Search engine optimization (SEO) is an extremely useful tool for any content creator looking to increase visibility and traffic to their pages.
There are various ways in which companies use SEO techniques to make sure content appears earlier in search engine results pages. This includes things like adding keywords. For a long time, SEO has been limited to text. With the world changing we are seeing a rise in video and audio content so it’s important this content can be found. The question is, “how do you get your podcast found and is podcast SEO even a thing?”
Yes. Podcast SEO is a thing and you can use it to help make your audio content, or podcasts, discoverable.
The best example of audio content is podcasts. Podcasts and other audio have become a major player in the media game. As a result, at Google I/O 2019 the technology company announced that it would be including podcasts in its search results. Now we can search for podcast content and it will pop up in the search engine results page as any other content does. This is a great development and will pave the way for a new wave of audio content interaction.
Currently, when searching for audio content such as podcasts, Google will search for titles or text on the page relating to what was searched for. High-quality SEO companies will be able to improve your podcast visibility on search engine results pages by making use of SEO techniques. This is a huge development for audio content creators but Google envisions a lot more for audio SEO.
It’s important to note that Google already has the capability of transcribing audio to text. Think, for example, using speech-to-text. The audio you input can be translated into written words. In the future, this means that podcasts can be easily transcribed to text to be presented to the searcher in text form. SEO companies will be able to use conventional SEO techniques to guide readers to content which would have previously only been in the form of audio. This opens content up for a larger audience. SEO is also proved beneficial for people who suffer from hearing impairments.
Podcast SEO will be relevant when searching for specific topics, and in the future, Google may bring up suggested audio clips.
Imagine you want to someone’s interpretation of a certain chapter in a book that you recently read. You Google “What does book X mean?” And up pops a podcast discussing it, and Google has suggested a part of the book you’re interested in. This makes audio content more specific. Searchers can look for what is contained within audio clips as opposed to just titles, specifically mentioned topics or the people creating them.
Here are some steps you can take now to help get your podcast discovered by your targeted audience:
Keywords are still important when producing audio content, such as podcasts. This is not to say you want to repeat the same word over and over, but you do want to use a keyword to help focus your content. Structure your content around a theme or topic using your keyword and make sure that content your speaking about is relevant to your main focus. It is important to understand your audience to know what keywords they would search for when looking for your content.
You especially want to use keywords in your episode titles, meta data, and episode descriptions, if available, and tags. These help Google determine what your podcast episode is about and also make it easier for those who are searching for your topic.
Is your podcast attached to a website? Does the platform, or host, you use include an area for a description? Text makes it easier for search engines to find you. By using a description or even creating a blog post around each podcast episode, you increase your SEO and the chances of being found. make sure you are staying relevant to your main focus and using the keyword naturally throughout.
Transcriptions of your podcast can also help search engines determine what your podcast is about. Not only that, but they also help get your content in front of people who are hard of hearing. This may be easier to include if your podcast is linked to your blog. If you are using a host, check to see if it is available.
It is also helpful to include links to other content or episodes that relate to your current one. Referring to other episodes, written or verbal content, guides your audience to explore more of your podcast or website. Audience engagement is a ranking factor and lets Google know your content is what people are looking for.
Subscribers are more important than likes. Though you also want likes and reviews from your audience, try to get them to subscribe to your channel. This shows popularity, similar to the way backlinks work for websites. You want your audience to be interested enough to want to listen to you more.
Sharing your podcast across social media platforms helps get it in front of more people. If they are interested, they will also share it. In fact, they may even link to your podcast or blog from their website which would help greatly with backlinks. This is where content marketing comes into play. You want to make sure you get your podcast in front of the right audiences.
Make sure your podcast is available within the right networks, such as Google and/or Apple. This may require an RSS feed. Your RSS feed also allows for more optimization as you optimize for your podcast as a show as well as per episode.
It’s interesting to consider how the pending evolution of podcast SEO will impact SEO content. For now, SEO specialists can add metadata to help your audio content appear earlier in the search engine results page (SERP). In the future, when podcast SEO becomes more complicated, will there be an impact on how audio content such as podcasts is structured? Will we see content creators using more specific keywords as done in the text to ensure that their content is discovered? This remains to be seen but there are exciting times ahead in the world of podcast SEO!
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