You want more subscribers and listeners for your podcast right?
Of course you do!
Almost every content creator knows the importance of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for sending free organic traffic to their website.
But what about SEO for podcasts? Does SEO have an impact on our audio shows?
It absolutely does!
Most podcast hosts are aware of the importance of having keyword-rich episode descriptions, but that’s usually where the conversation ends.
Having a website dedicated to your podcast is one of the best content marketing strategies you can use to drive more organic traffic to your podcast. Whether you are new to podcasting, or you’re a seasoned vet, these podcast SEO tips can help optimize your website and start getting more subscribers for your podcast.
Improve Your Podcast SEO with Keyword Research
Keyword research is given little thought when it comes to an audio platform like podcasting.
Having a show notes page for your individual episodes (highly recommend) is like having a small blog post on your website. Keyword research and SEO can play a vital role in driving more traffic to your podcast and gaining more potential listens and subscribers.
Keyword research is going to be one of the most important things you can do to improve your podcast SEO, and understanding HOW to do it correctly is the first step.
My Competitive Keyword Research [Video Course] (CKR) walks you through this process of targeting the RIGHT kinds of keywords and teaches you how to steal traffic from your competitors so you can start ranking higher and driving more traffic to your website.
1. Keyword Types
Did you know there are different types of keywords?
There are actually 3 main types of keywords, and if you’re not targeting the right ones, you can actually drive traffic away from your site and hurt your chances of ranking in search engines.
The 3 main types of keywords are:
- Transactional Keywords: These are keywords people are using when they are ready to make a purchase (ie. [keyword] for sale, best budget [keyword], buy [keyword] online)
- Navigational Keywords: When someone is looking for a physical location, these are the types of keywords someone would be searching for (ie. directions to [keyword], [keyword] near me, map of [keyword])
- Informational Keywords: These are the keywords that someone uses to solve a problem, answer a question, etc (ie. what is [keyword], how to perform [keyword], the best way to [keyword])
Why is this important to know?
When trying to improve your podcast SEO, you need to understand what problem your podcast or podcast episode solves. In most cases, you’ll be focusing on the informational keywords.
2. What is Search Intent?
It’s usually not enough to know what types of keywords you want to target. You also need to understand WHY someone is searching for the keywords they are searching for, or the Search Intent.
When you go to Google, you use specific keywords to find the solution you are looking for. This is always the case.
Whether you are doing research on a product you want to purchase, or your trying to figure out how to improve your podcast’s SEO, there are specific keywords you are using.
When going through the keyword research process, you need to not only know how to identify which keywords you can possibly rank for, but also understand whether or not your podcast episode or show notes page is going to be the right pagethe searcher is looking for.
3. Start with Less Competitive Keywords
It can be really tempting to start big. Resist every urge to do so.
Podcast SEO, and SEO in general, can be very competitive. Typically, there are much bigger websites out there that are ranking for the keywords you’d like to rank for.
Rather than trying to rank for the “big” keywords, you need to set your sights on the smaller, less competitive keywords.
There are several tools out there that can help you identify which keywords would be easiest to rank for. My personal favorite is SEMRush (affiliate link). I’ve tried several different SEO tools, but SEMRush is superior in terms of functionality and accuracy of data.
Disclaimer: If you choose to purchase any products through my affiliate links, I will receive a small commission. This comes at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I have used myself and that I feel can help you as a creator.
Additionally, if you sign up for Competitive Keyword Research [Video Course] and purchase SEMRush through my link above (also included in the course), I am offering a free 60 minute consultation to help you with onboarding and getting the most out of SEMRush.
4. Analyze your Competition
Many times, your competitors rank for keywords you could only dream of ranking for.
In addition to that, your competition is likely ranking for keywords they never intended to rank for. They simply started ranking for these keywords as a result of their website authority.
Since their rankings are not intentional, we can outrank our competitors by being intentional and choosing to rank for these keywords.
This is a topic that I cover in great detail in my course. So if you want to learn how to analyze your competitors, find new keyword opportunities, and start stealing their traffic to grow your audience, be sure to sign up for my course by clicking the button below.
5. Get on Google Podcasts
Google is constantly trying to improve their search results for their users.
With the increasing popularity of podcasts, Google is focused on improving their ability to put podcasts in front of more users.
This is a HUGE reason why you need to be thinking hard about podcast SEO right now.
At this time, Google is transcribing podcasts on Google Podcasts to be able to provide relevant segments of podcast episodes so they can provide more podcasts in the search results and answer more of their user’s questions. This is very similar to how Google places YouTube videos in the search results.
You show is likely listed in various podcast directories like Apple Podcast and Spotify already. However, if your podcast is not yet listed on Google Podcasts, get it added right now!
6. Include Transcripts on Your Show Notes Pages
By Including transcripts on your website, you can easily get text on your page and increase your podcast SEO.
Even though Google is transcribing podcast episodes on their own, it is a good idea to do this yourself.
Each episode I do for the Nine-Five Podcast has a transcript associated with the interview.
This transcript is then uploaded onto my show notes pages. This text helps give Google context into what your show is about and can help your podcast rank higher in Google search. If you use tools like Fusebox (affiliate link), you can even incorporate a lead capture element to grow your email list.
Step-By-Step Keyword Reseach That Can Improve Your Podcast SEO
Now that you know what is needed to start driving free organic traffic to your podcast, it’s time to take action.
Knowing this information is worthless if you don’t put it to good use.
In the Competitive Keyword Research [Video Course], I go much more in depth on all these topics and show you how to better understand search intent, effectively perform keyword research, and analyze your competitors content so you can rank higher and start stealing their traffic.
All you have to do is click the button below to get started!
I am an entrepreneur and adventure enthusiast, looking to break free from the Nine-Five grind. I'll show you what has worked and is currently working for me, as well as what hasn't worked so well.
0 Comments