3 Simple Strategies for Better Podcast SEO

Do you already have a podcast and feel like it's missing something? That something is probably a good old-fashioned podcast SEO strategy! Even if you're in the early phases of starting a new podcast, there's no time like the present to lay out some strategies for podcast SEO. Podcasting is a marathon, not a sprint – it's a slow and steady process of finding your niche, understanding your audience, and building up phenomenal content over time. 

In other words, podcasting is all about consistency with a dash of strategy…and I LOVE working on both of those pieces with my clients. It might sound corny, but as a former fraud investigator, I am totally in my element and living the dream when I get to work with my clients on their strategic mindset, help them find the gaps in their podcast plan, then make a plan to fill them in. 

I was recently a guest on the Simple + Smart SEO Show, talking about the number one strategy gap I see with clients: podcast SEO. Many people think that, since podcasts are in audio format, there's nothing you can do to optimize your podcast for Google. Not true, my friend! In this post, we'll talk about three podcast SEO action items you can do to majorly up your SEO game and start showing up in Google search results. 

Is podcast SEO even a thing?

Yes! Although, it hasn't always been that way. Five or six years ago, Google's algorithm robots couldn't understand audio recordings, so SEO was only for actual text. However, around 2018, Google started indexing audio content, which means that if someone searches for something on Google, your podcast can appear in their search results!

How do I make my podcast SEO friendly?

One of the best strategies for podcast SEO is to make consistent, informative content. Even if you haven't made an official plan, keywords will naturally pop up throughout the conversation as you chat in each episode…but a little strategy is the secret sauce behind making your podcast super-searchable on Google. Whether you've been podcasting for years or you're planning your first batch of episodes, it's never too late to optimize your podcast for Google. So let's talk about how to make your podcast SEO friendly! In this post, I've put together three crucial SEO strategies for your podcast.

1. Know your keywords…and use them!

Since Google is indexing your written AND audio content, naturally, you'll want to produce SEO-optimized podcasts. So, how do you do that? You'll need to find keywords that help Google know what your content is about so it can recommend your podcast in search results. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Moz's Keyword Explorer, or Ubersuggest to help you find keywords for each episode. Once you've found strong keywords, include them in your episode title, description, and show notes – you can even plan your episodes around a keyword strategy! 

Pro Tip! When choosing keywords, remember it's not about what you think is important. It's about the words your audience is actually searching for whenever they're looking for more information on your topics. 

2. Write a blog post for each episode

Yep, that's right – every single podcast episode should have a corresponding blog post! Why? Written content on your website is fabulous for SEO. Every post you add to your blog is a new opportunity to rank for targeted keywords and related topics in Google search results. You don't have to spend hours writing something entirely new. Just take the juiciest parts of each episode and turn them into a short blog or show notes. Remember to embed the podcast player so people can easily listen to the full episode!

The length and style of the blog post are entirely up to your preference! You just want each one to be long enough to communicate the high points of each episode and naturally incorporate keywords throughout the post (usually, that takes at least 800-1000 words). We actually do several styles of blog posts, depending on which client we’re working with and what suits them best. Let’s take a look at a couple of examples:

For our client, Dr. Rachel Miller, we turn episode content into a paragraph-style blog post that includes a few quick takeaways. Here’s the example:

For Darrell Evans, we stick with quick-reading bullet points that lay out the beats of each episode. Here’s the example:

Pro Tip! While show notes, episode descriptions, and blogs offer handy recaps of your podcast content, transcriptions are another key element to include. They're beneficial not only for accessibility but also for SEO – Google crawls text content more easily than audio, so transcripts increase the likelihood of your podcast showing up in search results.

3. Links are your best friend

When it comes to links, think quality over quantity. Not only are quality links helpful to your listeners, but they can also make your posts more relevant according to Google's algorithm and boost your SEO ranking. Incorporate essential links in your podcast player alongside the episode description. If you have additional links that aren't episode-dependent or are bonus resources that expand on your episode topic, add those on your website's show notes page. 

Pro Tip! If you're using a podcast hosting platform like Buzzsprout, you'll automatically have an online page for your podcast episodes. However, always link listeners back to your website. If the only place listeners can find your episodes and show notes is on Buzzsprout, then Buzzsprout will always receive the traffic and SEO benefits of each episode you post. By linking to your own domain, you get all the SEO advantages and added domain authority!

Ready to make your podcast more SEO friendly?

Podcasting is a long game; the trick is to remain consistent and strategic with everything from episode topics to SEO! Implementing a few simple strategies for podcast SEO goes a long way in increasing your podcast's searchability and potential reach to new audiences. 

Want to hear more about optimizing your podcast for Google?

Tune into the full podcast with the Simple + Smart SEO Show, where we chat in-depth about podcast SEO, workflows, and so much more!