Hello! I'm Jamie Kennedy, Executive Podcast Producer of Brave Moon Podcasts, and I dive deep into attracting your ideal podcast audience through SEO. We talk about how optimizing your podcast with the right keywords and content can improve visibility across search engines like Google and podcast platforms such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
If you’re not using SEO, your podcast could end up reaching the wrong audience, which means fewer listens and engagement. Learn simple SEO strategies to help you grow your audience and keep your podcast thriving. I’ll make SEO easy to understand, so you can start using it to your advantage today!
In this episode, we talk about…
The basics of podcast SEO and its importance
How to identify and use the right keywords to attract listeners
Easy tips for optimizing your podcast title, description, and episodes for search engines
Transcribed Podcast Episode
Do you remember that episode of Friends when Rachel and Phoebe hastily organized a surprise bridal shower for Monica? In a last-minute scramble, they realized they needed to throw a party to celebrate Monica's upcoming wedding. In their rush, everything was pulled together in a hurry. Unfortunately, the end result was a disastrous surprise, as the guest list included an accountant Monica had fired three years prior and a few unfamiliar faces, individuals of little significance to Monica. The situation reached its lowest point when Monica unknowingly criticized everyone present upon her arrival, not realizing they were hiding as part of the surprise. The entire event turned into an unmitigated disaster, leaving everybody with an unpleasant experience.
So why am I talking about Friends when this episode is about podcasts? First, I definitely have Friends on my mind with the recent passing of Matthew Perry, which at the time of this recording, just happened a few weeks ago. Gone but never forgotten - may your soul find peace.
And second, this disastrous RSVP blunder scenario can definitely relate to a podcast. Let me explain.
See, throwing together a podcast episode and loading it to the podcast listening apps without taking planned steps to find the right audience and drive more podcast clicks will get you, well, an unmitigated disaster, leaving an unpleasant experience for everybody, including yourself!
Without taking some necessary steps, you’ll find your podcast being listened to by the wrong people, who accidentally got invited, and who don’t love your podcast the way your target audience will. This could actually lead to lower retention rate, lower review scores, which means you may experience the listening apps’ algorithm punishing you.
Now I don’t mean to scare you. In fact, I know exactly how to fix this and get the right people to Monica’s bridal shower - I mean, your podcast party.
So what can you do? The answer to driving more podcast clicks is SEO - also known as Search Engine Optimization. Think of SEO as the best invitation in town, and if you do it right, everybody is going to want to RSVP because of it.
When you improve your podcast, you can significantly improve your podcast clicks which leads to growth in listenership and subscribers, checking off 3 of the key performance indicators you should be after when you have a podcast.
So get ready to learn what SEO is and how you can use it for your podcast. And I swear, I’m going to make it so much easier to understand than most. So let’s get into it! But first…
Thank you for joining me today. I'm Jamie Kennedy, Executive Podcast Producer at Brave Moon Podcasts. We’ve produced podcasts for Virgin Active health clubs, Functional Training Institute, wellbeing coaches and speakers, and many more.
I started this podcast to show you that creating your own podcast from home is entirely achievable. No, really. I’m recording and editing this podcast, my very first solo podcast, from the comfort of my home, with my Rode Podcaster mic, my trusty MacBook, and my dog Riggs at my feet.
My goal is to share everything I’m learning from this podcast, that will ultimately help you produce your own podcast. Plus I’m including all the insider secrets I’ve learned along the way being a podcast producer for some of the top health and fitness brands on the charts today.
So whether you're a small business owner, health and fitness professional or a wellness enthusiast looking to boost your brand through podcasting, this podcast is for you.
For a comprehensive list of the equipment and software my clients use, head to my website and grab my free Start-a-Podcast guide. I've condensed months of research into this guide, offering you the industry's best choices. Download it today; the link is in the show notes!
Now, let’s jump into it: traffic-driving techniques to get more podcast clicks.
So what is SEO?
SEO stands for 'search engine optimization.' Which basically means your goal is to ensure the words you share online help you get found on search engines - like Google! Optimizing your content to be found on search engines.
When we’re talking about SEO for podcasts, the search engines are expanded. It’s not just about Google and other search engines nobody really knows about (sorry Yahoo), but it’s also about the listening apps. See, podcasts are searchable in listening apps, making them a search engine in their own right! So when we’re talking SEO for podcasts, we’re talking about Google AND listening apps, like Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
These are the big listening apps in 2023, but if you’re listening to this in future years, know this list will adapt and change!
Now that we know the goal of SEO, I think it’s really important for you to understand how search engines actually work.
Search engines like Google work by navigating billions of web pages online. These search engines use tools (creepily called 'spiders' and 'crawlers') to 'crawl' throughout the web. They then follow links to find new pages.
Once they find a new webpage, they index it, analyzing, organizing, and storing it to be searched for more efficiently.
Once a web page is indexed, the web pages are ranked based on a specific user query. Every brand's goal, every podcasts’ goal, is to rank higher than competitors in the searches their target audience, or in this case, dream listener, would search for.
For example, let's say you're a yoga studio owner in San Francisco, California. Your goal is to be ranked #1 in the google search for keyword or keyphrase searches such as "yoga studio san Francisco" or "yoga San Francisco."
There are a plethora of ways to get your yoga studio ranked higher in the search pages, but ultimately it comes down to 3 things:
Adding relevant keywords in your website content.
Regularly creating and publishing high-quality, informative and engaging content related to yoga, the yoga studio, and topics of interest.
Building a strong online presence by encouraging other reputable websites and directories to link back to your site, as well as engaging with your audience on social media, which ultimately drives more traffic to your website. Which Google and search engines love!
