[00:00:00] Hi guys. Guys, my name's Crystal Waddell. I'm the host of the Simple and Smart SEO Show podcast, and I'm so glad to be here with you today to talk about SEO for podcasters in 2024.
[00:00:09] There's been some major changes in SEO over the last year or two, especially with the introduction of large language models, which most people refer to as chat, GPT.
[00:00:21] And it's variants. But what is S-E-O? S-E-O is search engine optimization. It's how you optimize your website by making it easier to find and crawl by Google or any other search engine.
[00:00:34] Now, SEO can take other forms as well, not just on your website. So it can be things like your Google Business profile, your Google Business listing, or even your Pinterest account or YouTube channel, or any of your social media channels.
[00:00:47] All of those things work together to create a digital footprint. And the more that they are optimized, the more your brand is optimized online. So some of the changes that are happening in 2024, there is something called SGE, which is Search Generative Experience. It's something that Google has been rolling out in bits and pieces.
[00:01:07] And basically what this means is that Google will summarize informational queries like. What is blue and yellow mixed together or whatever. Google will come up with a summarized answer that goes to the top of the search engine results page. A lot of people call this the SERPs.
[00:01:25] Now, why this is important is because that is taking up valuable real estate on people's screens, especially their mobile screens. So search results are being pushed down, and then also anyone who might have an answer to that particular question or query is now being bumped out of the way in favor of Google summarization.
[00:01:46] So what this means is if you are creating content for your website, I would stay away from creating that very top funnel informational type content.
[00:01:56] You wanna create something that's a little bit deeper and also a little bit closer to the bottom of the funnel or closer to conversion. So that's where things can get a little bit more nuanced.
[00:02:07] Whereas at the top information is, everybody's got a little bit right. You really have to figure out how you can separate yourself from your competitors and other people in your market or field. And yeah, those are gonna be some big changes to watch out for in 2024.
[00:02:22] Okay. The next question is, how can podcasters leverage SEO and what is the impact that they can expect? Okay, so let's think about what SEO is. Let's think about like on page SEO, for instance. So if I were to write a blog post, my blog post would have a title, and then ideally my blog post would have some other headers that kind of break up the podcast or the blog.
[00:02:46] And then there would also be words on the page, right? There might even be graphics, and then those, the words on the page should support whatever.
[00:02:54] The title says, right? So whatever I'm writing about in the blog, I wanna make sure that I have a strong keyword in the headline.
[00:03:01] And then I wanna have supporting keywords throughout any other H twos or paragraph text so it supports the headline.
[00:03:08] Podcasting is very similar to that if you're trying to optimize for search engines. So whatever topic that you're talking about, you wanna do a little bit of keyword research around that topic. And the really big key here. About researching keywords is understanding the, I hate to keep word using this word, but understanding the nuances of search intent.
[00:03:30] Okay, so whatever keyword that you choose, you wanna make sure that it matches the search intent of somebody looking for your topic. And so once you have, you know your title, you can go look for keywords that support the search intent. Is somebody trying to learn how to do something?
[00:03:46] Are they trying to learn what something is, are people exploring why other people do that thing? So just understanding the search intent.
[00:03:53] Whatever that search intent is, you wanna align your keywords with that and then use the keywords throughout your podcast. So like a little insider pro tip here.
[00:04:02] If you do your keyword research in advance, you can naturally infuse those words into your podcast. Whether you're doing an interview or if you're doing a solo episode or even a partner episode, you can make sure that everybody takes turns dropping in those keywords at specific times so that you are optimizing your podcast.
[00:04:23] Now, of course, once you have recorded your podcast, another thing to do is to include the keywords in the title, and the file name that you save when you are uploading your podcast to your podcast service provider. You can add tags.
[00:04:38] And so those are other places that you can add keywords, and then you always want to write a description that hits on the most important topics that are covered in the podcast. Again, you could put keywords there.
[00:04:49] And then the final way that you can really maximize your SEO for your podcast is by uploading your transcript. Because when people search in podcast players, the podcast player will try to find the key word either in the title or the transcript, or throughout the body of text related to that podcast.
