Why it’s important to write show notes for your podcast and optimize well on search engines.
On the World Podcast Network, we have thousands of podcast episodes that sound well produced and professional but do not have well-written show notes. The show notes are just as important as the quality of your sound. Taking the time to write professional show notes is not only important for search engines, but also for your audience and subscribers so they know what they’re getting before they listen to your podcast.
How do I write professional show notes that optimize well on search engines?
How Do I Write My Podcast Show Notes With People In Mind and the Audience That I Want To Reach?
You write your show notes with your expertise in mind to help people get the answers they need to their solutions. This makes you an authority and also makes your audience members look forward to your upcoming episodes. This is also one of the main features that Google looks for when indexing web pages. They want the authorities to come up higher on search engine rankings. The more you convey yourself as an authority, the more your audience members will come back through return visits. Your focus should be on looking like an expert in your show notes and in your audio.
The first paragraph includes the title of your podcast episode.
This helps your audience understand and confirm what your show is about. This is also a suggestion for people that have video podcasts and YouTube videos.
Make sure to include content on different sections of your show.
It’s best to break up your audio by different sections which include whatever you talk about. Think of it like different chapters of a book. Your podcast is technically your audio book. Just as you would create different chapters in a book, you also would do the same for your audio. Your show notes can include subheadings about the different sections and list your podcasts like a chapter. This also allows people who are listening and reading your show notes to shop for the exact section that they want. Remember that not everybody will listen to the full episode.This gives people a chance to jump to whatever section they want. It’s a good idea to add the timestamps of when those sessions come up from the audio so people can read ahead of time and know what they’re going to get.
Include any guests in their bio.
If you have guests on your show, not only should you list them in the title of your episode, you should also mention who they are. This allows your audience to get an idea of who the guest will be before they listen to your episode. Don’t forget to add a full bio of the guest. The bio will count for relevant keywords that Google can index your podcast on its search engine ranking pages (SERPs).
If your guests say something of significance in your episode, list that in the show notes. What does a guest want your audience to know about them? Don’t just include that in the audio, list it in a paragraph of your show notes.
Maximize the number of characters provided to you by your podcast host.
Most hosting platforms give you up to 4,000 characters. I suggest maxing them out as much as possible. This is content for the search engines to index. Make sure the relevant keywords are there in your show notes and do not include any irrelevant facts even if you finish typing before the 4,000 character limit. As mentioned above, you can include the relevant story of what your audience members want as well as your guest and their bio. You can also include any points that come up in your podcast below in this article.
Include a link to your main show page.
This is important and often forgotten by a lot of podcasters. This is very good for backlinks and link development. You don’t just want the show notes to talk about your episode. You also want them to link to the main podcast page and also some of your episodes.
What I do on my podcast “Become A Successful Podcaster” is link to my most popular episodes. This allows your subscribers to go from one episode to another and get you more listens. Those listens and downloads register on your podcast platform. Just in case somebody reading your show notes decides they don’t like what your episode’s about, they might see the link to other episodes which entice them to click on those instead. Not everybody will like the episode that they’re reading. That causes them to skip your episode. Additional links to other episodes might help to entice that person to download more of your podcast.
Include a bio on not just for you and your podcast, but also for your hosts and guests
This is an important step in optimizing your podcast show notes for each episode. When you have new guests, include a paragraph on their bio.
For every guest you have, include a bio on them in your show notes. This gives you instant search engine optimization when somebody’s Googling that guest your podcast episode may come up. Include their qualifications and skills in their industry. Explain what makes them an expert and why you wanted them as a guest on your show. Mention some of their competitors. That’s a great strategy, because one of your potential audience members might Google your guest’s competitors.
Include links to your social media profiles.
This is very important. For example, if your audience is on Instagram, link to your Instagram profile. If they’re on Facebook or LinkedIn, include a link to those as well.
Add a link to your profile on the podcast network to which your show is on.
If somebody is googling the podcast network where your show is available, include a paragraph as to why you are on that podcast network. Include what the podcast network does for you. If you are on the World Podcast Network this is a great thing, and we definitely appreciate you adding your profile link from our network.
Add an overall description of your podcast.
This is another important step. Describe your podcast and how this particular episode serves your audience members. Try not to repeat your podcast description in each show note. Say something different and unique about your podcast.
In conclusion…
Your podcast show notes are very important to max out so you get as much content to your audience as possible. Make sure not to repeat your show notes from episode to episode. That can cost you penalties on Google rankings. Every episode’s show notes should be independently written for each episode so your show notes look well written for your readers.
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