If you’ve been in the online business world for a while, you’ve heard of SEO. SEO stands for search engine optimization, which is how we find anything online on Google, social media, or podcast listening platforms. Podcast listening platforms like Apple Podcasts or Spotify have their own algorithms which help listeners find podcasts, which is why your podcast needs to be optimized for SEO so it’s discoverable. This means when someone searches for a specific topic or keywords, your podcast or podcast episode that talks about that topic comes up.
Today, I want to share where you should optimize your podcast for SEO so that your podcast or episodes appear when listeners search for specific keywords. This is a podcaster’s guide to SEO!
Podcast Title
Your show’s title should have at least one keyword – preferably the first word. Don’t change your title right now if you don’t have a keyword at the beginning of your title. You should have a strategy for rebranding or changing your title, but that’s a post for another day.
My podcast’s keyword is immigrants, and the title is “The American Dream in the Eyes of Immigrants,” so it’s actually the last word of my title. This is a perfect example of doing as I say, not as I do, LOL. But when I searched the word “immigrants” on Spotify, my podcast came up.
Episode Title for Podcast SEO
When coming up with episode titles, here are a few things to talk about:
- What are you discussing in this episode?
- What is your keyword?
Make sure your keyword is in the episode title!
Next, check to see if your podcast title is good for SEO. You can do this by running it through Capitalize My Title.
You’ll receive a headline score, which you want to be above 60.
Podcast Description for Podcast SEO
Your keyword should be in your podcast description. You can update your podcast description; don’t think you have to stick with the first one you come up with. The podcast description helps new listeners know what your show is about, and if they are searching for your keyword, it will show up.
Show Notes
Each podcast episode has show notes, which are a summary or description of the episode’s topic. Your keyword should be in your show notes. If you are having trouble writing show notes, I wrote a blog post about what should be included.
Another thing that helps with podcasting SEO is including links to your website or blog in your show notes. For example, if you have a blog post about the same topic as the episode, include the link to the blog post in the show notes.
Blog Posts
There are two ways to create blog posts for your podcast episodes:
- You can post your show notes exactly how you post them on your podcast hosting platform with the podcast episode embedded.
- Or create a more detailed blog post about the episode.
Here’s an example of how I wrote my blog post for my podcast episodes.
When writing a blog post, you’ll need to optimize these parts of your blog post with your keyword to rank in search engines:
- Title
- Headers
- Alt descriptions for pictures
- Have the keyword throughout the post
I have an SEO Guide available for purchase in my Stan Store. It teaches you step-by-step how to write and optimize your blog post.
Video Clips
If you create short video clips from your podcast episodes, whether it is for Instagram Reels, TikTok, or YouTube Shorts, make sure that the captions include your keyword.
Lastly, for hashtags, ensure you’re utilizing hashtags with your keywords.
Conclusion to Podcast SEO
Now you know all the places to optimize your podcast for SEO! This will help with discoverability and growth. Remember that podcasting and SEO are long-term games, so it takes time for your optimization to take effect and see results. But staying consistent is key to reaching your podcast goals.
If you have any questions – I’d love to answer them. Set up a consultation call with me, and I’ll help you develop a strategy plan specific to your podcasting goals.
With Love, Heidy
P.S. You can download the Podcast SEO Guide here.
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