[00:05:07] So if you have the right word in there. And it aligns with search intent. Your podcast can be found using podcast players as a search engine, so that's pretty cool.
[00:05:17] Okay, next question. How have I personally leveraged SEO for my podcast? Okay.
[00:05:24] So just like I told you, from the beginning to the end, SEO practices can be implemented to optimize your podcast.
[00:05:31] So starting with a title that includes a keyword.
[00:05:34] A lot of people want to do like a cute title or some clever play on words.
[00:05:39] But just like regular SEO on your website.
[00:05:42] The meaning of the word needs to be very clear. So instead of saying, conversations with Crystal, which could be about anything.
[00:05:50] We have the simple and smart SEO show where all of the conversations have something to do with SEO.
[00:05:56] And then just like I talked about with, being strategic with your keyword placement.
[00:06:01] Every podcast that I edit or upload, it always has keyword research involved either on the front end or throughout it, on the back end.
[00:06:10] And yeah, just adding tags. I use a platform called Auphonic.
[00:06:16] And so when I'm smoothing out the audio, there's also places where you can add metadata.
[00:06:21] To the podcast audio.
[00:06:23] And so I drop in keywords there. Just everything I can think of that aligns with search intent and again, the actual name of that podcast episode. So using keywords in all of those different places really give you more of an opportunity to show up in search. When people are searching for whatever it is you're talking about.
[00:06:40] Okay. Next question. What are some of the biggest mistakes podcasters make when it comes to SEO misconceptions or missed opportunities or things that they are just doing wrong?
[00:06:51] I feel like I'm just beating a dead horse here, but just, making sure that you're aware of all of the places that you can optimize your podcast, from the title all the way through uploading a transcript.
[00:07:00] So if there is an opportunity to upload text or add text in some way. Whether it's in your podcast show description, whether it's in the actual episode descriptions, episode titles, all of those things.
[00:07:14] Those are places where you can and should strategically use words that align with the search intent of people who are looking for the information you provide.
[00:07:23] So I just think if you're not taking advantage of every single opportunity, that's where you might miss out on potential listeners.
[00:07:31] Okay, so a suggested checklist for things that podcasters can implement right now to improve SEO for their podcast.
[00:07:37] Okay. First of all, I would say the first thing that needs to be at the top of that list would be what keyword are you trying to win?
[00:07:44] So if you are trying to win sEO then SEO needs to be in the title of your podcast.
[00:07:50] It should be in the description, every place that it could possibly be on your, podcast player or podcast provider, or whatever that page is, right?
[00:08:01] So the checklist would just start with, doing some keyword research.
[00:08:05] And then making sure that those keywords are infused throughout your podcast information.
[00:08:09] And then once every podcast has been recorded, just making sure that you summarize the show notes and provide show notes and that you also upload the transcript. And then once you are modifying the audio, making sure that if there's a place anywhere in that audio file.
[00:08:28] To actually manipulate either the name of the audio file or to add tags.
[00:08:32] Utilize that capability and put the keywords in there. And yeah, I think that's a pretty good checklist. You're gonna be covering a lot of bases if you strategically put keywords in all of those places.
[00:08:44] Alright. What resources or services do I offer or recommend for podcasters to learn more about improving their SEO?
[00:08:52] Funny enough, I just launched something called the SEO squad, and right now we're in our founders members launch.
[00:08:58] So if that is something that you would be interested in, I'd definitely love to have you there.
[00:09:02] I'll drop a link or have a link for that. And other than that, I would also suggest the Wix Learning Hub.
[00:09:10] They provide so much value on that particular website. They have free templates, free checklists, all of those things. So I would definitely check that out if you are interested in learning more in SEO.
[00:09:23] Let's see. All right, I think it was short and sweet for me, but if you have any questions, you can find me at Knowledge Vomit on pretty much every social media channel. Crystal Waddell on LinkedIn.
[00:09:33] And of course I'd love to have you listen to The simple and smart SEO show podcast.
[00:09:38] New episodes drop every Wednesday.
[00:09:40] And I'd love to hear if there's anything that you would like us to talk about.
[00:09:44] Alright, good luck, happy podcasting.