Top tips for discovery and growth

Podcasting offers a unique opportunity to leverage SEO and drive engaged listeners to your website.

As podcasts grow in popularity, leveraging key SEO strategies can help your show stand out in a crowded landscape.

This article provides podcasters with actionable strategies to improve their SEO and grow their audience. We'll cover key areas such as:

• Keyword research.
• Optimize your title and description.
• Use transcript.
• Show notes optimization.
• listed in the directory.
• Drive engagement and reviews.
• He has also appeared as a guest on other programs.

Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular and convenient for busy lifestyles, suitable for commuting and exercise.

Businesses can leverage this powerful marketing channel with well-known journalists and celebrities.

• “With advertising spend in podcasting predicted to more than double next year and major brands looking to invest, now is the perfect time for businesses to start podcasting. Not anymore,” says Fiona Fraser, Pow PR director and podcast expert.
• “They say podcasts have reached their peak, but with significant growth predicted and listeners going mainstream, there's no better time than now to start a podcast and start connecting with your customers. No,” Fraser added.

Standing out in a sea of ​​content can be difficult. SEO is the key to ensuring your podcast reaches your audience.

Additionally, podcasts can drive listeners to your website, increase your online presence, improve your SEO by creating PR opportunities, and provide valuable backlinks.

Understanding SEO in the world of podcasting

Podcast SEO starts with making your content easily discoverable by search engines and potential listeners. Use a combination of traditional SEO strategies adapted to audio content. The goal is to reach new audiences who may not know you and strengthen connections with existing listeners.

keyword research

As with any project, research is essential to making your podcast a success. Clearly define your podcast's theme to ensure it resonates with your target audience.

Use traditional SEO keyword research tools to identify the terms your audience searches for and tailor your content to their needs and interests.

Check out the podcast categories in which you plan to list your podcasts for valuable insights. Understand what content is popular and successful in these categories to inform your strategy.

Engage with your existing audience and learn about their tastes and interests. To create engaging and relevant content, ask about topics you'd like to hear more about.

Dig deeper: Keyword research for SEO: 6 questions you need to ask yourself

Choosing a podcast name

Using keywords in your podcast name is key to increasing discoverability. It's important to strike a balance. Make it catchy and appealing, like a compelling book title. A conversational tone conveys the essence of your podcast and sets it apart from more straightforward web page titles.

Reviewing successful podcasts can give you inspiration and insight into how they achieve clarity and appeal in their titles without relying on boring or keyword-filled names. The goal is to create a name that is interesting, suggestive, memorable, and easy to search.

Topic selection

Choose your podcast topic carefully to capture and keep your audience interested. Balance your passion with what resonates with your listeners. Start by identifying the core theme of your podcast, then expand to find relevant and engaging subtopics.

Audience feedback is an invaluable resource in this process. Engage with your listeners through social media surveys, email surveys, or in-person interactions to understand their interests and preferences.

This makes your content more engaging and fosters a sense of community and engagement among your audience.

As business strategist Natalie Potts emphasizes, always keep your audience in mind when deciding on content.

• “I'd say 90% of my audience has listened to my podcast. If I make a sales call, it's almost never mentioned. It definitely helps speed up the sales process. So. This allows you to build a relationship where they feel like they know you.”

Every episode must provide value, whether it's educational, entertaining, or simply thought-provoking. Your goal is to have your listeners feel informed, inspired, or entertained so they can look forward to the next episode and want to learn more about you.

Optimizing episode titles and descriptions

Creating descriptive and appealing episode titles is key to making your podcast more appealing. This is the perfect platform to effectively integrate related keywords.

Choose a slightly longer and more informative title that gives your audience a clear and appealing preview of what the episode will be about. Such a title serves two purposes. This means pique the interest of potential listeners and be SEO friendly and discoverable.

If you feature a guest, be sure to include their name in the episode title. This allows their contributions to be recognized, leverages their name recognition, and potentially attracts a following to your podcast.

The episode description is an opportunity to provide a compelling summary of the episode. A detailed and engaging description is very important. Now is not the time to be brief.

Detail the topics covered, perspectives shared, and key takeaways for your audience. A well-written description can pique the interest of potential listeners and convince them to press play.

It's also an ideal place to naturally incorporate additional keywords to further optimize your podcast for search engines.

Remember that the episode title and description are not just functional elements. These are powerful tools for engaging and growing your audience. Use these to tell a story, spark curiosity, and showcase the unique value of each episode.

Find and invite guests

Featuring famous or interesting guests can attract new listeners to your podcast. People often search for content related to their interests and the people they want to hear from.

Including guest bios and relevant links in your show notes increases visibility and attracts future guests.

Please note that your guest selection must match the topic of your podcast. It's not just about hiring big names. For example, you can't use a health and fitness expert, no matter how famous, if your podcast is all about SEO.

Having the right guests on your podcast is good for you and good for them. This is a reciprocal relationship where you bring them to your own audience with a view to them bringing some of their audience to your podcast as well.

Using transcripts

Easily create transcripts using AI tools. We always recommend adding them to your website. You can add an embedded version of the podcast audio, or at least a link to the episode.

Transcripts make your podcasts accessible to people who are hard of hearing. This is very important and allows you to provide content to people who prefer reading rather than listening.

It also provides search engine searchable text, increasing the visibility of your podcast, subject matter, or website.

You can use this transcript to create relevant blog posts, social media content, and email marketing content. With a single podcast episode, you can quickly and easily create an entire library of content.

Show notes optimization

Display notes are detailed notes that appear below each podcast episode.

Typically, specific parts of the podcast episode are highlighted and you want to listen to them, along with links to the resources being discussed. These can also provide valuable backlinks.

listed in the directory

There are reputable directories for podcasts such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts, all of which can help with your distribution and visibility efforts. This allows you to introduce your business to a variety of audiences.

Drive engagement and reviews

Encourage listeners to leave reviews, subscribe, and follow each episode you record. This all helps your podcast gain that all-important trust factor.

Share each episode on your social media channels and encourage your guests to do the same. Make it easy for your audience by providing a series of images and audio and video clips that you can share with them.

The easier you make it for them, the more likely they are to share.

Become a guest on a podcast

If you're not ready to start a podcast, you can also gain visibility, backlinks, and PR coverage by becoming a guest.

Develop a strategy for the podcast you want to appear on and pitch it to hosts. Explain why you would be a good guest, what you would like to discuss and why it would be valuable to the audience.

Dig deeper: How to use digital PR to drive backlinks and business growth

SEO for successful podcasting

Podcast SEO success comes from blending traditional and modern techniques.

When used effectively, these approaches can help podcasters expand their reach, grow their audience, and have a direct impact on their website or podcast.

Katie Godfrey's experience illustrates this point well. The beauty business guru says:

• “I've been doing a podcast for four years now. A lot of my followers now come from the podcast, but it's important for my clients to get to know me and see how I work before they invest. is also helpful.”

This approach will gain followers, drive listeners to her website, and increase traffic and engagement. These are both important factors for her SEO success.