In the digital age, podcasts have become a popular medium for sharing information, telling stories and building communities. As a podcaster, one of your main goals is to reach as many listeners as possible. One effective way to achieve this is by making your podcast episodes discoverable in Google Search through strategic use of Podcast in Google Search.
Having your podcast episodes appear directly in Google search results is incredibly valuable for driving listeners. This detailed guide will explain how Google indexes podcast content, how to optimize episodes for discoverability, and tips to get your podcast showing up in searches.
Google’s Role In Podcast Discovery
Google helps in podcast discovery through its search function, Google Podcasts platform and algorithmic personalization of podcast search results. The tech giant has been focusing on improving podcast discovery, seeing search as its biggest role in the industry.
Optimize your podcast episodes with structured data, accurate titles and descriptions and submit them to Google Podcasts Manager for better discoverability in Google Search.
Google’s approach to podcast discovery involves several key strategies:
Inclusion of Playable Podcast Episodes in Search Results
Google has updated its search function to include playable podcast episodes within the search results around a specific topic. This allows users to discover and listen to relevant podcast episodes directly from the search results.
Personalized Podcast Search Results
Google offers personalized podcast search results that provide more details about the content of a podcast and why a show is being recommended. This personalization is driven by Google’s algorithmic discovery model, which is shifting from a discovery model based on editorial curation to one that includes algorithmic discovery.
Scanning of Podcast Metadata
Google Podcasts scans the metadata of every podcast and episode to identify the people, places, topics, and items mentioned in a show[3]. This helps Google to understand the content of the podcast and provide relevant search results.
Google Podcasts Manager To Get Podcast in Google Search
Google Podcasts Manager allows podcasters to understand their audience better and reach new listeners. It provides insights into how the audience listens across different devices and how the content is discovered on Google Search.
However, it is important to note that Google has announced that it will be discontinuing the Google Podcasts app in 2024. As part of this transition, Google plans to migrate listeners to YouTube Music and offer a migration tool for Google Podcast users including the ability to add podcast RSS feeds. Despite this change, Google’s focus on improving podcast discovery through the keyword ‘podcast in Google Search’ remains, with an increased investment in the podcast experience on YouTube Music.
How Google Indexes Podcast Content
To rank podcast episodes, it’s helpful to understand how Google crawls and indexes audio content:
- Crawls audio file pages – Googlebot scrapes podcast hosting sites for MP3 pages to index episodes.
- Extracts metadata – Key details like episode title, description, and creation date are pulled from file metadata.
- Indexes text content – Transcripts provide textual content for indexing spoken words and topics.
So optimize areas like episode titles, descriptions, shownotes, and transcripts that search bots can crawl.
Why Showing Podcast Episodes in Search Matters
Ranking your podcast content in Google Search offers tremendous benefits:
- Increased listeners – Users can play episodes directly from search without leaving the SERP. This provides a major new audience source.
- Improved discoverability – Listeners search for topics they’re interested in, so search visibility improves findability.
- Builds authority – Having podcast episodes in the carousel lends credibility as an expert source.
- Drives website traffic – Episode snippets link back to your podcast or site for further engagement.
Appearing in the podcast carousel essentially gives you free advertising in front of searchers. The valuable visibility makes SEO optimization worth the effort.
How to Show Your Podcast Episodes in Google Search
Use Structured Data
Structured data is a standardized format that provides information about a page and classifies the page content. For podcasts, this could include details like the title of the episode, the description, the date it was published and the duration of the episode. By implementing structured data for your podcast in Google Search, you can help Google understand the content of your podcast episodes, making it easier for them to appear in relevant search results.
Optimize Podcast Information for Search Engines
The title and description of your podcast play a crucial role in search engine optimization (SEO). These elements should be keyword-rich and accurately represent the content of your podcast. This will help search engines understand what your podcast is about and index it appropriately.
Measure SEO success by tracking the number of episodes indexed by Google, search clicks/impressions, rankings for target keywords and traffic increases from search referrals.
Transcribe Your Podcast Episodes
Transcribing your podcast episodes and searching for ‘podcast in Google Search’ can significantly improve their discoverability in search engines. Search engines are text-based and can’t understand audio content. Transcribing episodes provides text-based content for search engines to index, significantly improving your podcast’s discoverability in Google Search.
Submit Your Podcast to Google
To ensure your podcast episodes are included in Google’s podcast index, you need to submit your podcast to Google. This can be done through Google Podcasts Manager, a tool that helps podcasters understand their listeners and improve their podcast’s performance in Google Search.
Leverage Social Media
Promoting your podcast episodes on social media can help drive more traffic to your podcast and increase its visibility in Google Search. Active social media accounts that link to your podcast content can improve your SEO and help more listeners discover your podcast.
Encourage Listener Reviews and Ratings
Reviews and ratings can impact your podcast’s visibility in search results. Encouraging your listeners to leave reviews and ratings can help improve your podcast’s reputation and increase its visibility in Google Search.
Optimize for Featured Snippets
Featured snippets are selected search results that appear at the top of Google’s search results. By structuring your content appropriately, you can improve your chances of your podcast episodes appearing in featured snippets, further increasing their visibility in Google Search.
Monitor Performance with Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a tool that helps you monitor your podcast’s performance in Google Search. By regularly checking your performance data, you can gain insights into how your podcast is performing and make necessary improvements.
Collaborate with Influencers and Other Podcasters
Collaborating with influencers and other podcasters can help expand your reach and increase your podcast’s visibility. Cross-promotional opportunities can help you reach new audiences and increase your podcast’s visibility in Google Search.
