Podcast SEO: 3 Steps to Get Seen in Search Engines
As of early 2019, Google began showing podcasts in search engine results, making podcast SEO more important than ever.
SEO (search engine optimization) helps podcast discoverability in Google, Bing, YouTube, and within podcast directories.
Typical SEO strategies include written content optimized with links and keywords, images, and video, as well as the strategic use of social media to boost the visibility of websites in SERPs (search engine results pages).
You can apply these same concepts to boost the SEO of your podcast to help its ranking in both traditional search engines like Google, within podcast directories, and even YouTube.
Why podcast SEO is important to grow your show
The goal of podcast SEO is to make your show more visible in search results. You can use SEO strategies to simply grow your podcast audience, or as part of an overall content strategy to boost your business’ digital marketing and content marketing efforts.
No matter your goal, implementing podcast SEO makes your show easier to find, but it requires time and effort to see results.
Pro tip: Assess what your goals are, and pick the SEO strategies that feel doable and sustainable in the long run. Don’t feel like you have to include every step included in each section right away.
Foundational SEO: Steps to take from the beginning
Before you put effort into optimizing your podcast SEO, be sure to set yourself up for success:
Submit your podcast to the most popular directories:
Buzzsprout helps you submit your show to all the top directories like Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes), Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, etc. Getting your show listed in these outlets is a crucial step for generating traffic to your podcast and building a loyal following.
Make sure your podcast meets the requirements for each directory you choose so it gets accepted on the first try.
Create dedicated social media accounts:
Most people already have some form of social media, but it’s important that your podcast has its own, separate account.
Keeping your podcast social media separate from your personal account allows you to stay on-brand and create more tailored content for your followers.
Optimize social media bios:
Social media has billions of users, but some outlets (like Instagram) don’t allow for linking within posts. The limitations of certain outlets make it even more important to optimize where you can: your bio.
Including links and a tailored description in social media bios gives your followers an easy way to access your show’s content and is an opportunity for you to clearly state the message of your podcast (even if you only have 150 characters to do it)!
Social media is a back-door approach to boosting SEO, but it’s just as important as traditional strategies, and the end goals are—ultimately— the same.
Social media is one of the most powerful tools you can utilize to get more listeners, grow trust among your audience, and boost your show’s visibility.
Step #1 Create an effective podcast website
Podcast websites with optimized written content make it easier for Google to index your page so it shows up in search queries.
A podcast website serves as a home base for your listeners and a place where they can access new and archived episodes, show notes, episode transcriptions, and supplementary material.
All Buzzsprout users get a customizable website that lets you link to your podcast directory listings, social media sites, and Patreon page all in one place.
An effective podcast website should include:
Keywords:
Keywords help Google rank your website so people can find your podcast when they search using related terms and phrases.
Keywords are usually associated with written content, but now, Google Podcasts uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) to decipher spoken keywords and phrases.
To find your keywords, think of what terms or phrases someone would use to search for your podcast’s topic. You can do this keyword research on your own or using free keyword finder tools. You can also use paid SEO services for a more thorough SEO strategy.
These words and phrases should be used throughout your written content and meta description to make it easier for Google to index.
Supplementary content:
Your website is a great place to offer high-quality, supplemental material your podcast listeners can’t find anywhere else. Content can include podcast show notes, checklists, worksheets, and blogs related to individual episodes.
Correctly formatted blogs:
Include several H2 headlines (a subheading of your main H1 headline) and use keywords and phrases in each one. Break up your blog text so it is easy for someone to scan if they’re using a smartphone to access your page.
Links to social media:
Include hyperlinked social media icons on your homepage so viewers can easily connect with your Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube page.
Email opt-in & contact form:
Make it easy for people visiting your website to sign up for your newsletter, free guide, or just contact you to ask a question. Websites like Wix, Squarespace, and Wordpress make it easy to add these features to your page.
About page:
It’s important to have a concise description of the vision and purpose behind your podcast, brand, or business. An about page helps build authority and trust with your audience and is another opportunity for building on-page SEO with optimized text.
Embed player:
Embed players increase traffic to your website and are the backbone of a podcast website.
Because the web player links to your RSS feed, it automatically updates with new episodes when they’re released. Most (but not all) podcast hosts offer their users an embed player.
