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5 tips to boost your podcast SEO

SEO, in its most basic form, is the process of improving a website's organic (i.e., non-paid) visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) by increasing traffic to it through free and organic methods.

2 years ago   •   6 min read

Podcast SEO? What's that?

SEO, in its most basic form, is the process of improving a website's organic (i.e., non-paid) visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) by increasing traffic to it through free and organic methods.

Despite the fact that there are far too many podcasts on the internet, an SEO for podcasts will ensure that your hard work reaches the top.

Of course, seasoned podcast listeners who want to discover new podcasts may do so on their phones. After all, every podcast app is a search engine, so optimizing your podcast with keywords is critical in obtaining it to appear in these search results. After all, each podcast app is a search engine as well.

That's not to mention there's a huge untapped audience that doesn't know where to look for new podcasts or has never heard of one!

In order to increase the visibility of your podcast, you must attract those interested individuals who go to Google or other search engines to seek podcasts by keywords like "Podcasts about hiking" or "Automobile podcast."

Podcast SEO is a must?

In a nutshell, yes.

Tip 1: Know your podcast keywords.

If you're still in the early phases of your podcast, choosing a topic that can lead to a lot of keywords might be beneficial. This will make this whole SEO method a lot simpler. If you're talking about running, for example, it's preferable to have each episode focus on different types of running. The word "Hiking" might be the keyword for episode one since it focuses on hiking. The phrase "Marathon" may be the keyword for episode two, and so on.

Keep three key elements in mind when selecting the best keywords: search volume, keyword difficulty, and search intent.

Search volume is how frequently users search for the term each month on Google.
keyword difficulty is a measurement of how difficult it is to rank for keywords with certain phrases. Shorter keywords are more difficult to rank for, while longer ones are easier since they're less frequently used.
Search intent is about when people search for a term, they're looking for something. People who are looking for "Meme" are more likely to be seeking images of a hilarious meme than podcasts about memes, so consider phrases like "meme cultural."

The name of your podcast is your first keyword. Consider your topic, the episode's structure, and the best keyword to describe your podcast before choosing a name.

Look for keywords with a large number of monthly searches and where there's little competition. KWFinder, for example, can estimate how many people search for a certain term on a monthly basis.

You can clearly see all the information about the keyword Podcast grow in KWFinder.
You can clearly see all the information about the keyword difficulty of Podcast grow in KWFinder.

Identify podcasts and single episodes with the keyword research tool. If your budget is tight, there are several free options to explore.

Tip 2: Don't forget your metadata

Let's ditch the tech jargon metadata and simply put, the part you need to care about is what your podcast looks like on Google search results.

The title tag and a description that explains the podcast or episode's content are the metadata for a podcast.

For your title tag, try to include at least one of your keywords (ideally your most important keyword) as close to the front of the title tag as possible.

For your description, you can use the keyword snippet and a call to action in your description. You want to persuade potential listeners to tune in whenever you can.

But make sure you give enough background and context so that it is informative and helpful.

Don't know what to do with your metadata? Look it up on your podcast host, most of them offer this feature!

Tip 3: Add transcriptions of your Episodes to your website.

Transcribing your podcast is the least difficult and best way to boost your SEO.

Google is great, it's in almost every aspect of our lives. But it's also silly. Google can't listen to your audio, but it can read text. Transcriptions are a fantastic way to let people learn what you say in your podcast. If your transcript includes the answers to Google's questions, they may go here to discover more podcast transcripts or subscribe to the podcast.

You may include a large number of keywords and links in your transcription text. More significantly, you're adding the equivalent of a blog post after each episode. Assume how much traffic and subscribers it would generate.

More benefits about podcast transcription? Check the blog below.

5 reasons why podcast transcripts can grow your audience.
Podcasters must learn how to expand their audience and promote their material to succeed. Transcriptions of podcasts are an excellent approach to growing new audiences through SEO and social media. Transcripts may be a fantastic investment if you want to continue producing content in the future.

Of course, transcribing podcasts is very time consuming, but you have many AI tools to choose and they will automatically transcribe your episodes. All you need to do is a simple proofreading. Different transcription tools have their pros and cons, but in general, the paid ones are better than the free ones.

Tip 4: Set up your podcast on social media.

As a general guideline, we always advocate that podcasters use social media. It's by far the most effective approach to interact with your audience, build relationships with them, and urge people to share new episodes when they go live. Any corner you want to advertise on YouTube, Instagram, Tiktok, or Twitter.

Social media has an ‘indirect effect’ on your podcast SEO because it generates social proof or word-of-mouth recommendations. Google will notice if your social media accounts are being visited, your material is being shared, reviews are given, and links to your episodes are posted.

You don't need a large following to obtain a few likes and comments. Encourage your audience to share your podcast with their friends and family, and don't be afraid to ask for reviews. Reviews may be quite beneficial since Google and audiences are now interested in a podcast's quality. Positive feedback can help you optimize your SEO.

Backlinks in SEO are like testimonials written for you by others.

A backlink is a link from one page to another. If page A links to page B, we say that page B has a backlink from page A. Backlinks are one of the most important ranking signals. There’s a direct correlation between quantity and quality of backlinks and rankings.

External websites that point to your site are considered "endorsements" by Google and other search engines. If other sites are directing traffic to you, it's a sign that your podcast is high-quality and reliable.

The 2 backlink metrics that affect your podcast's SEO are:

Number of backlinks - the more backlinks your podcast has, the better.
Weight of linked pages - in general, the larger and more senior the site giving you backlinks, the better.

So how do you get more backlinks?

Look for blogs that have a list of the top podcasts in your niche/topic - request an reviews from the author to see whether they will include you on their list.
Exchange links with each other and other podcast sites. It's a great way to be guests on each other's podcast shows!
Posting your episodes on social media is also a good way to do this.

To Summarize

When it comes to improving your Google and other search engine rankings, there are a variety of factors to consider. You should consider your site's load time, distribute your podcast to different platforms, and take advantage of keyword research.

Remember, as essential as consumer reviews are for an eCommerce business, listener evaluations are just as important. You're simply offering your show in this situation. To make your subject more discoverable on Google and podcast listening apps, follow these five recommendations. And good luck with your project!

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