Design Eye-Catching Thumbnails and Consistent Branding
Visual elements like thumbnails and consistent branding can help your podcast stand out in search results and attract more listeners.
Utilize Podcast Analytics Tools
Podcast analytics tools can provide valuable insights into your podcast’s performance and help you make data-driven decisions to improve your podcast’s visibility in Google Search.
Submitting Your Podcast on Google Podcasts
Google Podcasts is a major podcast app/platform where you can get your show indexed. To enable your podcast to appear in Google search results, you need to follow several steps:
Craft an Effective Podcast Title and Description
Crafting an effective podcast title and description is a crucial step in making your podcast discoverable on search engines like Google. The title and description should be keyword-rich, meaning they should include words or phrases that potential listeners might use when searching for content related to your podcast.
The title and description should be keyword-rich, meaning they should include words or phrases that potential listeners might use when searching for content related to your podcast in Google Search. This not only helps with search engine optimization (SEO), but also attracts the right audience and encourages them to listen to your podcast.
Build Each Episode Around a Keyword
Building each episode of your podcast around a specific keyword or topic is a strategic approach to improve the discoverability of your content in Google Search. Keywords are phrases that users type into search engines when looking for content and they play a major role in search engine optimization (SEO). By focusing on a particular keyword for each episode, you signal to Google the relevance of your content to those search queries.
Expose a Valid RSS Feed
To enable your podcast to appear in Google search results, you need to ensure you have a valid RSS feed for your podcast. An RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed is a crucial component for distributing your podcast episodes to listeners and podcast directories.
It is essentially a text file in XML format that contains detailed information about your podcast, such as episode titles, descriptions, publication dates, and media file URLs. You can find more information on optimizing your podcast for search engines by searching ‘podcast in Google Search’.
Here are the steps to create and use an RSS feed for your podcast:
1. Create Your Podcast Content
Before generating an RSS feed, plan your podcast’s content strategy, including the niche, target audience, episode format and frequency.
2. Choose a Podcast Hosting Provider
Most podcasters use a podcast hosting service to generate a valid RSS feed. These services handle the technical aspects of creating and updating the feed when new episodes are uploaded.
3. Set Up Your Show Settings
On your hosting platform, you’ll need to set up your show settings, including the podcast title, description, and cover art. These details will be included in your RSS feed[3].
4. Upload Episodes and Add Details
As you upload new episodes to your hosting platform, you’ll add titles, descriptions, and upload the audio files. The hosting service will update your RSS feed with this new information.
5. Validate Your RSS Feed
Use online validation tools like Cast Feed Validator or Podbase Validator to check for errors in your feed. A validated RSS feed is crucial for compatibility with podcast directories.
6. Submit Your RSS Feed to Podcast Directories
Once your RSS feed is validated, submit it to podcast directories such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others. Each platform may have specific submission procedures, but most involve entering your RSS feed URL.
7. Monitor Your Feed
Keep an eye on your RSS feed to ensure it’s updating correctly and that new episodes are appearing in podcast directories. If issues arise, troubleshoot with your hosting provider or check the feed for errors.
Have a Dedicated Homepage
A dedicated homepage for your podcast enhances discoverability and context understanding by Google, improving its ranking on search engine results pages. To ensure the best results, you can start by searching podcast in Google Search for valuable insights on optimizing your podcast’s online presence. This homepage should include elements like episode descriptions, show notes, transcripts and additional content such as blogs or videos.
It serves as a hub for all your podcast content, making it easy for listeners to access and explore your entire catalog. A well-optimized podcast website can rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs), making it easier for potential listeners to discover your podcast.
Use an Audio Format that Google Can Crawl
To ensure Google can crawl and understand your podcast’s audio files, they need to be in a format that Google’s algorithms can process. Google’s Speech-to-Text service recognizes codecs such as FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec), LINEAR16 (used in WAV, AIFF, AU, and RAW containers), MULAW (a PCM codec designed for telecommunications) and AMR.
It’s important to note that while Google can transcribe audio from video content to understand the general topics covered, performing a podcast in Google Search still needs proper optimization to maximize exposure in search results.
Submit Your Podcast to Google Podcasts
You can submit your podcast to Google Podcasts through Google Podcasts Manager. Once your podcast is on Google Podcasts, it can appear in Google Search results, on Google Podcasts, and in many other places.
Use Podcast Markup
Podcast markup, also known as structured data or schema markup, is a type of code that helps search engines better understand the content and context of your podcast. It can include details like the title, description, host information and episode details.
By using podcast markup, you can enhance the visibility of your podcast in Google Search engine results, as it allows search engines like Google to display rich snippets of your podcast information directly in the search results.
Measuring Success
Key SEO metrics to track progress include:
- Number of episodes indexed by Google
- Search clicks/impressions to indexed episodes
- New users and clicks from Google
- Rankings for target keywords
- Traffic increases from search referrals
Conclusion
Appearing in the podcast carousel on Google through a podcast in Google Search delivers tremendous discoverability. But it requires putting in work to optimize on-page elements, promote episodes for links and engagement, produce search-friendly content consistently, and publish on the right platforms. With time and dedication to podcast SEO best practices, your show can gain visibility and expand its audience through Google search.
In conclusion, showing your podcast episodes in Google Search by searching for ‘podcast in Google Search’ is a powerful way to increase your podcast’s visibility and reach a wider audience. By implementing these strategies, you can optimize your podcast for Google Search and ensure that your content reaches as many listeners as possible.