6 SEO Podcast Tricks to Boost Search Rankings

When figuring out what makes a podcast rank high in different platforms, you’ll think of the quality of the podcast episode content, the number of subscribers, and listening times. That’s all true, but there’s one that many new podcasters tend to miss, and that’s applying podcast SEO techniques.

Just like traditional forms of online content like blog posts, infographics, and white papers, SEO can help podcasters reach a wider audience, drive traffic, and generate leads. Here are six ways on how you can optimize your podcast for search engines that you can start doing right now.

1. Use the keyword in your Podcast Title

The algorithm iTunes and Google Play use to rank podcasts puts a lot of weight on the podcast title. Even if you have a very catchy and exciting podcast title, if the keyword you want it to rank for isn’t found here, your podcast won’t show up when someone searches for a podcast using that keyword.

That doesn’t mean your podcast title needs to be dull and boring. It still needs to catchy and memorable, but you need to make sure that the keywords are in both the title and subtitle of your podcast episodes.

2. Provide supporting content to your podcast

Another way to boost your podcast SEO is by attaching supporting content to your podcast episodes. These can be show notes, transcripts, or downloadable worksheets.

These may seem like a lot of work, but it’s going to be worth it when it comes to improving your search engine rankings. Since they’re in text format, you can add keywords you want to rank for here. Keyword density is still important to SEO, just be careful not to overdo it. Using your keyword 8-10 times in a 1,200-word supporting content is a good ratio to keep.

3. Upload a unique artwork per episode

Tweaking your artwork by adding the title of your episode can help with your podcast SEO. That’s because in addition to the Alt Text embedded in your image, Google, and other search engines can read the embedded text in images. Adding a keyword-rich title helps increase your podcast episode ranking for this particular keyword.

4. Optimize your podcast RSS feed for SEO

Although podcast listeners these days don’t use RSS feeds as much as they use to, your podcast RSS feed is what provides platforms like iTunes, Google Play and Play Music with the vital information about your podcasts like the title and description.

To optimize your podcast RSS feed for search engines, you can use the PowerPress plugin if you’re hosting it on a WordPress blog or website. This plugin is free to download and use. Another way to do podcast SEO on your RSS feed is to create it using Lisbyn.

Also, make sure your RSS feed’s compatible with different platforms. You can check this by using sites like CastFeedValidator.com or Podba.se.

5. Connect with authoritative sites

Search engines favor content that has a lot of inbound links, especially those coming from high-ranking websites. That said, creating inbound links from authoritative sites can also help boost your podcast SEO. You can do this by listing highlight reputable sites where your podcast episode was featured on your website and podcast description. This “social proof” will encourage others to create links on their respective sites directing their audience to your podcast episode.

6. Upload your podcast to Youtube

Even if your podcast doesn’t include a video, it’s still a good idea to upload this on Youtube. For starters, it’s the second most visited site on the web, which means that it’s a highly authoritative site. Adding a link in the description of your video that directs them to your podcast will help with your link building efforts, helping out with your search engine rankings.

The best way to do this is to shoot a video while recording your podcast. That way, you have a video that you can upload to Youtube and an audio file to upload in iTunes and other podcast platforms. We talk about how to do this in detail in our post on doing remote interviews for your podcast episodes, so feel free to check this out.

If you weren’t able to record a video for your podcast episodes, you could create slides showing either your podcast episode artwork or slides listing the important points, and use these as visuals.

What’s our take on this?

Creating a podcast episode takes a lot of time and effort, which is why it’s important that you get the most from each and every episode. Implementing these podcast SEO tweaks can significantly help grow your audience, and establish you as an authority in your niche.

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