What do Verbrechen, Gemischtes Hack, Apokalypse und Filterkaffee, Fest und Flauschig and Hotel Matze have in common? Exactly! All titles of successful podcasts that have reached the public ear in recent years and developed into permanent audio formats. Such podcast success stories show us that other phenomena besides infection numbers can grow exponentially. Instead of letting the television program dictate our daily rhythm as we used to, we can now structure our week independently with podcasts. Crime on Tuesdays, Mixed Hack on Wednesdays and Fest und Flauschig on Sundays. In between, a little talk with Micky Beisenherz, which is broadcast daily, or a few marketing podcasts to stay professionally up to date.
But how can companies and content producers still be successful with their own podcast in this complex hype? Here are a few tips on how you can get started successfully with voice search and podcast SEO.
The 1×1 of podcast marketing:
If you take a look at successful podcast formats, most of them have one thing in common: they appear regularly, deal with a specific topic or you can hear prominent people talking. For example, a new podcast should focus on a specific topic that has ideally not been used so often in the media or for which there is a high demand – this is the only way to demonstrate a unique selling point with your format. The podcast should also develop a high recognition value. It starts with the fact that the programs appear regularly – always at the same time on a certain day of the week. We are familiar with this when it comes to TV or Netflix series. If it is not a continuous broadcast format, it is advisable to make listeners aware from the outset how many episodes of this podcast will appear. Good expectation management with the target groups is simply part of it.
When are podcasts listened to?
Studies show that people turn to the medium of radio or podcasts when they are busy with something else – especially if this activity quickly becomes boring. In other words, podcasts are turned on when you don’t have your hands free, such as when driving, ironing or tidying up, but still have enough capacity in your head to listen attentively. This is also a difference to music-oriented radio formats. Podcasts are often thematically more demanding and require more active listening. In this context, it is interesting to note that the use of voice search, which has been integrated into our everyday lives by voice assistants such as Alexa and Co. or the smartphone, is also increasing in parallel with such activities.
How do I optimize my podcast for voice assistants?
The optimum voice search is not yet fully developed technically, but must continue to be developed step by step. However, some commands can already be implemented by the existing assistants. Despite all the technical progress, it is extremely important for the Google voice assistant to be able to access structured data so that the right thing is played automatically.
For example, language assistants set to German still have difficulties understanding and rendering Anglicisms correctly. This is important to bear in mind when marketing podcasts. To ensure that a podcast is displayed well in search results in German-speaking countries and is played directly after a query, it should also be named in German. This applies to the title of the podcast, but also to the titles of the individual episodes. Special characters, on the other hand, should be avoided, as should complicated word combinations, as these are not understood by the voice assistant and therefore cannot be displayed in the search results.
Alexa: How do I optimize content for voice search?
On Amazon devices, it is possible for all audio content providers to provide their listeners with an Alexa skill. The principle is similar to that of apps on smartphones and is therefore familiar to users. Alexa Skills are free of charge for users. As they cannot be seen or tapped – unlike apps on the screen – they are activated by certain word combinations. The respective developer or audio content provider therefore programs a specific word combination or sentence that can be easily remembered. The user then uses this code to communicate with the voice assistant to trigger a specified program selection on the appliance. Alexa Skills are therefore a tool that can be used to optimize voice searches in order to deliver more efficient results.
It is therefore essential for podcast providers to program a skill with a concise word combination and advertise it accordingly. Only then will interested listeners learn about this possibility of direct access. Access to your own audio formats can be increased very effectively in this way.
How can I increase the reach of my podcast?
Another way to make podcasts easier to find using voice assistants is to do podcast SEO. This includes almost all measures that are also used in the search engine optimization of a website. First of all, it is important to assess the target group and thus determine which personas will potentially listen to the podcast and what needs they might want to satisfy.
Such an assessment in turn helps with a keyword analysis. Such an analysis can be made much more effective using professional tools. The aim is to find out which terms are suitable for making the corresponding podcast findable. An assessment of demand helps immensely in determining the topics to be covered in the podcast. A keyword analysis can also be used to identify time periods, i.e. when certain keywords are queried particularly frequently. This in turn helps with the creation of editorial plans. All this information should then be used to design a website, which in turn links to the podcast.
Podcast SEO – How to land in 1st place
As with all SEO topics, the devil is in the detail: the use of the right keywords should be consistently adhered to – for example in the titles and descriptions of the individual episodes. Because even if Google already understands a lot, the search engine does not yet crawl all the spoken words mentioned in the podcast. It is therefore essential to include keywords in the descriptions of the episodes. If necessary, the entire episode can also be transcribed so that even more text can be found online for Google and the episode can also be accessed by deaf people.
Cross-media and mobile advertising for podcasts!
Once the podcast is online, it should be promoted as much as possible. The use of social networks, which may already be used anyway, is a good option here. Create a post in the content blog and a news item in your Google My Business account and include corresponding keywords in the meta descriptions of the website. Bear in mind that podcasts are usually accessed via smartphone. All information must therefore be optimized so that it can be found on the smartphone with perfect performance.
Podcast SEO with onehundred.digital
What a podcast is about and how it is produced is not necessarily decisive as long as there is a target group for it. Ultimately, every podcast will be part of the big hype, the end of which is far from in sight. It is therefore clear that the earlier you get started, the easier it will be to generate reach. And as we have seen from the run on podcasts in the last year, it is still far from too late to take the plunge. We at onehundred.digital will be happy to advise you on formats and target groups, support you with production and, of course, help you find the best way to market your podcast. Not only do we have experience in this field, we also have our own podcast studio and the technical expertise that we are happy to provide. Simply send us an e-mail or give us a call to arrange a consultation.
Any questions?
onehundred.digital – your online marketing agency in Berlin – will be happy to answer your questions about voice SEO or search engine optimization!
Contact us now or take a look at our SEO offers at a glance!
