Ever since, Podcast by Apple is one of the most popular audio platforms that enables listeners to access to information, episodical comedies, horror, drama, as well as educational topics. According to Steve Jobs, the podcast or iPod + broadcast, is the next generation of radio. Not to mention its fast increasing users and listeners every year.
However, podcast’s appearance remains insignificant in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). Google is doing an effort for podcasts to be featured since they too offer a wide range of benefits to the end-users.
Google treats podcasts as significant as images, videos, and texts. For the podcasts to be searchable, they are planning to incorporate podcast metadata into SERPs. Will audio results be the next big thing?
Let us discover one by one the perks that end-users can enjoy when podcasts will be featured readily on the top Google results.
Podcast offers convenience
You don’t have to search in Google Podcast or put the word podcast after the thing you want to search the moment that podcasts will be available in the SERPS. Every time you search for something or a specific topic there will be podcast-formatted results ready for clicking and listening to.
Also, you can listen to a specific podcast without exiting the current page you are in. Podcasts will be played right away after clicking it without being redirected to another page.
You don’t have to listen to the whole podcast to get the information you need
Podcast will indicate the specific time-stamp where your needed information is discussed. You don’t need to forward or browse the whole content of a podcast to get what you need. Google will easily determine the particular part or clip of podcasts the end-users need by transcription of the podcast to its text form. However, Google is expected to exert more effort in this project.
Every episode of a podcast will be transcribed into text to filter every bit of information. Remember that Google has a speech-to-text feature. This feature has gone through a lot of revisions, upgrading, and alteration. Therefore, Google has its resources to automatically have a transcription of podcasts.
Transcripted information will then be filtered to show only the time stamped part or clip, just like in the YouTube videos displaying on the top results.
If Google can do this to Youtube videos, they too can do this with audio.
Information on-the-go
You don’t need to tire your eyes out, most especially when you are in a car or driving. By just listening to the searched podcast, the information will be at hand. Podcasts will also save you from having eye strains and headaches while reading inside a moving vehicle.
Articles and all text documents such as journals, research papers, and other web text sources have a great chance to be converted into audio for podcasts display.
New category will sprung for marketers
For sure, podcasts will have a different formula in SEO. Just like text results, podcasts will also have the rules on “How to be at the Top Results”. And a new category of marketers will spring by then. They will be Podcast SEO marketers.
Mentioning keywords on the content as many times as possible will be effective to text web content since, in this manner, the algorithm will register the page as under that specific topic or keyword repeatedly mentioned.
For you to have a spot on the top results, your audio must be well-structured so that Google will have the ease of evaluating it.
Returning audios will fill the content gap for voice activated devices
Voice-activated electronic devices are on-trend nowadays. They are present in homes to offices. These devices can perform certain commands and were built for convenience.
It would be great if these devices can talk and relay the desired information through audio in just one command.
Persons with disabilities will also enjoy the search engine
A blind person, for instance, can not read text-based articles on the internet. However, if podcasts will be pushed through alongside voice command activation, they will also have the privilege of enjoying electronic devices as we do.
Problem in reviving podcasts to the extent
In attempting to revive podcasts, there is a great chance that Google will have a hard time evaluating weak-structured podcasts.
Next, quality voice, intonation, and diction for your audio is badly needed to have an exact transcription from audio to text.
If you are planning to produce podcasts make sure to do the following:
How to prepare before podcasts will gain popularity?
- Structure your audio content
— a well structured content signals Google your podcast has a specific relevant content. And it will be easier for them to transcribe and assign time-stamp to make clips.
- Understand the category of the audio
— by understanding what category your really into signals Google algorithms that you will be under that specific category and the chance of being displayed on top results is higher.
- Make sure it fits the audience’s preference and need
— for you to serve your audience , know what they need and at the same time make sure if they truly want audio formatted information.
- Hire a professional digital marketer
— outsource. They know better. Hire a best digital marketer to optimise your podcasts; And, lastly
- Be a part of Google Podcast Ecosystem
Final Thoughts
Information in audio form has many benefits to offer to the end-users. I bet you are very curious and excited of how will it be like to have audio results on top of the text results.
But, bear in mind that Google algorithms are constantly changing just like in text results, therefore, you must keep on track with these algorithms to be #1 in the race. Because the secret of being on top is by obeying these algorithms.
If you think you will be one of the audio web content producers, prepare, for there is a great likelihood that audio will be “The Next Frontier”.
