarded; ‘bounce rate’ is important, as evidenced by that metric’s prominence on the statistical analysis pages.

Once the track is processed, which includes copyright checks you can fall foul of, all you have to do is press Save and your track is live!

Go to your track and review it. I always add comments throughout the track. This gets the ball rolling and encourages others to comment.

When to post MP3's to SoundCloud

Post often. Post at the same time every week. This will bring followers. But DON’T post for the sake of posting, maintain your standards.

Use the stats to check the peak time for activity.

Conclusion

Get your title and description fields right for MP3's you upload. Add comments to get the ball rolling.

Next... Promote your SoundCloud channel