5 Ways SEO Can Increase Podcast Listeners
Author: Janae Strickland-Nunn
You have an amazing show, great content and fabulous audio quality, but you’re still not getting the listener numbers you want. There is an easy way to ensure your content gets to more of your audience. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the bridge between your content and your audience’s ears.
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Search engine optimization helps search engines get your content to listeners. It increases the quality and quantity of listeners through organic search engine results. It helps attract visitors who are genuinely interested in your podcast and it increases the traffic that is specifically looking for your content.
What are the ways to improve your SEO?
Research and focus on keywords for your episode.
You should always research the keywords you want to use for your titles and episodes. Knowing your keywords can help you figure out what else is out there as competition on the search engines. Say your keyword is SELF-CARE, you can type this into Google and see what appears, especially on the first page. If your keyword is too broad you can improve it so that your podcast is the first thing that pops up when people search for it.
Create a blog or page for each episode
It is key that you create a new page or blog post for each podcast episode. The page's URL needs to have the episode title that includes your main keyword for the episode. These pages will advertise your podcast episodes and be a location for listeners to find your podcast on various directories or download them directly from your site.
Put content on your website routinely
Updating your website helps your rank on Google. The more you post relevant content the higher Google will rank your podcast. Also, it will keep your audience coming back for more. Post transcripts and show notes of your podcast. Add a blog to your podcast that contains headings with your keyword and recaps your latest episode. This will move your rank on Google and you get your podcast seen and heard by your audience.
Polish your titles
Nothing turns people off more than wordy titles, this works against SEO. You want to make sure that the title to your podcast isn’t too wordy, is brief and contains the keyword of the main topic of your podcast. Your podcast’s episode titles should contain the main keyword for the particular episode. This will help the listener know what they are searching for and know what your podcast is about.
Ask for reviews and ratings
Podcasts with a lot of high ratings and positive reviews rank higher than competitors. So, make sure you frequently ask for ratings and reviews from your listeners. Be careful with asking for reviews too often or running contests around reviews though. Not only can a heavy focus on reviews become annoying for listeners, but Google monitors when reviews are submitted and doesn't show reviews if many are submitted in a short amount of time.
Utilizing SEO is important to the growth of your podcast. It keeps it relevant and ensures that your audience can find your show. Even though you can’t directly control your rankings, you can improve them by using SEO to boost traffic to your podcast.