Images with alt text including keywords:
Alt text primarily exists so screen-reading tools can describe images to people who are unable to see them. Including keywords and phrases in your alt text can also help SEO.
Aside from SEO, images make a site visually appealing, and a visually engaging site heightens engagement and encourages repeat visitors.
Episode artwork:
Your podcast website gives you a place to showcase episodes and feature individual episode artwork. As we know, Google loves images — especially images with optimized alt text.
Compressed image files:
Make your site as efficient and fast as possible by compressing your images so they require less bandwidth to load.
Image size can dramatically affect the speed of your site. Sites like Tinypng.com compress image files so they require fewer bytes to store and load faster.
Step #2 Podcast SEO: Optimize your show
Boosting podcast SEO requires optimizing your website, your podcast show as a whole, and individual episodes.
Follow these best practices to help your podcast SEO:
Include keywords in metadata:
After you know your keywords and phrases, you can incorporate them into the metadata of your podcast. Make sure your podcast title, description, and even the show’s email address all include keywords or phrases.
Create engaging show artwork:
Create high-quality show artwork that meets the standards of podcast directories. Tweaking your artwork by adding the title of your episode can help your SEO. Adding a keyword-rich title helps increase your podcast episode ranking for this particular keyword.
Interview other podcasters (link building):
If you want more people to share your podcast (also called link building), you’ll probably need to give them an incentive.
When someone shares a link to your show it gives you more exposure and increases your authority in the eyes of listeners. Interviewing other podcasters on your show gives your guest a reason to share the link to the episode on their own podcast or website (a backlink).
Step #3 Podcast episode SEO: Optimize individual episodes
Individual episodes now show up in Google search results making it even more important to pay attention to optimizing at the episode level.
While not all of these suggestions have a direct affect on your SEO, taken together, they contribute to an accessible podcast that is easy for listeners to navigate, subscribe to, and share with others.
Optimize your RSS link:
Your RSS link in Buzzsprout automatically updates when you create a new episode and fill in the appropriate fields.
Episode fields should be filled in with descriptions about your podcast that include as many keywords as possible, without keyword stuffing (an overuse of keywords and phrases could result in the removal of your show from directories).
To find the best keywords for your episodes, use the same keyword research process described in section #1.
Promote your podcast episodes on social media:
Google is tight-lipped about its algorithm for SEO ranking, but we do know they don’t—technically—take social media into account.
While including keywords and links within social media doesn’t have a direct effect on your podcast’s SEO, it can help with overall visibility and traffic.
While traditional SEO efforts won’t benefit you on this platform, a strong social media presence can increase traffic to your website or podcast and boost SEO as a result. The end goal of both strategies is the same; social media efforts just don’t fit the technical definition of SEO.
Getting the word out about your podcast, and getting others to link to your content, can have significant effects on traffic, even though the medium itself doesn’t directly affect your podcast’s visibility in SERPs.
Buzzsprout's video soundbite feature is one way you can promote your episodes on social media. The soundbite lets you share up to one-minute audiograms to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, and interactive posts featuring video or audio get more engagement than static images.
Pro Tip: Remember, YouTube is social media, too, and videos show up in search queries. If done correctly, YouTube can be an effective way to both share video footage of your episodes and interact with your listeners on the same platform. Make sure to include your episode’s keyword in video titles, and optimize the episode description with links and chapter markers.
Format & optimize your show notes:
Writing podcast show notes for each episode gives listeners a way to view links and resources you mentioned throughout your show. Show notes serve as another piece of optimized text for Google to index, and an effective way to increase engagement and support for your show.
Use transcriptions:
According to research done by Moz.com, word-for-word transcriptions of podcast episodes can boost organic traffic by 15%. Include spoken keywords within your episodes, and after recording, transcribe them on your Buzzsprout dashboard or with third-party services.
Make sure to go through the finished transcript and include H1 and H2 headings that include your main keyword. Take out the “ums” and other unnecessary words and post the transcript on your podcast website.
Create chapter markers:
Chapter markers don’t directly affect SEO, but we suggest taking advantage of any opportunity to make listening to your podcast a simple, enjoyable experience.
Listeners want control of when they listen to your show and how much of it they listen to. Creating chapter markers with timestamps lets your audience jump to the exact portion of your episode they’re interested in. These small efforts to make your podcast more accessible drives repeat, engaged traffic to your podcast website.