Now we’ll jump into the context of podcast SEO, because the principles are very similar. Just as search engines index and rank web pages, listening apps also index and rank podcast episodes. This means that when a potential listener searches for a topic or keyword related to your podcast, you want your episodes to be among the top results.
They also favor podcasts that are visited most frequently, and also podcasts that are creating and publishing high-quality and engaging content.
To achieve these things, similar to the yoga studio I mentioned, you'll need to apply SEO strategies but specific to your podcast.
You’ll want to add relevant keywords to your podcast title, description, show notes and episode titles, create high-quality and engaging content that appeals to your dream listeners, and actively promote your podcast to increase its visibility.
Furthermore, gaining positive reviews and ratings can enhance your podcast's credibility in search results. As search engines take user feedback into account, having a loyal and satisfied listener base can improve your rankings.
You’ll also want to make sure you’re adding written content about your podcast on the internet, so that you’re not only driving new listeners through the podcast listening apps, but also, surprise surprise, Google too!
As of now, search engines do not index audio. Meaning search engines do not "listen" to your audio content. Unfortunately, this means search engines, on their own, can't help people find your podcast.
Which is why writing about your podcast is so important. Everything you write about your podcast should be SEO-driven.
So how do you actually know which keywords to use?
Choosing the right keywords for your podcast is a crucial step in podcast SEO. To identify the most relevant and effective keywords, you can follow these steps:
First, start by understanding your target audience and what they are likely to search for. Consider their interests, problems, and questions related to your podcast's topic. What are they searching for? The best way to think about it is, when you’re searching for something you need, something you want to be educated on, what do you type into Google or Spotify? If your dream listener is struggling with weight loss, they’re probably typing “How to lose weight” into Spotify to find the right podcast episode for them.
So start brainstorming a list of potential keywords and phrases that are directly related to your podcast's content. Think about common terms, industry-specific jargon, and synonyms that people might use when searching for your topic. If one you come up with is “How to lose weight”, then go ahead and go to keyword research tools, and ask for other related keywords that people are searching for. Write them down and make sure you’re adding these to your podcast title, podcast description or show notes. Really, it’s that easy!
I’ll include a few of my favorite keyword research tools in the show notes.
If you’re feeling a little lost, you can cheat a little - don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. Go ahead and
study a few podcasts that are similar to yours. Identify the keywords they are targeting and the ones that appear in their episode titles, descriptions, and transcripts. This can give you a sense of what's working for others in your niche.
And even though your podcast name and main podcast description don’t change often, if at all, your episode show notes are a good excuse every time to add more keywords and variations.
Many podcasters throw this step away, not realizing the potent power of your show notes. Every single episode description is searchable. And not to mention, you can easily turn your show notes or article into a blog article, which can be added to your website and be indexed by Google and other search engines. There is so much opportunity to get each individual episode ranked by both the listening apps and Google and search engines. So make sure you’re taking advantage of it!
Here are five hacks to rank your podcast higher:
Hack #1
Select an optimized podcast name. Since the average podcast name is 29 characters or less, you want to be sure your podcast name is well thought out. So get specific on a podcast name, and choose words that aren't too broad.
For example, let's say you are a nutritionist and want to create a podcast about nutrition. We don't recommend you use the title The Nutrition Podcast. You don't want to pick a topic too broad that is exceptionally competitive.
Instead, get more specific. Who is your target listener? If it's for vegans who want to find inspiration to live more vegan, name it something along the lines of Plant-Based Inspired Life.
Are you struggling to define your podcast's niche and name? It's time to get specific and cater to your ideal audience. Our brainstorming template can help you discover the perfect niche and name. Link is in the show notes.
Hack #2
Make a dedicated podcast website. Ideally, this website is something that you own. Yes, your podcast hosting platform will create a podcast webpage for you. But there's a huge benefit to owning your website. Firstly, your podcast owns more real estate when you have both web pages. But also, you can personalize your own podcast website a lot more. You can also add more content than a standard podcast host's webpage would have for your podcast.
Consider platforms like Wix, WordPress, and Squarespace for your podcast site. Wix is user-friendly, WordPress offers customization and plugins, and Squarespace provides a sleek, built-in audio player. These options help you present your podcast professionally and connect with a wider audience. Links are in the show notes.
Hack #3
Get on top of trending topics! Beyond your basic keywords for your niche, it’s even more amazing if you’re creating episodes related to current trending events and topics. Two amazing websites to check out what’s trending are ubersuggest by Neil Patel and Google Trends. You can easily find trending topics related to your niche that are currently being searched for. Ultimately this will help you choose topic ideas for podcast episodes that potential listeners are searching for right now. Link is in the show notes.
Hack #4
Optimize your episode title. Your episode title should be rich with keywords your target listener is searching for. Examples might be "vegan diet" or "plant-based recipes." You should use a platform like Google Keyword Planner or Google Bard to find well-searched keywords but also low in competition. It's key to being found!
Hack #5
Interview guests with large platforms. One of the fastest ways to grow your audience is by using the power of existing platforms. So try to interview guests that have a larger platform than yours.
This works in two ways: first, the guests will (hopefully) share your episode on their platforms. Secondly, when a listener searches for podcast episodes featuring the guest, your episode will appear, and new listeners to tune in.
And there you have it!
Thank you again so much for joining me on your podcasting journey. Don't forget to subscribe, and if you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review.
Until the next episode, keep those conversations flowing, and keep being the amazing powerhouse that you are. And as always, remember that consistency, authenticity, and promoting your podcast are key to your success!
Ready to Boost Your Podcast SEO?
If you're interested in Brave Moon Podcasts helping you optimize your SEO, chat with us today! We can help you write show notes, transcribe your podcast, and more.
Happy podcasting.
