Podcasts have gone mainstream with the potential of making you big bucks. While there are a million and one way to increase your listener’s numbers, having your podcast ranking on search engines has proven effective and potent.
No doubt, podcasting is fast becoming one of the most popular content delivery channels today. That’s why there are about 1.75 million podcasts out there, and there’s even going to be more. In comparison, the number of people listening to podcasts has gone from 12 million in 2018 to 117.8 million people.
Yes, the number of listeners is growing exponentially, but the competition is also stiff. Of the 1.75 million podcasts, only 850,000 are currently active. A good number of podcasts are fizzling out due to a lack of listenership.
At Disctopia, we’ve considered podcast promotion severally, but in this piece, we’ll focus on Podcast SEO as it’s been proven to be effective and potent by successful podcasters.
It all started in 2019 when Google announced that podcasts will now be a part of search results, and the rat race begins.
1. Plan out Podcast Episodes With SEO in Mind
Your Podcast SEO’s starting point will be the content structure. Of course, a podcast should sound like a conversation, but it must be built around a theme and structure. This is one of the most important requirements for Podcast SEO.
Once you identify your talking point, you should also spell out the questions that will be answered during the podcast. This will help Google and other search engines know what your podcast episode is all about and how it will be indexed in the search results.
It’s not just about what Google thinks, but a theme will also help your listeners not to feel lost in the conversation.
Avoid the mistakes people make in blogging by creating content for Google rather than their audience.
2. Ratings and Reviews
An important podcast ranking factor is ratings and reviews. Before you read ahead, check through some of the top-ranking podcasts yow, you’ll discover they have thousands of 5-start reviews and ratings.
With the growing number of reviews, it will sway the sentiments of your prospective listeners. Most people check reviews and ratings before deciding to listen to a podcast.
That’s why you have to request reviews as part of your call to action. At the sign-off of each episode, you should include a callout. Just make sure you’ve given your audience one hell of a show, and they will leave an excellent rating for your podcast.
3. Always Use a Keyword
Just like it’s obtainable in blogging, you always need to build your podcasts around a keyword. While you may decide topics and themes based on your thoughts, carry out keyword research to improve visibility.
Right from the podcast title, description, and content, use a keyword. Plan out your podcast episodes in line with the keyword search.
For every episode, use a keyword. That way, each episode stands a chance of ranking on its own. Align your content with the searcher’s intent; this is the best way to improve search rankings.
Don’t forget to mention the keywords several times during the podcast. This is also an essential element in optimizing your content. Avoid mentioning the keywords too much during the podcast; what you should do is use synonyms.
4. Run a Transcript Blog
While voice content is growing by the day, it’s pretty hard for Google to crawl on it, unlike texts. While Google has started transcribing podcasts, you should still run your own transcripts blog.
The idea behind running a transcript blog is to make it easier for your podcast to be discovered by search engines. You can publish a blog post for every podcast episode; the content can be a paraphrased description of what is in the podcast.
Don’t forget to use the same keywords used in the podcast in your blog title and metadata.
You can also use your podcast blog as a means of engaging your listeners. The blog can also serve as a channel to cater to those who prefer reading to listening.
That’s why you should cross-link your podcast and blog with each other.
5. Have a Noticeable Social Media Presence For Your Podcast
Through social media, you can build links, create awareness and drive traffic to your podcast. All of which can improve your podcast visibility on search engines.
The relationship between social media and search engine optimization has been a mutually beneficial one. Of course, social media does not directly affect SEO ranking, but with the links being shared, you can experience brand exposure.
Know that Google is interested in the right metrics, and that’s the engagement your contents enjoy on social media. As a habit, make your presence known on social media and engage with your audience.
