With podcasting on the rise, Google announced last year that podcasts will appear in search engine result pages (SERPs). Because of this, it’s important to incorporate search engine optimization into your podcasting strategy. Here are 12 SEO tips that can help your podcast episodes appear in search engine results.
Incorporate Keywords
When creating a podcast, you should incorporate keywords to help searchers find your podcast. Before recording your podcast, you should complete keyword research to know which words and phrases your target audience is searching for. If your podcast is about home renovation, you could use keywords like “home trends” (with 5,100 monthly searches) or “kitchen makeover” (with 15,600 monthly searches). Then, include keywords in your podcast title, image file names, script, subheadings, and more. To find trending keywords about your podcast topic, check out tools like KWFinder and SEMrush.
Use Engaging Titles
Your podcast title tells the listener what your podcast is about. Titles should be attention-grabbing and interesting enough to make the listener click on it, while clearly indicating what listeners are going to hear. This is also a chance to use the keyword research you already completed. You can also try adding a subtitle to give more information to both your audience and search engines.
Optimize Meta Descriptions
The meta description is an HTML tag used to describe what your content is about. When adding a podcast to your website, the meta description should be no more than 160 characters. It should include keywords, too, but not too many because that could be considered keyword stuffing. Providing a clear, easy-to-understand meta description can help Google understand the context of your podcast, which, in turn, can help your podcast rank better for relevant search queries.
Include Show Notes
You can easily give your audience more information about each podcast episode by including show notes. Podcast show notes are an in-depth written account of what happened during an episode while supplying additional resources like articles, guest bios, and videos. Including podcast notes helps attract listeners and also allows Google to understand what episodes are about.
Transcribe Your Audio
A podcast transcript is a word-for-word account of what was said during your episode. By transcribing your episodes, you can provide search engines with a simple way to assess your podcast content. Transcribing episodes can be tedious and time-consuming, but you can use sites like Happy Scribe or Sonix to help.
Create a Website
Although having a website isn’t necessary for your podcast, it does help your podcast SEO strategy. A website allows you to create and post more content surrounding your podcast—and the more context you can give about your podcast, the more likely you are to show up in search engine results.
Supplement with Blog Posts
Creating blog content around your episodes can help your podcast show up in more search engine results. Whether you choose to write original content that supplements your podcast episode or you repurpose content from show notes and audio transcriptions, blog posts give search engines more content to crawl and index for search engine results.
Add Videos on YouTube
There are more than 2 billion logged-in monthly users on YouTube, which is why supplementing your podcast with YouTube videos should be part of your podcasting strategy. It also means you have more chances to incorporate keywords in video titles and descriptions, which can help search engines and listeners alike to find your podcast online. To get started, convert audio files using sites like Kapwing or Wavve, or if possible, record an actual video of you and any podcast participants that you can share on YouTube.
Ask for Rating & Reviews
Your podcast reviews and ratings play an important part in your SEO strategy. On Google, businesses with positive reviews typically rank higher than competitors—and the same goes for podcasts. The more listeners positively review or rate your podcast, the higher your podcast could rank in search. Encourage listeners to contribute ratings and reviews, but don’t push it to the point where it feels like you’re spamming them.
Try Link Building
Not only can you grow your online presence, but you can also improve your search engine optimization by link building. Backlinks are created when one website links to another. You can create backlinks for your podcast by sharing your podcast on directories, being a guest on other podcasts, or having guests with good online presences on your podcast. By having quality websites link to your podcast, Google may begin to see your podcast a trustworthy and authoritative resource, which can help you rank better in search engine results.
Share Your Podcast on Social Media
No matter what content you’re trying to promote, engagement on social media can help you maximize your podcast exposure. With more than half of the world’s total population using social media, it’s important to post on your accounts often, especially when you have new podcast episodes. Regularly engaging with your audience might not directly impact SEO, but having active social profiles with information about your podcast can be viewed as a positive signal for search engines that you are legitimate.
List Your Podcast on Directories
A crucial step for your podcast SEO strategy is to get your podcast on major podcast directories, as this gives your podcast more links, legitimacy, and places for listeners to find you. Before you submit your podcast to any directory, you need to create a podcast RSS feed. This contains information about your show and episode that’s then passed on to podcast directories. Once you create your podcast RSS feed, you can submit it to top directories like:
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