With over four million podcasts competing for audience attention across Apple, Spotify and many other platforms, getting your show heard remains as challenging as always.
A loud and competitive landscape, combined with an ever-changing search algorithm are just two of the factors that make podcast discovery so challenging.
However, there are some simple rules you can put in place that optimise elements such as name, title and description that, if used correctly, can help others find your show.
Frustratingly, different platforms have different criteria and index different data, but in general, some tips can help you find search success.
There is no magic wand. This won’t make you a No1 ranking podcast overnight. But following these FOUR simple rules should help you get your podcast heard.
Consider your name
I may be a bit late to the game if you’ve already launched your show but optimising your podcast search engine optimisation (or podcast SEO) begins with your show title.
A simple, memorable, unique and descriptive show name is the holy grail of titles:
Simple: Try to keep your name under four words. It’ll make it easy to search for and will be easy to make it clear and visible on any podcast artwork (another consideration).
Struggling to cut it down? Do you really need the word Podcast in your Podcast title?
Memorable: Often, we rely on audiences seeing or hearing about our podcasts via other shows or on other mediums (such as social). The name of your show needs to be front of mind the next time a listener logs into their podcasting app of choice. Avoid weird spelling or symbols in your title too.
Unique: With four million other shows already in the market, this is more challenging than it sounds. Play around with the search function in various podcast apps (and in Google) to see what else pops up and who you’ll be competing with when someone searches for your show.
Hint: Don’t call your podcast “Real Talk” (there are A LOT of them already).
Descriptive: An important but often forgotten part of titles. You want to be discoverable by people who are looking for a podcast on a certain topic as well as your podcast specifically. Here is where you can double down on your niche to aid discoverability: Use keywords effectively and tell me what your podcast is about!
Episode Titles
You’ve titled your show, now title your episodes! Here are some simple Do’s and dont's:
DON'T: Use episode numbers: Most podcast apps automatically number episodes so there really is no need to do this. With some platforms, adding episode numbers in your title can even negatively impact discoverability via search. Not only that but you only have a limited number of characters in a title that is displayed in app… adding “Episode 1” to that is a waste of prime real estate!
DON'T: Use your show name: Again, wasted real estate. Look at how your show displays on podcast apps – it will always be next to your show title so there is no need to add it again and won’t help your podcast SEO.
DO: Capture attention: Give audiences a taste of what your podcast is about and what is being discussed on that episode. Be attention-grabbing and try and hook audiences in.
For example, the title: “Manchester United win the Premier League” gives some flavour of what’s in store but “Five Key Factors in Manchester United's Premier League Title Win" is much more enticing for audiences.
DO: Keep it short: Apple podcast recommends keeping episode titles under 60 characters. Most podcast apps will truncate your episode titles so keeping it short ensures the whole title is displayed.
Podcast Descriptions
There is plenty of debate about how podcast platforms, particularly Apple, index podcast descriptions.
Some claim they’re not used in any capacity but even if Apple and the like aren't indexing your description, search engines such as Google are - so they are worth spending time on.
The first few lines of your podcast description are vital. Hook audiences in so they are compelled to click “See More”. Lead with the reason why a listener should listen to your podcast – how are they going to benefit?
Keywords are good, keyword stuffing is bad. According to (the now defunct) Chartable; shows that included specific keywords in their titles saw an 18% increase in discoverability. Peppering your description with a few choice phrases and important topics is a strong way to aid discoverability but "keyword stuffing" (adding multiple versions of the same phrases) is bad practice and can lead (reportedly) to shadow banning. Try to incorporate keywords naturally for the most impact.
Apple's search algorithm prioritizes relevance and uniqueness. Consider how you can apply this to your podcast description. Host and guest names can help add that uniqueness so they can be an important factor in search.
Use Resources
There are various tools you can use to help you improve your podcast SEO. Remember, if you can’t find your podcast then the chances are no one else can so run some tests!
Try searching for your podcast name, episode titles, keywords or even phrases taken directly from your podcast description and see what has an impact. Tweak your content until you are amongst the top hits for your chosen niche.
Sites like https://alsoasked.com can provide some interesting intel on what search terms are commonly used around your chosen topic. Although they are focused on traditional web SEO they can also help when enhancing your episode titles and descriptions.
The Discoverability tool in Spotify for creators can provide some interesting information on how your podcast performs in search. There is a variety of information within the platform but how to use/translate it is vague. I find the “How traffic led to consumption” chart interesting:
I interpret this as follows:
People You’ve Reached: This is the number of people seeing your content on Spotify and a measure of your discoverability via search and external promotion/signposting (such as social media)
People Who Showed Interest: The people who have found your podcast on Spotify and clicked through to your show page or episode page. This is a measure of how strong your show name, episode titles and artwork (that’s a whole other article) are and if they are capturing attention.
People Who Consumed: How many people have played your show? The final hurdle to converting a listener: Once they are on your show page will they listen? You would expect this number to be in the 70-80% margin and it can be impacted by factors such as strong episode titles, including guest names and bespoke episode artwork can also play a part.
Apple and Spotify also both provide further advice on search best practices for their specific channels:
Apple: https://podcasters.apple.com/support/3686-search-on-apple-podcasts
Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/resources/grow/podcast-seo
So there you have it, four tips to potentially help your podcast reach new people and reflect your hard work.