We’re all ears: SEO for podcasts
These days, everyone’s got a podcast! From ranking your ideal meals in a dream restaurant to learning new languages, and even discussing your guiltiest anti-feminisms in front of a live audience, there’s a podcast for just about everything. And now, as the SEO industry continues to grow across various mediums, there’s even a podcast for that as well!
But we’re not here to talk about a podcast about SEO, although keep your ears peeled for more audio content from Embryo since the first season of Never Mind The Keywords broadcasted in 2022. Rather, we want to tell you how you can maximise your podcast listener outreach with SEO.
Never Mind The Keywords Episode 1: Ross Green on Marketing, Leadership, and Jason MrazPodcast popularity
According to 2024 data from Exploding Topics, almost a quarter of all internet users listen to podcasts. But why are podcasts so popular?
Many podcast listeners have revealed that they feel part of an instant community who all tune into the same voice, whether they listen during their commute to work, while at the gym, or cooking in the kitchen. People also love that you can multitask by listening to a podcast while carrying out these other tasks!
Another reason for podcasts’ popularity is the parasocial relationship between a podcast host and a podcast listener which evokes a sense of intimacy through connecting with a real person, as opposed to just reading words on a screen written by a real person. (Nevertheless, I just thought I’d pop in here to say hello!)
Like music streaming, there’s also an inexhaustible range of topics covered so that you can listen to an episode on just about anything you want. That being said, with millions of shows available, how do you make sure that listeners choose yours over another? You’ve come to the right place.
Optimising your podcast with SEO
When it comes to search engine optimisation, your podcast is just as susceptible to a few tweaks and changes (or in other words, the implementation of a thorough and comprehensive SEO strategy) to make it stand out and attract more listeners. Although your audio content might be top-quality, no one is going to know that unless you establish your podcast high-up amongst the rankings.
Here are five things you can do to get your podcast out there.
1. Give your podcast a home with a dedicated website
Getting your podcast listed on popular streaming services such as Spotify or Apple Podcast is a great start, but anyone can do that. If you want search engines to recognise your podcast, it’s a great idea to build a website that crawlers can index in order to enhance your online presence.
By creating a central hub for your podcast, you can also include extra details that are too much for the episode show notes, such as links to articles that you reference, information about in-person talks you might be doing, and of course references to the rest of your relevant work. A website can serve as a space for your listeners to learn more about you and your company as whole.
In terms of accessibility, including blog posts and transcripts in your website can also increase your outreach by catering to the needs of wider audiences.
2. Promote your podcast on social media
As well as establishing a home base for your podcast in the form of a website, many podcasts also benefit from social media coverage which can drive traffic and engagement to your podcast. The platform you decide to use will depend on the content of your podcast and where your target audience is likely to be the most active.
For example, if you’re targeting your podcast at an audience of 50+ year olds, you’re likely to do a lot better on Facebook than you are on TikTok or Instagram.
The type of promotional content you share might include snippets from live or upcoming episodes, engaging infographics to announce new content, or additional visual content not available in the audio format.
By encouraging shares, likes and comments on social media, you create social signals that search engines consider when ranking content.
3. Enhance episode titles
You might have agonised over what to call your podcast, but the brainstorming doesn’t end there! The titles of your episodes are just as important, if not more so, when it comes to making yourself visible to search engines and listeners. They need to be relevant and compelling, as well as relevant to the topics you actually cover in your episode.
In order to make sure that you’re crafting titles that are relevant to your target audience, make sure you carry out some research to identify the sorts of things that will resonate with them.
4. Maximise your metadata
Likewise, the meta description you give your episode can be the difference between a listener clicking “play” or clicking off your podcast all together. Ideally, you want to write a concise yet informative meta-description of what the listener can expect.
In particular, you should consider incorporating relevant keywords to enhance your show’s discoverability. However, be careful not to sacrifice creativity for SEO optimisation, the key is to maintain a beneficial balance of the two.
5. Encourage engagement and reviews
One of the most effective ways to increase your podcast’s visibility is to encourage listeners to share and review your episodes and related content. Positive reviews can have a massive impact on your podcast’s credibility and rankings as they provide social proofs for potential new listeners.
If you’ve ever wondered why podcast hosts often end their podcasts with “if you enjoyed this podcast, please like, share and subscribe for more,” this is because they know the secret to podcast SEO.
Listen closely, and we’ll tell you too…
The secret to podcast success
Ultimately, the thing that makes a podcast successful or not, is the listeners. Like the tree that falls in the forest, if you make a podcast and no one is around to hear it, does it really make a sound?
That’s why promoting engagement with your audio content through an effective SEO strategy is so important. From sharing across social platforms, to writing compelling titles and meta descriptions and even to collaborating with guests who can bring fresh perspective, valuable insights and unique content.
There are a whole host of creative strategies you can use to boost engagement with your podcast but above all, if you want to build an audience of listeners, you need to ensure that you’re producing content that resonates with likely listeners.
