What if your podcast could rank higher and reach new listeners just by making a few changes?
Andrea de'Marsi, founder of PodSEO, joins me to talk about:
How keywords, episode titles, and show descriptions help your show get found on platforms like Apple and Spotify
What rankings mean for independent podcast hosts looking to grow
Ways to use simple tools and strategies to reach more people

Learn more about PodSEO here.

Subscribe to Your Mic on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Shoot Freddy an email: freddy@spekepodcasting.com.

Buy tickets to Speke Fest: Night of the Living Pod here.

Key Takeaways

1. Podcast SEO and Discoverability

Takeaway:
Optimizing your podcast's metadata—such as keywords, episode titles, and show descriptions—is vital to making your podcast more discoverable on platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Small tweaks in these fields can significantly boost your podcast's visibility, moving it up in search rankings and helping listeners find your show more easily.

2. Keyword Strategy and Ranking Insights

Takeaway:
Monitoring which keywords your podcast ranks for—and their positions—guides your SEO strategy. Identifying keywords where your show is close to the top three search results (the “prime spots”) allows you to make targeted adjustments in your metadata, leading to potential jumps into these highly visible rankings and capturing more listeners searching those terms.

3. Optimizing Metadata via Experimentation

Takeaway:
SEO optimization for podcasts is an iterative process. Regularly experimenting with your podcast’s metadata—titles, descriptions, and use of keywords—lets you test what works. You should track listener growth and rankings after each change to see which optimizations have a real impact, just as successful blogs or websites continually refine their content for search engines.

4. Competitive Analysis

Takeaway:
Tracking “competitors” or peers—other podcasts with overlapping keywords—can provide actionable insights. By seeing what keywords others are ranking for or how they adjust their metadata, you can identify new opportunities for your own show. This can even include monitoring when your peers update their titles or descriptions to inform your own strategy.

5. Evolving Role of AI and Search in Podcasting

Takeaway:
The landscape of search and discovery is changing rapidly, especially as AI-driven platforms increasingly influence how content gets surfaced. While traditional search optimization is crucial, staying aware of how podcasts might be recommended or found through AI tools should be part of a forward-thinking SEO strategy—even though best practices are still emerging.

Timestamped Overview

00:00 Podcast Visibility & Keyword Optimization

05:12 AI-Driven Keyword Tracking System

10:13 SEO Optimization Workflow Steps

12:25 Keyword Ranking Strategy for Podcasts

14:48 Understanding RSS Feeds and Metadata

17:52 Optimizing Podcast Metadata

22:59 SEO Tracking & Experimentation Tips

25:01 AI Search Visibility Challenges

What if your podcast could rank higher and reach new listeners just by making a few changes? Andrea de'Marsi, founder of PodSEO, joins me to talk about:
<ul>
<li>How keywords, episode titles, and show descriptions help your show get found on platforms like Apple and Spotify</li>
<li>What rankings mean for independent podcast hosts looking to grow</li>
<li>Ways to use simple tools and strategies to reach more people</li>
</ul>
Learn more about <a href="https://podseo.com/">PodSEO here</a>.
Subscribe to&nbsp;Your Mic on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@SpekePodcasting">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-mic/id1777171203">Apple</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/1PQNHuqxIVhkLfjGYuWcxl">Spotify</a> or wherever you get your <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/spekepodcasting/playlists/your-mic">podcasts</a>.
Shoot Freddy an email: <a href="mailto:freddy@spekepodcasting.com">freddy@spekepodcasting.com</a>.
Buy tickets to Speke Fest: Night of the Living Pod <a href="https://spekepodcasting.com/spekefest2025">here</a>.
Key Takeaways
1. Podcast SEO and Discoverability
Takeaway: Optimizing your podcast's metadata&mdash;such as keywords, episode titles, and show descriptions&mdash;is vital to making your podcast more discoverable on platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Small tweaks in these fields can significantly boost your podcast's visibility, moving it up in search rankings and helping listeners find your show more easily.
2. Keyword Strategy and Ranking Insights
Takeaway: Monitoring which keywords your podcast ranks for&mdash;and their positions&mdash;guides your SEO strategy. Identifying keywords where your show is close to the top three search results (the &ldquo;prime spots&rdquo;) allows you to make targeted adjustments in your metadata, leading to potential jumps into these highly visible rankings and capturing more listeners searching those terms.
3. Optimizing Metadata via Experimentation
Takeaway: SEO optimization for podcasts is an iterative process. Regularly experimenting with your podcast&rsquo;s metadata&mdash;titles, descriptions, and use of keywords&mdash;lets you test what works. You should track listener growth and rankings after each change to see which optimizations have a real impact, just as successful blogs or websites continually refine their content for search engines.
4. Competitive Analysis
Takeaway: Tracking &ldquo;competitors&rdquo; or peers&mdash;other podcasts with overlapping keywords&mdash;can provide actionable insights. By seeing what keywords others are ranking for or how they adjust their metadata, you can identify new opportunities for your own show. This can even include monitoring when your peers update their titles or descriptions to inform your own strategy.
5. Evolving Role of AI and Search in Podcasting
Takeaway: The landscape of search and discovery is changing rapidly, especially as AI-driven platforms increasingly influence how content gets surfaced. While traditional search optimization is crucial, staying aware of how podcasts might be recommended or found through AI tools should be part of a forward-thinking SEO strategy&mdash;even though best practices are still emerging.
Timestamped Overview
00:00 Podcast Visibility &amp; Keyword Optimization
05:12 AI-Driven Keyword Tracking System
10:13 SEO Optimization Workflow Steps
12:25 Keyword Ranking Strategy for Podcasts
14:48 Understanding RSS Feeds and Metadata
17:52 Optimizing Podcast Metadata
22:59 SEO Tracking &amp; Experimentation Tips
25:01 AI Search Visibility Challenges

A podcast for Houstonians who want to engage more with their hometown and learn more about the people driving its growth.

Cruz through HTX spotlights the stories, individuals, businesses, and organizations that make the Houston area GREAT.

A podcast for Houstonians who want to engage more with their hometown and learn more about the people driving its growth.
Cruz through HTX spotlights the stories, individuals, businesses, and organizations that make the Houston area GREAT.

A podcast for Houstonians who want to engage more with their hometown and learn more about the people driving its growth.

Cruz through HTX

Twenty-six year radio veteran Freddy Cruz has gone indie.


From former special forces operators and CEOs to authors and journalists, join
Freddy as he seeks to learn from some of the highest achieving individuals in the
world. These are stories of grit and blasting through the crucible of life. Stories of
standing up to powerful corporations and defying the odds. Not all of his guests
are authors, but they all have epic stories to share.