Podcasts have long appeared in search engine results. Last year, Google took it one step further. Search results will now include playable episodes in order to further assist people in finding exactly what they’re looking for. This is on top of the standard links to websites, related images, and news articles that appear.
What does this mean for your podcast? A big lift, if you play your cards right! This where custom digital marketing comes into play. Even without a dedicated website or mailing list, there’s a number of ways to push your podcast to an even wider audience.
Search Engine Upgrade
The search engine results aren’t just based on metadata or the podcast’s title anymore; it goes all the way into the literal content of an episode. It’s so relevant that there’s also now a dedicated carousel for podcasts, which seems to be based largely on the podcast’s information. That includes, but is not limited to, the overall title and description, alongside the specific episode title and content.
Metadata can come in the form of tags, including a main keyword or two. Just make sure that if you have a dozen tags, they’re all still relevant to your podcast somehow. Shorter episodes mean a higher overall content quantity, which organically multiplies the odds of gaining a top place in search results.
Fast Fixes
Google is, essentially, using its speech recognition system to transcribe content. The more your audio is clean and of good quality, the better the automated transcription will be. That doesn’t mean basic SEO doesn’t matter; it’s a default necessity, especially when the episode title and description can be made to match highly searched queries. You always have the option to add your own transcribed version of the episode, which would be helpful in terms of keywords.
Having well-known personalities as guests also adds to heightened traffic. People always look for more information and updates on their favorites as well as newly found interests, whether that’s in the academe, business, education, film and television, literature, music, sports, or theatre, among others. The simple reality is, celebrity SEO practically has a life of its own.
A Good Boost
This is obviously additional work on top of the podcast itself, but the payoff will be worth it! Since there’s a podcast for practically every niche now, making the most of even the slightest advantage will be monumental in the long run. It’s pretty much the equivalent of a video game power-up that gives every podcaster the chance to boost their audience.
Of course, since it’s new, there are still things to work out. An important thing to note, for example, is if the person searching doesn’t use “podcast” in their search, then the playable results will not appear as part of their results. No matter what happens with the algorithm of Google moving forward, though, keep your podcast real! Don’t lose sight of the biggest priority in all this—your listeners. If you’re unsure how to make your podcast audio SEO-friendly, let the experts handle it.
Feel like you need a helping hand for your podcast to pop? Reach out to The SEO Queen, a professional SEO services provider. We have a full list of digital marketing services, from custom digital marketing plans to paid ad management, to help boost your online presence.
