Updated June 27, 2022
Internet Live Stats estimates Google has about 40,000 search queries per second. Why not have a few hundred of those searchers reach your Show Notes page?
Here are seven ways to have people who find your show notes page learn to love your podcast:
- Logo consistency
- Summary
- Images
- Play button
- Links to other podcasts
- Quotes
- Call to action
Optimizing search for blogs has been around for years; why not apply some of those tried-and-true tactics to have people find your podcast via your show notes page?
Once a prospective listener is on your site, you have a few seconds to tell your story visually and with text. That 15 seconds could lead them to clicking on a player and listening to the podcast.
HUMANS LIKE: IMAGES
SEARCH BOTS LIKE: TEXT
When you are not pitching a podcast appearance, why not take some time and design a great target for a Google search, your show notes page. If you are no stranger to HTML, you can implement these tactics. If not, then go to Upwork or Fivrr and find a developer.
To my mind, there are seven parts of a show notes page that will make it attractive to both the human eye as well as the search engine:
1. Logo
People like consistency.
Please remember there is a link on iTunes to your show notes page. Mirror the image from iTunes on your show notes page for visual consistency. If someone decides to click on your show notes page, there will be no jolts and no surprises. Someone stumbles on your podcast and wants to learn more, make it easy on them.
2. Summary
Nobody has time.
They will find your show notes page and see the image. Hook them with that. Next, they might scan the summary top see if it is worth their time to listen. A good summary will lead the searcher to the listen button. A good podcast will lead the searcher to subscribe.
Everybody scans to see if your podcast brings value before wasting their time. During this scanning process, they decide how much time they want to spend with your visual, written, or audio content.
Let’s assume they found your podcast on Apple iTunes and clicked on the “website” button or found your topic on a Google search.
You need to structure the presentation of the podcast to respond to the perceived amount of time a visitor has.
Short text snippets like 200-word summaries can provide a further inducement to listeners. Services exist that can provide summaries.
The copy should be so good the reader wants to hit the “play” button. Once they hit the play button, dazzle the listener with content so compelling they subscribe.
From there, the goal is to get the listener’s email as a vehicle to gain a deeper understanding of the wants and needs of the audience so you can serve them better.
3. Image
Don’t tell the story verbally, tell the story visually.
The next element in a successful show notes page is having the right image.
Humans just want to know another human is on the interview. Many podcasts have regular moderators, you should include a photo of the moderator in the show notes section – but not as a focal point. It is more of a technical description.
The hero of the podcast is the guest. Real, unposed photos of a guest in front of a microphone are a great way to reinforce the presence of the person who appeared on your podcast.
If you must, reluctantly accept a garden variety publicity photo from the guest.
4. Player
Keywords typed in and your searcher arrives at your show notes page. OK, your prospective listener has seen the logo, seen the image of the human, read the 30 second summary. It is decision time.
At this stage in the listener’s journey, the visitor may want to listen to the podcast. Don’t put any obstacles on the path of the prospective listener. Don’t make them go to Apple Podcasts and search for the podcast. One button to listen. No clicking around.
Press one arrow and off they go.
5. Internal links
If people like your podcast, they may want more.
Give them an opportunity with links to other episodes or articles on your web site.
6.Quotes
Anecdotal evidence and studies of millions of Tweets confirm the fact that people love quotes. Why ignore these lessons? Include a quote or two on the show notes page. Most show notes pages are based on blog templates and they always have ways to select quotes.
Here are some examples of quotes:
"Is quantum computing a Black Swan event?"
"they had no idea what they created was introducing vulnerabilities"
"the biggest obstacle for almost any program or project within an agency is management support and budgets"
If you want to get creative, try making audiograms. An audiogram is a short-form video that includes a photo and short audio clip from the interview. Test it to see if it works.You can create these easily with Wavve or Headliner.
7. Call to action
You have captured the attention of a reader with a compelling summary, good images, crystal clear audio, quotes, and maybe even a “box score” to make the podcast easy to categorize. You have earned the right to notch up the interaction.
Give the listener the option of deepening the relationship. Include a call to action that brings value to the listener. In an ideal world, you will have an offer that fits directly with the individual podcast.
Let’s say your target audience is civil engineers.
If your podcast talks about ready mixed concrete, you may want to offer a summary sheet of water-reducing, set controlling admixtures for concrete.
Best practice here is to offer something helpful, it could be a membership or a quiz.
Bonus: use a transcript
Don’t sleep on the power of a transcript. Let’s do some rough numbers. A 25-minute interview may include 4000 words. Chock full of terms that a search engine can use to find the podcast. Use the transcript for quotes as well.
Breaking news: some people prefer reading to listening. A transcript serves the needs of that audience. The best two places for transcripts are Rev and otter.ai.
Conclusion
If you post your podcast on iTunes and cross your fingers you will become frustrated. Have a balanced marketing matrix for podcast promotion.
Design a show notes pages that will allow people to discover your podcast.
The show notes page should include the same logo as the one that describes it on iTunes. Make sure the person who finds the show notes page has images and text that describe the podcast.
Quotes are always winners. Transcripts contain keywords that people use in a search. All this work has earned you the right to ask for an email in exchange for a valuable offer.
If you liked this article, you may want to read, “5 Ways to Get Better Guests, Increase Downloads, and Impact More Listeners.”
John Gilroy
Has been in front of a microphone since 1991. He can help you structure, launch, and promote your company podcast. johngilroy@theoakmontgroupllc.com
Thanks for taking what podcast education I thought I had, and bumping it up in a few areas. Great post!