Everything you need to know about Podcast SEO
Content is one of the key areas that Google looks at when trying to determine where you should rank on the SERPs, they want you to provide valuable information to their searches that ultimately answer the search query. Unfortunately, this is pretty common knowledge in the world of SEO, and whilst having a blog is still a great idea, it is somewhat saturated.
Content diversification is key, and different mediums for delivering great content are becoming attractive to Google. Videos and podcasts are great ways that you can create great content for searchers and customers; and the latter is approximately 1428 times less competitive than blogging.
So you are ready, with a number of great ideas for topics to cover on your podcast that links to your website offering whilst also giving you something interesting to talk about; but you need to consider podcast SEO.
Where do I start with podcast SEO?
When you are developing your podcast SEO strategy you need to know what content you are going to cover. In many ways podcasts, SEO aligns with regular SEO, you should find topics that users are talking about and think of interesting approaches to answer them.
Try repurposing the tools you use for standard SEO activity and apply the findings to podcasts. For content generation ideas, find the popular blog posts in your niche and adopt the keywords and topics for your podcast. This strategy works well as not only will you have a lot of data to develop topics from, the smaller podcast market means there is also less competition for some of the typically popular topics.
Develop some keywords to target for your podcast
After you have a rough idea of what topics you are going to cover in the podcast, you should develop some relevant keywords that you are going to target. The keyword tools for wider SEO will work here and you can take the insights and apply them to all areas of your podcast. Try to include the keyword naturally in the podcast title, long and short descriptions, and show notes.
Question-based keywords work well for podcasts, not only are they popular amongst searchers they also give you a natural dialog to follow in the episode.
Make sure the audio is good quality
Whilst you do not need to invest in super-expensive microphones for your podcast, you do need to be clear and coherent. Not only is this important for getting your message across to your listener, but Google also needs to be able to interpret your vocals to determine the suitability of your podcast for relevant search queries. This is also important when ranking in podcast platform searches from the likes of Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.
Add a transcript to the podcast
Catering to all your customers is critical and if you offer transcripts of the podcast you will be able to get your content to those with hearing difficulties easier. This is important from a UX perspective, but having transcripts on your podcasts also increases the chances of it ranking well in searches. You will have in-depth content that mentions your keyword at a natural rate.
Make sure your podcast thumbnail is well designed
Whilst this will not directly affect your podcast SEO, having attractive thumbnails are important when it comes to increasing the click-through rate and generating more brand awareness for your podcast. You do not need to have a thumbnail with high-end design, just make sure it stands out from other podcasts. Having faces in the thumbnail can also help with the CTR.
Take advantage of Google Podcast Manager for your SEO
In 2019 Google realised the increasing popularity of podcasts and decided that they didn’t want to be left behind. To try and keep searchers on their website and off the podcast platforms, Google developed it’s on the podcast platform ‘Google Podcasts’.
As part of good podcast circulation and SEO, you should get your podcast listed on as many directories as you can. Different podcast hosting companies offer different ways of doing this but as long as you have your podcast RSS feed you will have everything you need.
Looking back at Google Podcasts, these now have the potential to show in search results. As shown, they can often appear in SERPs high up and can be attained without a huge investment in traditional SEO tactics.
Google Podcast Manager has received a facelift recently and not only can you receive information on how your podcast has been performing in terms of downloads, listening times, and drop-off points, the platform also now lets you view impressions and clicks that you are getting from search results.
When it comes to optimising the content of your podcast one Google’s platform, they have provided detailed information in regards to metadata and tags, and you can register for the platform here: https://podcastsmanager.google.com/about
Encourage listeners to leave genuine reviews and feedback
When it comes to improving your podcast for the future, feedback is essential. One of the best ways that you can get this is by encouraging listeners to leave feedback on the platform they are listening to. Apple podcasts are notable as it places heavy emphasis on the number of reviews a podcast has when determining where it should appear in the search results.
The reviews should be organic and reflect the growth of the podcast. A heavy influx of reviews overnight will be an indicator that you are trying to game the system, this is not good for your podcast SEO.
Use your website to circulate the podcast further
You do not only need to stick to the standard podcast platform when it comes to finding new listeners, you should also include it as a section on your website. This is good for both the SEO of your podcast, which can receive more traffic, but also your website which gains a load more content.
Engage with your podcast community or guests and links
When it comes to finding guests for your podcasts in one sense the sky’s the limit. There are plenty of directories that exist to connect podcast interviews with potential guests and vice versa. This is great if you are looking to plan out content and create a more guest based show. Another benefit that can be reaped from this is link building.
If your guest is affiliated with or owns a high authority website, getting a link back to your podcast’s web page is a great way to increase the quality of the SEO. Relationship building is key here, mention subtly beforehand about linking to each other and see where it goes.
Get in touch if you have any further questions on podcast SEO
As shown there is a fair amount to podcast SEO but there are a lot of parallels to be drawn between it and more traditional forms of SEO. If you have any questions on how you make your podcast perform better, get in touch with a member of our team today.
