How to Boost Your Podcast’s SEO

Podcast SEO is one of the more underrated and overlooked aspects of the world of podcasting. It is not enough to just put out content in this day and age. “Build it and they will come” is not a mantra for any podcaster who wants to bring in a bigger audience.

Having previously discussed why Podcast SEO is important, now we turn to the question of how to boost your rankings. This is an exciting field to study, whether you’re someone who is interested in getting involved with podcasting, or if you’re already involved front and center as a podcast host, or behind the scenes with podcast production as a podcast editor or podcast engineer.

Without further ado, let’s enrich your podcasting experience and look into the ways of boosting your podcast’s SEO:

The Proper Use of Keywords

Keywords remain the heart of SEO in many ways. Therefore, it is crucial for you to plan your content around what keywords you want to rank for. Proper research is needed so that you’ll know which specific keywords to utilize for your show.

When researching, remember to focus on intent. Many potential listeners and watchers won’t just go to you for no reason. Everybody comes with intent, so better to focus on that as opposed to using just any high search volume keyword that comes your way.

Coming Up With a Good Podcast Title

It goes without saying that your podcast’s title is what catches people’s attention from the start. Or at least it should. Choosing a title can be challenging, although it doesn’t have to be an overly daunting task.

It would be better to make your title short, easy to remember, and catchy. Be sure that it is relevant to what your show is about. Also, it is worth mentioning that you should avoid making the spelling too unique or intricate because this hurts your SEO efforts more than it helps.

Writing an Excellent Podcast Description

If your title is what catches people’s attention at the start, the podcast description is what retains their attention until they decide whether they would like to listen to your show or not. This is where you should consider utilizing keywords.

Don’t use too much here though. Keyword stuffing is not something anybody should be encouraged to do since that will hurt your SEO efforts. At best, choose two relevant keywords and focus more on writing the best description for your show.

Having Alluring Podcast Episode Titles

For this part, your focus should be to come up with episode titles that entice your audience and to ensure that they are SEO-friendly. With each title, be sure to strategically place relevant, intent-focused keywords.

Regarding long-tail keywords, if the search volume is high enough and if it is relevant to a specific episode, they can even be used as episode titles all by themselves. It is recommended to play around with your researched keywords to see what works best with your show’s episode titles.

Not Neglecting Podcast Episode Descriptions

Just as there is a great space of SEO best practices with your show’s overall description, you should also make room for relevant, intent-focused keywords in each episode’s description.

As always, quality content is the key, so be sure to come up with a description that helps build up excitement and anticipation for that specific episode. Don’t write anything too long; keep it short, sweet, and informative enough to lure in listeners. Add keywords in your description as needed, but just like with the content itself, never go overboard.

Utilizing Shownotes and Transcriptions

Lastly, we have the shownotes and the transcriptions. For the former, that is where people can find more information about your show and the specific episodes they are interested in. The latter transcribes the entire episode from start to finish.

Having these make your show more accessible and they are prime opportunities for you to sprinkle in keywords. The way you format them can also fall into SEO best practices, such as allowing for the opportunity to repurpose it as a separate content. Repurposed content is an extremely effective content marketing tactic that can drive traffic for your site.

As you can see, there are many methods you can use to boost your podcast’s SEO. These aren’t even new or groundbreaking things. Chances are, you’re already doing many of these, so it would just be a matter of optimizing your practices to reap the maximum rewards.

If this was an interesting and helpful read for you, then you may want to book a call with the good people over at Podcast Engineers. With their insight and experience, you’re sure to stay ahead of the competition! So, take your free discovery call today!