How to Choose Episode Titles for your Podcast

7 min read
Mar 4, 2024

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HOW TO START A PODCAST Choose Episode Titles for your Podcast

By the time you spend hours on research, recording and editing your podcast, how to choose episode title will be the last thing you want to be stressed about. Of course, you have a great podcast already, but a lousy episode title could be that one apple that spoils the whole bunch.  A bad podcast episode title is more damaging than you assume. It's unfair to have created the best content possible, and the episode title limits the reach, discoverability and impact.  Imagine your ideal podcast listeners are scrolling through hundreds of podcasts; what will make them stop, click and listen to your podcast?  A good episode title is like a headline of a news, article, or blog post. Powerful enough to convince the listeners to listen. Worded in a manner that gives a glimpse of what to expect from the episode.  That said, let's dig into how to come up with an episode title that makes anyone want to press play; 

1. The Shorter, The Better

No one has time for an unnecessarily long episode title, and they won't even see most of it.  According to a 2019 Edison Research, 65% of podcast listeners listen using the smartphone. Since they are listening from their smartphone, the larger part of the episode title will be hidden.  People are always scrolling quickly; you need to be as concise as possible. That's how you can catch people's attention. 

2. Every Episode Title Should Be Unique

Except you are running a series, give a unique title to every of your podcast episode.  The idea is to let whoever looking know that you have a lot to offer. Let them find it diverse, creative, and engaging.  If you need to add an episode number, do it in the backend. It does not have a business in your episode title. 

3. Use Keywords to Enhance Discoverability

You need to conduct keyword research to know the best keyword strings in your episode title.  When people are flicking through the feeds, keywords help you to stand out. There are technical keywords, which is to ensure you feature in the search results. There's also psychological keywords, these set of words will trigger the listeners to want to listen. 

4. Use Numbers in Your Title

The human brain loves lists; that's why listicles are popular content formats in blogging.  This can also be replicated in podcasting, and it should reflect in your episode title. There's a part of our brain that jumps up at the sight of easy to digest information.  Our brain wants to know the quantity of information that is coming it's way. Then the brain decides if it is worth it or not.   Look at this headline;  Cristiano Ronaldo Talks About 5 Food That Makes Him the Best Seeing this title, the brain reacts affirmatively to knowing which food Cristiano Ronaldo is talking about.  Aside from these Dos, there are also the Don'ts of choosing podcast episode titles; 

1. Avoid Clickbait Titles

As much as you should have a compelling title, ensure you steer clear of sensationalism. You cannot make unrealistic promises in your episode title.  To build a loyal following, you need to build trust with your audience. You have to deliver what your episode title promises. 

2. Never Indulge in Keyword Stuffing

Keywords can be great, but they can also be too many. Stuffing your episode title with too many keywords can be confusing to the search engine.  Your keywords have to be readable for actual humans to read. Use only one or two keywords in your title; the rest can be deployed in the podcast episode description. 

3. There's No Need For "Podcast" or "Episode #" 

They already know it's a podcast; why add podcast in the episode title? That's a waste of characters.  What's the episode number doing in your episode title also? That's a piece of administrative information that will not convince anyone to click the listen button.  Instead, it discourages the podcast listener from trying out your podcast. 

4. One or Two-Word Titles

As much as we advise that you keep your episode titles short, one or two-word titles won't get you anywhere. It will rarely make any sense to humans, and for search engines, this will come out as confusion.  Search engines will find it difficult to understand what you are talking about with one or two-word episode titles. 

Wrap Up

This piece is intended to get you ready for the best episode titles you've ever written. Naming your podcast episode should not be difficult.  If you can follow these tips, you should be gaining new listeners with every episode.  Next: How To Pick Out Recording Equipment and Software

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How to Choose Episode Titles for your Podcast

1. The Shorter, The Better

2. Every Episode Title Should Be Unique

3. Use Keywords to Enhance Discoverability

4. Use Numbers in Your Title

1. Avoid Clickbait Titles

2. Never Indulge in Keyword Stuffing

3. There's No Need For "Podcast" or "Episode #"

4. One or Two-Word Titles

Wrap Up

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3. There's No Need For "Podcast" or "Episode #" 