Top SEO Tips for Your Podcast

The whole idea of podcasting being hot right now is no longer up for debate.

In 2017, statistics indicated a staggering 112 million Americans have listened to podcasts and at least 67 million listen to a podcast on a monthly basis. Thanks to the convenience of listening using mobile devices, the future of podcasting looks quite promising. And people are starting to cash in.

However, with podcasting’s increasing popularity also comes heightened competition. If you want to get a slice of the pie, you need to find ways to even the odds. One surefire way you get ahead would be through search engine optimisation or SEO.

If you’re not familiar with SEO, you probably feel intimidated. However, you need not be. If anything, it’s not rocket science. You don’t have to be a tech guru to make SEO work for you.

Start with the following SEO basics and change strategies along the way whenever you deem fit and you’re good.

Work on leveraging your website

Score SEO points by leveraging your site and making it the ideal destination Google can send traffic to. If a blogger or online influencer is considering linking to your site, convincing them is easier if you show them “social proof” that your site is trustworthy, authoritative, and worth linking to.

Another SEO tactic you can look into would be to create supporting content for search engines. Some examples of contents you can create include:

• Recap or episode description
• Transcripts
• Show notes
• Checklists/worksheets
• Episode art
• Key takeaways

Optimise the name of your podcast

For starters, consider it ideal to create a name that will appeal to your target demographics. As a general rule of thumb, simpler is better. In addition, make sure you include at least one keyword that you think your target listeners will look for. Including a keyword is also a good way to instantaneously gain visibility across multiple directories.

Name individual podcast episodes

This strategy will demand recurring attention. This one may seem pretty straightforward at first glance, true. However, it is important to remember you don’t just come up with any title you deem fancy. You need to know that when it comes to naming your episodes, including keywords your audience will most likely use should be included.

At the very least, include one keyword that’s related to the episode’s topic. In addition, make sure you are as descriptive as you can possibly be so it’s easier for you to attract new listeners. Come to think of it, your title is one of the very first things the listeners will see. That being said, aim to impress.

Optimise your RSS feed

While typical users don’t use RSS nearly as much, your RSS feed syndicates your show on Google Play Music, iTunes, and other podcast platforms available. In essence, the RSS feed is what listeners will be subscribing to when they subscribe to your podcast.

In addition, your feed will also provide all the information about your podcast to the platforms. Also, when you need to update a particular episode’s description or title, you can do so using the RSS feed. To have good SEO control over your podcast, create an RSS feed using Libsyn or the feed you get from WordPress’ PowerPress plugin.

What SEO tips do you swear by? We’d love to hear about it!

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