Podcast Discoverability Tips for Entrepreneurs

Podcast Discoverability Tips: How to Get Found in Podcast Apps

You’ve got a podcast, but are the right people finding it every time you release a new episode? Let’s talk about a few of my favorite podcast discoverability tips to help you grow your show. If you’re going to put the time and effort into creating a podcast to serve your ideal listener, you want it to support your business, too, right? My podcast is one of my best visibility and nurturing tools for my business, and yours can be too. Let’s talk about what it takes to turn your show into one that new people find and listen to every time you release a new episode.

My favorite podcast discovery tip is very simple

It’s to do SEO (search engine optimization) on your show. Most podcasters don’t realize that podcast apps like Apple Podcasts and Spotify are search engines, and because of this, they’re not doing podcast SEO. If you’re not showing up in podcast search results, you’re missing out on listeners who are already looking for the exact topics you cover.

When you optimize your show for the podcast apps, you can help new people interested in your topics find you. Think about your ideal customer, what are they interested in, what questions might they ask, what might they search in the podcast app to find something new to listen to? Those are all potential keywords for you to use on your show. It really is that simple. SEO is all about understanding your ideal customer or in the case of a podcast, your ideal listener, creating content that they need, and making it easier for them to find it via whatever search engine they use (Google, ChatGPT, podcast apps, etc.). It really is that simple.

How does SEO help with your Podcast’s Discoverability?

Podcast apps use the information in your show name, description, episode titles, and more to understand what your content is about. They index it, similarly to how Google indexes the content on your website. In the future, when someone searches for a keyword or phrase that you’ve used in those places the apps look for clues as to what your content is about, they’re more likely to recall that your show has that information and show it to the searcher in the app as a possible episode or show they’d want to listen to right now.

Is Podcast SEO technical? Can you do it and grow your show?

Don’t think of SEO as something super technical. It’s simply a discoverability strategy for your content. Podcast SEO is so much easier than Google SEO. I’ve done both for years, and podcast SEO is easier and works a heck of a lot faster. I love that about it, and you will too.

With Google SEO, it can easily take a year for you to see results (traffic coming to your website, increased visibility in search, etc.), but podcast SEO can start working almost immediately. I’ve seen my show start showing up for new keywords or phrases in 24 hours. It’s almost instantaneous.

There’s nothing technical when it comes to podcast SEO. It’s all about the words you use. That’s it. You can do it and start to see results very quickly. You can also go back and update your old episodes and help them become more discoverable, too. I’ve done that and it made a big difference for my show.

Common Mistakes That Keep Podcasts from Growing

I’ve noticed the same mistakes when it comes to podcasts that don’t grow. They’re pretty simple things you can change easily and start to see growth.

• Cutesy or vague show titles – If someone doesn’t already know you, they won’t search your brand name. They’ll search for a topic or problem they need solved. If your show name isn’t simple and straightforward and doesn’t say what you do or teach, it’s going to be harder to grow. There’s a reason my podcast show name includes SEO and online marketing – those are the two main keywords that I’m targeting with my show because I know they’re what you, my listener or follower, is interested in and might search.

• Episode titles that sound fun but aren’t searchable – “Let’s Chat About Growth” might mean something to you, but it doesn’t tell the app enough to know who to show it to. Growth could mean personal, marriage, plants, children, business, etc. in this example. A better title would be, “Let’s chat about business growth as a new life coach”. You want to include your keywords and also, if possible, help your niche see themselves right there in the title. Some people will search for niche-specific keywords like – business growth for life coaches.

• Missing or fluffy episode descriptions – Your description is a key part of not only encouraging someone to listen to the show but also helping the apps understand what that particular episode is about. Using keywords in the description can help you boost listeners and discoverability.

• No clear content pillars – It’s really important to have a set content strategy and choose topic areas or pillars that you focus on. It helps both the app and your listener have a better understanding of what your show is about. When you change focus from week to week, people don’t know what your show is about, so they may listen one week when you’re talking about business growth, but if they tune in next week and it’s all about sourdough bread making, they’re going to be confused (and likely annoyed). Choose four areas at most and rotate through them on a consistent basis to help make sure you’re attracting and retaining an audience. I personally talk about SEO (including Google and ChatGPT), email marketing, podcasting, and online marketing/marketing in general on my show. Each of those topic areas is helpful to the entrepreneurs, course creators, and coaches who tune in each week.

Podcast SEO tips you can use today

1. Use a clear, keyword-rich show title. Make sure it explains exactly what you do and who you help.

2. Write titles for search first, clever second. Keep your creativity, but make sure your episode title includes words your ideal listener would actually type into a search bar.

3. Be intentional with descriptions. Include your topic keyword naturally and tell the listener exactly what they’ll learn or gain.

4. Stick to your content pillars. Choose 3–4 main themes and stay consistent so the algorithm knows who to share your show with and you don’t alienate your new listeners.

A Quick Win You Can Try This Week

Go back and look at your last five episodes:

• Would a stranger know what the episode is about from the title alone?

• Is the description clear, specific, and easy to understand? Are there any keywords used?

• Do your topics fit your main content pillars?

• Is your show listed in the podcast app search results when you search for keywords your listeners would likely search?

Why podcast discoverability and podcast SEO matter to your business

We’re in what many are calling a trust recession. People need more time to feel comfortable with a business and want to spend money with them. It’s taking more time and content touchpoints than ever before to go from awareness to conversion.

A podcast can be a fantastic tool for both discoverability and nurturing, which can lead to conversion.

If your ideal clients can find you in the podcast app and they find your show helpful and like you, they’re more likely to tune in each week, and overtime, they build trust with you and when they’re ready for help or to make a purchase, they’re more likely to work with you because they already feel like they like, know, and trust you thanks to your podcast.

I hear from clients and students regularly who initially found me via the podcast app. They were looking to learn about SEO, email marketing, podcasting, and found my show, learned something each week, started implementing what they were learning, and began to see results, and then, in time, were ready to work with me 1:1 or in a group or course. They were loyal listeners who became paying clients because I served them through the podcast each week. Your show can do this for your business, too. My #1 focus for each new episode is what my listener needs to know and how I can make it easy to understand and encourage them to take action so they get results. If you stay focused on your listener when creating your content, you’ll have better results.

Final Thoughts on Podcast Discoverability

If you’ve been frustrated that your show isn’t growing as quickly as you’d hoped, it might not be your content; it might be your discoverability. If you haven’t ever done SEO on your podcast or you don’t have set content pillars that you speak to, it’s time to become more strategic with your show.

Your podcast can be one of your best visibility and nurturing tools for your business. Let me walk you through how to help your podcast grow your business in Simple Podcast SEO. I have a self-study, easy-to-learn, understand, and implement podcast SEO system that will help you make your show more discoverable in under 30 days. I will walk you through exactly what you need to do, show you where to make the changes, and teach you how to track the results. It’s the same system I used to turn my podcast into one of my best visibility and nurturing tools for the business. The only thing I wish is that I had launched my podcast earlier.