In the eyes of search engines, podcast content is just web content. And there are no special rules for podcast search engine optimization. Google (and other search engines) evaluate the web pages we podcasters make for our episodes the same way they see every other page.

Unfortunately, following solid SEO best practices for posting podcast episodes might require a very different approach to podcast production and content creation than what you’re doing for your podcast today. 

In order to give your content -- your on-site content -- the greatest chance of earning a meaningful ranking in search engines like Google, you need to take a completely different approach to your content creation process. And you’re probably not going to like it. But here we are.

1. Topics Drool, Keywords Rule - Once you have a topic in mind, you refine that topic by doing research on the words and phrases used by people on search engines, plus analyze the current “competing” results that are already ranking for those phrases. Yes, that means using specialized tools that cost money.

2. Agonize Over Your Episode Title - You have to try lots and lots of titles -- using the info gleaned from your keyword research -- and craft a compelling -- that means click-worthy -- title. Again, this means using software to help you analyze each of the titles you come up with. 

3. Lock-In Your Angle For The Episode - With the keyword and the title of the episode now crystal clear, you probably have a good idea of how you’ll approach the topic on the episode. 

4. Now You Can Record and Produce - This is the part you know how to do. Now you’re just doing it with a good roadmap that’s materializing from the first three steps. 

5. Write 2,000 Words - If you want your episode page to have a chance at ranking for the keyword that started this whole process, you have to write a lot of words. No, 500 probably isn’t enough. 

6. Optimize Those 2,000 Words - Refine those words to make sure they’ve stayed on point, match the angle, reinforce the title, and are relevant to the keyword chosen as the focal point. 

7. Pretty Up Your Page With Pictures - The goal of this exercise is to get this podcast’s episode page to rank, and visual elements help make the page more attractive to searchers, the data show.

8. Organize The Structure Of The Page - Spending time breaking up those 2,000 words with headings and subheadings makes the page more scannable. Keep that keyword in mind as you do this crucial step. Not all text on a page is considered