Podcast SEO is a set of optimization techniques to help a podcast rank higher on streaming platforms and search engines like Google, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
Podcasting has exploded in recent years, with the number of listeners worldwide expected to hit over 650 million by 2027.
Whether your podcast is part of a larger content strategy or your primary focus, the best way to reach new audiences is with search engine optimization (SEO).
This in-depth guide outlines the most effective podcast SEO strategies, from Google search to Spotify, to reach your ranking goals.
More people are looking for new podcasts on search engines or streaming services than ever before. (Image: Unsplash)
What is podcast SEO?
Podcast SEO is a methodology that helps podcast content rank higher and more visibly on search engines (like Google) and podcast platforms (like Spotify).
Why podcast SEO matters
With over 546 million podcast listeners worldwide, more people are looking for new podcasts on search engines or streaming services than ever before.
Creating a podcast website, with pages for each new episode, is one of the most effective ways to improve your podcast SEO. (Image: Unsplash)
Check out these interesting stats from The Podcast Host:
- Half of listeners find new podcasts by opening their preferred podcasting app
- 13% listen for recommendations on the podcasts they already subscribe to
- 11% find podcasts by using a search engine like Google or Bing
With podcast SEO, your podcast can reach these listeners more easily and benefit from increased visibility and audience growth.
How to improve your podcast SEO: 9 best practices
While Google can now index audio content, most of the tactics focus on written content.
Here are our top podcast SEO tips:
- Build a site for your podcast
- Leverage keywords
- Use (and edit) transcripts
- Write engaging show notes
- Optimize episode titles
- Repurpose content
- Leverage backlinks and cross-promotion
- Encourage listeners to subscribe and leave reviews
- Optimize for podcast platforms
1. Build a site for your podcast
Creating a podcast website, with pages for each new episode, is one of the most effective ways to improve your podcast SEO.
A website acts as a “home base” for episodes, descriptions, transcripts, and additional information about your podcast show.
All this data allows search engines to index your content and boost the likelihood of ranking on the search engine results page (SERP) so new listeners can find you.
Additionally, a dedicated podcast website helps crawlers more easily identify you as an “entity,” which increases your chances of earning a knowledge panel:
(Image: Screenshot)
Also called a Knowledge Graph, these profiles can appear on the right side when someone googles your podcast — making you more discoverable.
2. Leverage keywords
Ideally, each podcast episode you create should revolve around its own keyword.
In fact, keywords should be used in your episode titles, podcast descriptions, show notes, and transcripts. So doing keyword research first is important.
Your favorite keyword research tools can help you plan for what terms or phrases to focus on in your episodes.
Some common ones include Google Keyword Planner, Semrush, Moz, Ahrefs, or even podcast-specific tools like Podchaser.
Enter your episode topic into the keyword research tool and find out how popular it is by search volume and related topics to consider.
You can implement this keyword in a few areas, such as:
- Podcast episode title
- Metadata and meta description
- Blog synopsis
- Podcast audio
3. Use (and edit) transcripts
Once complete, use keyword research to shape your episode titles.
These titles should be clear and engaging while putting the topic (keyword) as early as possible.
A podcast episode description in the Apple Podcasts app. (Image: Screenshot)
4. Write engaging show notes
Because of Google’s sophisticated algorithm, when you mention a keyword during your podcast, the episode is more likely to rank for that keyword or phrase.
However, Google’s audio indexing isn’t flawless, so using transcripts can help Google better understand your content.
More importantly? Transcribing your episodes is essential for accessibility.
Podcast transcripts are the written record of every word said on a podcast listener could read along.
You can use software to automate the transcripts or do it manually — but ways to be sure to review and edit them before publishing with the episode.
5. Optimize episode titles
Show notes are summaries of a podcast episode and allow you to add more context or additional value.
Since podcast episodes are long-form content, adding a synopsis and helpful links to go with each of them can also be helpful to both listeners and searchers.
To create engaging, keyword-optimized show notes:
- Write a summary of the episode with key takeaways
- Use keywords
- Include timestamps
- Add any links to references made during the episode
- Any additional resources that might be valuable to the listener
- Include affiliate links and discount codes
- Share a link to your podcast episode and website
6. Repurpose content
To maximize the effect of your podcast SEO, you can record and upload your podcasts to YouTube, use shorts from those videos for social media, and create a blog post that summarizes or dives deeper into each episode.
(You can link to the podcast and embed the YouTube video as well).
7. Leverage backlinks and cross-promotion
No surprise here: The more effort you put into podcast promotion through different marketing channels, the more likely it is to gain visibility and help your content marketing strategy.
