What is a Podcast?

A podcast is a set of audio files on a topic that you can listen to with your computer, phone, or similar devices. They are like radio programs that you can listen to at your convenience. Though they have been around since the 1980s, they started to become popular in 2004.
And they still continue to be popular nowadays.

Can you start a podcast?

Yes! Anyone can start a podcast on any subject they like. You can host it either on a website or on any of the many hosting services -- Spotify's Anchor, for example. Most hosting platforms take care of the distribution of your podcast. Once they appear on platforms like Google Podcasts, people can subscribe/follow them. (If a podcast is like a TV show, a podcast episode is like an episode of that TV show.)
Buzzsrout is one such platform that offers free podcast hosting.

Importance of Doing SEO for Your Podcast

1. Podcasts Now Appear on SERPs

You can now directly search for podcasts on Google and other search engines. People started noticing this algorithm change in mid-2019.
With the frequent increase over the years, Google has started showing the podcasts in SERP.
You find podcast episodes on a separate slider (akin to how Google displays video content). Each episode has a little blue button that takes you to Google Podcast to listen to it.
Moreover, search engines are fine-tuning their speech-to-text capabilities. Through this technology, search engines will be able to transcribe any audio file. It means that search engines will pull a podcast for almost any query on the internet. These developments indicate that podcast SEO is going to be the next big thing shortly.

2. SEO Makes Your Podcast Discoverable

Anyone can start a podcast on any topic under the sun. But, you should try to answer popular public queries within that topic. That is to say, you should optimize your podcast! And that’s not a difficult task.
The key aspects of podcast SEO and blog SEO are the same. You have to find out the popular searches in your niche. You can use a keyword search tool (or Google itself) to find these keywords.
You get the list of keywords with their search volumes, which suggests you creating Podcasts on high search volume topics/keywords.
For example, if you have a podcast on 'Horror Fiction,' enter it into Google and check its returns. If you see ‘tiny horror tales’ are trending, consider making an episode on that topic. This way, you make your channel more discoverable.

3. SEO Helps You Gain More Listeners

Google's decision to show podcasts on its SERPs has led to three major developments:

• It positioned podcasts on a par with written and video content on the web.
• It helps people find a podcast easily and ended their dependency on apps
• It enhanced the ability of podcasters to reach their target audience.
  Podcast searches have the advantage of not competing with featured snippets.
  

Imagine you have a podcast on 'English grammar,' and you have already put out several episodes.
Across the globe, Singh the cabbie wants to improve his English. Now, he doesn't have to know about a listening platform to find your podcast. All he has to do is search 'English grammar podcast' on Google, and you will appear right before him on the SERP!

4. Podcasts Has Less Competition & High Success Rate

There is one blog for every seven persons on the planet! Conversely, there is only one podcast for every 10,000 people! Now, where do you think you have a chance of getting people to consume your content?
Podcasting is only going to grow in the years to come. Most ordinary people are just discovering it as a reliable content format. And with Google indexing them, that discovery is going to speed up.
Doing Search engine optimization for your podcast now will help you reach your audience easier. And, you don't have to do scores of individual tasks, as in the case of blogging, to rank on search engines. Four or five will do fine:

• Use keywords on the titles of the channel and individual episodes.
• Using keywords and synonyms in the description.
• Using keywords (naturally) in the audio content.
• Creating transcripts/blog posts of the episode.
  Podcasts with transcripts offer an edge over just podcasts as search engines can read the script and rank up the order.
  

5. Podcast Search Is Evolving Fast

Dramatic changes are set to happen in the way apps find and present podcasts for users. Most apps can only read the channel title, episode title, and name of the owner. So, you will have to type in any of these to find a podcast on an app.
That’s going to change soon. Technology that facilitates automatic transcription already exists. And it won't be long before apps start integrating this tech in their search features.
According to the CEO of Chartable, a podcast analytics tool, there were 700,000 podcasts back in 2019 and surged to a mammoth 48 million podcasts as of April 2021, reports podcast insights.
If that happens, apps will be able to 'read' spoken words of the audio file. This will let you find a podcast by typing a word or a few words that you remember from the last episode.
They will also be able to scour the content of an episode for relevant information. This feature will enable them to highlight only a part of the episode. This will be akin to how Google displays snippets on a SERP.

6. Podcast SEO Won't Cost You Quality

Don't think that optimization will erode the quality of your podcast. You will have to insert keywords into the channel title, the episode title, and even the audio content. This, however, is only to help your target audience discover you.
You don't have to mention the keyword/s every few minutes to game the search engine. Mention them only in natural contexts so that both the search engines and the people are happy.
Remember, the podcast is for human beings, not for search engines. The content should be both engaging and relevant to the keyword.
Extra : Often, SEO-friendly approaches are user-friendly as well. For example, episode titles in the form of questions perform well. Voice assistants easily discover such titles.

7. Helps Voice Assistants Find Your Content

Over 200 million smart speakers scatter across the US, and that figure is going to climb. One of the major duties of these little boxes is to play podcasts for their owners.
Furthermore, search engines on all devices have implemented voice assistance facilities to make the users find content easily.
The AI in them can crawl across the web searching for a match of the owner's query. Now, won't you want to be that match? If the answer is yes, then don't forget to optimize your podcast.
Extra : Only 1% of users listen to podcasts with smart speakers. But that is set to change soon. Apple, Amazon, and Google are sinking millions to make these devices more user-friendly.

Podcast SEO FAQs

1. What Is Podcast SEO?

Through podcast SEO, you increase the visibility of your podcast to search engines. You pick a trending topic in your niche to make your episode on. You insert keywords in the title, metadata, and script of the episode. This lets search engines read what the episode is about and pull it when a matching query comes up.

2. How Does a Podcast Help My Website Ranking?

A podcast can help you get quality backlinks (if you have a website/page for your podcast). A guest appearing in your podcast is likely to link up with you. Some websites will backlink your podcasts as a useful resource for their audiences.
These links will, in turn, serve as social proof of quality and attracts more links.

Relevant : Legit Ways to Earn Backlinks to Your Site

3. Which Are the Best Podcasts on SEO?

• Webcology : It covers a whole spectrum of topics related to digital marketing. The hosts are Jim Hedger and Dave Davies.
• SEO 101 : This channel is a goldmine of tips and takeaways on SEO. The hosts are Ross Dunn and John Carcutt.
• MozPod : It explains SEO in layman's terms. The host -- Brian Childs -- interviews experts in the field and presents the latest information on SEO.

4. How Does a Podcast Help My Blog?

Embedding podcasts on blog posts makes it easy for your visitors to consume your content. If they don't want to read the lengthy articles on your blog, they can choose to listen to a podcast episode instead. Moreover, if a visitor plays a podcast on your website, it increases your dwell time.

5. Should I Include Podcasts in My Marketing Strategies?

Yes. Podcasts are going to be the next pillar in content marketing. According to a report from Pointsvisible, podcasts are preferred for the wide range of perks they offer.
They help your business develop a strong bond with customers. Through podcasts, you improve your brand recall and establish yourself as an expert.
Are you looking to do SEO for your Podcast? Get in touch with our podcast SEO expert to know more details.