If there is a fad that is still going strong and would seem to be in the public discourse a couple of years from now, it’s podcasting. Yes, your favourite comedian sitting with a mic in front of them and wisecracking the whole time is an entire niche in itself, an entire marketing segment. And, while the competition is very fierce and dominated by Joe Rogan and his 1500-plus videos, that does not mean that you and your friends shouldn’t try out your hands at podcasting. You will still have an audience, and a sizable one at that. All thanks to one thing: podcast SEO.
So, what is podcast SEO? Do podcasts even have SEO? Apparently, they do, and when SEO podcast works, it works like an absolute dream and gets you in the top five in the podcast rankings. Let’s look at the particulars of what exactly we are on about and how it can make your podcast rank. We’ll also be taking a look at podcast SEO best practices and podcast SEO tips that can help you go right next to Joe Rogan without getting dished in the face by him.
Let’s get started.
What is podcast SEO?
Podcast SEO is an offshoot of audio SEO, which essentially pertains to the usage of audio and SEO principles to rank the content of the podcast to show up at the top spots of Google’s SERPs (search engine result pages). The higher your audio content is on these SERPs, the more traffic you will have on your podcast.
It is important to note here that while podcast SEO does use the same SEO practices for written content like using the relevant keywords, keyword placement and optimising the content around the podcast for relevant keywords as well, some of what will follow is specific only to podcast SEO and will help rank your podcast better than the millions out there.
Podcast SEO best practices to rank yours
These are some of the tips and tricks for podcast SEO that will help channel more traffic to your podcast, increase its rating and show up on SERPs among the top results. Bear in mind, these are tips that are meant solely for audio SEO and podcast SEO. Search engine optimization for written content will operate rather differently.
Let’s get started.
Invest in a podcast website or page
If you’ve been living under a rock, well then, you can be excused for not having a podcast website or page. And the fact that you are a beloved pink starfish also helps your case. But you know what doesn’t? Not having a podcast website. For starters, you will be giving your podcast a huge SEO boost by making a website or page, and again, inculcating the major and relevant keywords in it. The forum that the podcast is being hosted on; for instance, YouTube, Spotify or Sounder.fm also have their own platforms where a page can be created for the podcast. Not only is it great for the SEO but is very helpful in improving the UX or user experience of your podcast. Not only will it be easier to find, but it will also be easier to know particulars about it once the user has found it. Which brings us to our next point.
Use relevant keywords for your podcast’s description
Each and every podcast has a description that is the most relevant for search engines looking to rank your audio content. As such, you will need to treat the description of the podcast as the main thing for podcast SEO: it will show up in a lot of different places which will then translate into a lot of traffic. To do that, not only does your description need to have a good selection of relevant keywords in it, but also have something that sets it apart from other podcasters who might be droning on about the same topic. Use relevant language, keep it fresh and original and include the keywords. Then your description will start catalysing your podcast and you will start pulling in views and traffic.
Use search keywords to your advantages
Your podcast runs on the content that you and your guest speaker will be conversing about. Suppose you two hit it off talking about basketball or boxing (with Mike Tyson!). That right there is quality content that can be used for podcast SEO. Use these keywords like ‘Mike Tyson boxing’ or ‘Mike Tyson or Muhammad Ali’ to really dominate the search results for your podcast. It will not only make the search engine rank your content and your podcast higher, but it will also allow for users to easily find what they might be looking for. For example, the latter keyword is a pretty famous one, and if you have Mike Tyson on your podcast talking about Muhammad Ali and you have these keywords in the description, you best believe it will be shooting for the moon in no time.
Try writing blog posts, associated content on each podcast episode
Another way to really give your podcast a big SEO boost is by writing a blog post on the content of the podcast episode. For example, there are many blogs out there that chronicle the podcast where Rogan hosted Elon Musk and had him smoke some blunts. Similarly, YouTube Shorts is another great way to break up a long podcast into tiny bite-sized chunks that can then have some of the highlights of the podcasts. Articles, shorts the possibilities are endless with having associated content out on the same podcast. Again, this will have a very beneficial effect on your podcast’s SEO, and the results will have your podcast ranking on the top.
Keep your podcasts brief
Let’s take a nice little reality check here. Joe Rogan can have a lot of really important people on his podcast like big businessmen, athletes and people of a certain social standing. For other podcasters, the pool of well-known people isn’t really all that big. Which means that the people won’t stick around for an hour or two listening to a country musician; they will, however, listen to two hours to Neil deGrasse Tyson with Joe Rogan. So, for starters or even those who are quite there at the top yet try and keep your podcasts brief. Attention spans are getting shorter, and you need at least an A-lister to keep your podcasts long and the viewers interested. From a podcast SEO standpoint, keeping your podcasts short will translate into more traffic and more content that is concentrated into a small, short package.
Use social media to promote your podcasts
By linking your social media accounts to your podcast and by promoting it through your accounts, you will experience a massive traffic spike. This is because social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) have a lot of engagement potential on them, and since people are more and more receptive towards podcasts in general, you will see the results in the form of increased traffic. This linking also helps your SEO by increasing the exposure your podcast gets and the amount of traffic you get from it.
Transcribe the podcast
Transcribing your podcast will help the crawlers (that rank content on Google) understand the podcast content better and will automatically result in your podcast getting ranked higher on SERPs. What’s more, by transcribing the podcast, you will also be able to include links in the text that you obviously can’t do in the podcast. This will further be crawled on as quality content, and will be picked up by crawlers, thereby increasing your rank on the SERPs. All in all, a really beneficial step for podcast SEO.
In a nutshell,
By ensuring these SEO best practices for podcast, your production will hit the top spots in no time. Once that is done, remember the golden rule: consistency is key. Keep shooting, keep uploading and keep bringing in guests with interesting topics. A good topic is also a great way to increase your SEO, since an interesting topic translates into lots of search volume, which, in turn, will have your podcast ranking even higher. Easy enough, right?
Purpose Path: mastering the ins and outs of podcast SEO
Well, it’s not easy enough for everybody. Podcasting is not easy; what with scheduling, preparing the content and other tasks, podcasters simply can’t be bothered with SEO. Enter: Purpose Path. We’ve got podcast SEO nailed down; from strategies that ensure maximum exposure and engagement to tricks that will have your podcast among the top brass. The first step is understanding the basics, but Purpose Path is way beyond that.
If you are a podcaster and are looking to play in the big leagues, you need a marketing partner who thinks as big as yourself. ‘Purpose Path X you’ sounds like a neat arrangement. Why not give your podcast a nitrous shot of digital marketing excellence and watch it climb to the stratosphere?