For cross-promotion and backlinks, consider guest appearances and collaborations, and link-building from blogs and guest interviews.
With that in mind, treat your podcast like any piece of valuable content on your website. Some ways to promote it include:
- Social media
- Including links in your relevant blog posts
- In your newsletters or other email marketing
- Paid ads
As far as where to distribute your podcast, you have a handful of third-party options. Some of the most popular hosting platforms are:
- YouTube
- Spotify
- Apple Podcasts
- Amazon Music
- iTunes
- Stitcher
- Soundcloud
- Google Play
- Brightcove
- Overcast
8. Encourage listeners to subscribe and leave reviews
If you’re an avid podcast player, you’ve likely heard hosts ask listeners to rate, review, and subscribe to shows. There’s a good reason for this.
This feedback doesn’t just boost your ‘casts reach, but it can boost your SEO too. Plus, you can leverage these reviews elsewhere, including the podcast webpage, blogs, and social media posts.
9. Optimize for podcast platforms
Podcast audiences are spread across multiple platforms.
Submitting your podcast to the top podcast directories will help you reach them all more easily, but it’s particularly important to opt for “the big three”:
While not considered the top podcast platform, publishing and optimizing your podcast on Google Podcasts helps increase your chances of ranking through the entire Google network.
Suffice it to say, there’s a wide range of streaming services with their own algorithms to optimize for.
Optimize for YouTube
YouTube has recently begun functioning as a podcast player, taking over the most used listening platform.
Here are some SEO best practices for YouTube:
Use keywords in video titles and descriptions: Make titles clear, compelling, and focused on your keyword. YouTube only shows the first few sentences of your video description, so ensure all the information (and hooks) someone will need to click and listen.
And file names: YouTube reads your video file name for context, so using your keyword here can be helpful as well.
Add video chapters for long episodes: Breaking your podcast video into chapters provides structure, improves user experience, and helps listeners (and Google) better understand the content. Once broken up, title each chapter — this is an opportunity to use more relevant keywords.
Create playlists for related topics: Playlists help organize your content library and can give older episodes more reach.
Optimize for Spotify and Apple Podcasts
With 42 million podcast listeners, Spotify is the most popular platform behind YouTube — followed by Apple Podcasts with 29 million listeners.
These tips can help improve your SEO on these more traditional streaming platforms.
Fill out and update your show page
This includes your titles, logo artwork, description, follow button, and episode list.
Ensure your artwork is high quality (3000 x 3000 pixels), original, and eye-catching — You can publish episode artwork through RSS (Really Simple Syndication) using your third-party hosting provider.
Use keyword variants in your show description
The description of your podcast is your opportunity to elaborate and include extra keywords potential listeners might use to find you.
A blurb explaining the NPR podcast Code Switch. (Image: Screenshot)
Focus on the first 20 words of your episode description
Front-load your content with the key takeaways and most valuable details of your episode to hook the potential listener and get them to hit play.
Focus on reviews
Asking listeners to rate and review your podcast (especially on Apple Podcasts) can have a big impact on visibility.
How much does podcast SEO cost?
The rates for podcast SEO services vary based on the needs of your unique podcast, but for comprehensive packages, you can pay anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000 per month.
Fees can range depending on:
- Complexity of the project
- Size of the podcast
- Goals
- Budget
- Expertise and experience
However, for those on a limited budget and smaller goals, you can manage to pay as little as $500 per month.
How to measure podcast SEO success
Before kicking off your podcast SEO efforts, connect your podcast site to the Google Analytics and Google Search Console platforms to monitor your SEO performance.
Google Search Console will shine a light on which keywords bring the most traffic and allow you to fix any errors along the way.
Google Analytics will help you understand the behavior of your site’s traffic and which pages on your site are the most popular.
Key metrics to track for podcast SEO include:
- Organic traffic
- Keyword rankings
- Reviews
- Listener growth
- Bounce rate
- Backlinks
Take note of which topics bring in the most traffic for future episode inspiration.
The takeaway
The podcast boom doesn’t appear to be turning the volume down anytime soon.
That’s why now’s as good a time as any to throw your hat in the ring by creating your own podcast.
They can be an effective method to reach your target audience, improve customer relationships, boost brand awareness, educate, build credibility, and much more.
That said, it’s important to add podcast SEO to your digital marketing strategy to reach the right people.
Need some help with your digital marketing efforts? We’ve got you covered.
This post has been updated and was originally published in June 2022.