How Podcast Show Notes Help Boost SEO Score
Podcasts have emerged as one of the go-to sources of digital marketing. Podcasts have been around for nearly a decade but its popularity has crashed the roof in recent years. Many digital marketers are of the opinion that podcasting is going to give a tough competition to video marketing in the years to come. Its budget-friendly nature is particularly talk of the town in the online world now.
Apart from providing an impeccable audio experience to the listeners, podcasts can greatly contribute to boost your SEO score with the help of show notes. Unfortunately, search engines are unable to decode and index the audio. So no matter how much your podcast series goes viral, it won’t improve your SEO unless you have incorporated show notes.
In case you are wondering what makes podcast show notes so much SEO-friendly, you need to keep on reading to find a comprehensive answer to your question:
1. Allow you to add keywords
When it comes to SEO, there is no way you can keep keywords out of the equation. Keywords are the primary source for anyone to find the desired content in search engines. As spoken above, Google can’t index audios and there is hardly any chance people can reach out to your podcast by simply typing key phrases. That’s where podcast show notes swing into action.
Show notes give you space to include the most searched words which go best with the substance of your podcast and business niche. Transcription is one way to get the job done. However, later you can make certain changes in the transcript in order to make it more specific and readable. You may also exploit the show notes software.
For many people, show notes don’t go beyond embedding podcast titles and scribbling a couple of lines. Be sure that Google does not entertain content having less than 300 words. So you have to put a little more hard work to get the maximum SEO juice through podcast show notes.
2. You can incorporate backlinks
Backlinks play a crucial role to elevate your SEO ranking. They give you a great opportunity to get connected with other high-authority websites. The stronger your connection with quality websites, the easier it gets for search engine spiders to trace you. Podcast show notes allow you to backlink your content and earn SEO score.
Google treats backlinks as a reputation tool. Of course, Google algorithms penalise you for unnecessarily adding the backlinks but if they are included in a measured proportion then the search engine rates your content as a well-researched piece. The same goes for the audience.
People are more likely to find your podcast trustworthy if it is supported by authentic links. Gone are the days when businesses could feed anything to people, who had no option but to trust what you said. It is the era of information overload. Today, your podcast listeners want proof and backlinks serve this purpose quite convincingly. Make sure your links are in total relevance with your podcast theme, otherwise Google will drop your ranking.
In digital marketing, a good relationship comes handy. As you backlink other websites in your podcast show notes, they will also give attention to your website and you might start to get the influx of backlinks from them as well. All said and done, show notes can have a huge say in your link building strategy.
3. Improves accessibility and user experience
Unfortunately, a fair proportion of our society subscribes to hearing loss. According to the figures provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), about 5 percent of the total world population is undergoing this dilemma. Simply put, your podcast audios mean nothing to them. Podcast show notes are a great tool to give them access to the information and if your show notes are crafted with perfection, they will become frequent visitors to your website.
If you know your listeners, it will not be tough to get an idea about what you should include in podcast show notes and what you should skip.
Sometimes people are encouraged to read show notes due to other reasons as well. For example, they want to go skim through the content before deciding whether or not to listen to your podcast or simply because they have forgotten to bring their earphones. It leads to a better user experience which holds great importance in the eyes of Google.
In addition to that, people tend to download podcast audios and listen to them at their convenience. But they have to stay on your website in order to read notes. It brings the SEO rule into play; the longer you manage to sustain the visitors on your website, the better your SEO score will be.
4. Drives traffic
Businesses make podcasts because they want to give the best possible listening experience to their listeners. However, the underlying object of podcasting is to market your business and drive maximum traffic. In order to make an effective podcast, you have to convey more information in minimum time. Therefore, you can’t unveil so many things in audio that your business may be offering because it can greatly distract the audience.
For example, you speak about a certain product of your company but what if those listeners have questions regarding that? That’s where podcast show notes become very effective. You can add links to your website in show notes where people can get the answer to their relevant queries. Or if you are offering an online course, then you can mention the link in show notes where listeners can sign up and become part of your journey.
The final thoughts
So if you have been wondering in all these years that why people bother writing podcast show notes when the audio is already available, the standout reason would be to get on top of the SEO game. Recording and editing a podcast might seem too much labor but show notes are what actually give you the best return on the investment of time and effort. Skipping them will leave you far behind from your competitors.