Podcasting Up An Octave

62. How to Make Podcast Algorithms Work for Your Show

• Sonivia • Episode 62

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The algorithm can feel like your enemy, but understanding how it works can empower you to reach your audience more effectively. In today’s episode, I’m breaking down how podcast algorithms actually work, what they prioritize, and how to optimize your content to get noticed.

We’re also getting real about how to use your podcast to say the things that matter, especially in a time when censorship and suppression are rampant on other platforms. Learn how to leverage podcasting as a powerful tool for change, connection, and freedom of speech.

What’s Inside:

  • How podcast algorithms work: listener behavior, metadata, and engagement metrics
  • Why consistency and keywords are your podcast’s best friends
  • Tips for leveraging early engagement and geographic reach
  • How podcasting gives you the freedom to speak your truth in ways social media can’t
  • Building resilience against suppression through email lists, private communities, and backups

 Key Takeaways:

  1. The Algorithm Loves Engagement: Completion rates, repeat listens, and active subscriptions signal to platforms that your podcast is high quality.
  2. Optimize Your Metadata: Keywords in titles, show notes, and transcripts help the algorithm match your show with the right listeners.
  3. Consistency is Everything: Weekly episodes keep both listeners and algorithms on your side.
  4. Freedom in Podcasting: Unlike social media, podcasting platforms don’t censor content in the same way, giving you more room to say what needs to be said.
  5. Stay Secure: Build direct connections with your audience through email lists and private communities, and always back up your content.

 Resources:

Music Credit: Up An Octave Theme by Rue Spence with additional vocals provided by Darnell Spence

Up An Octave is hosted by Rue Spence of Sonivia. Up An Octave is a podcast for women and nonbinary people who are ready to take up space in podcasting to share their voices with the world.

Speaker 1:

You're listening to Up an Octave, a podcast by Sonivia, the podcasting agency that believes that women and non-binary people deserve to take up space in the podcasting industry, because our thoughts, voices and stories matter. Here you'll learn how to make dope podcasts that inspire, educate, convert and, most importantly, make your voice shine. I'm your host, rue Spence, and I'm here to take podcasting up an octave. Let's get into it. Hello, hello and welcome back to Up an Octave. Today, we are talking about the algorithm. Today, we are talking about the algorithm and what that looks like in the context of podcasting. How algorithms work in podcasting is a little bit different than how they work in social media or on things like Netflix, so I'm excited to get into that, and I'm also going to be talking about some of the things that algorithms can't see and how we can use those to our advantage as disruptors in the podcasting space. This is something that I'm finding incredibly necessary in this current landscape, and I am committing to helping other podcasters create change in their lives, in their communities, in the world around us at large, by using our voices, standing resolute and saying the things that we need to say. So let's get on into it.

Speaker 1:

First up, we need to talk about how the podcasting algorithm works. Algorithm is a really scary word that seems to absolutely rule the thoughts and minds of all content creators in any space, whether it's podcasting or social media, tiktok, etc. But within the context of podcasting, something that is most prioritized with is how listeners engage with shows. Listener behavior drives other recommendations, so when we talk about this, it includes completion rates. So episodes with a higher completion rate signal high quality content. This means that your audience is staying until the very end and not getting bored and clicking away. When we see that consistently, people are not finishing shows, it kind of signals meh, maybe this isn't the best show out there. Repeat listens. The algorithm also favors your super fans. So when people are showing up every single week to listen, that is going to boost your ranking and listening depth. So this is skipping or abandoning episodes or, you know, not really listening for a while. Then maybe listening to an episode or two that can negatively impact your visibility if it is happening. Often the algorithm favors shows that people cannot wait to listen to on release day. Part of listener behavior is also subscriptions or followers. Platforms tend to prioritize shows that have a positively trending number of subscribers or followers, depending on the language of your podcatcher, especially when that growth is recent and sustaining. So this metric shows to the algorithms of the podcatchers that that podcast is relevant and is continuing to appeal to new listeners. So seeing a positive trend that doesn't just kind of fade off but continues to elevate is going to be positive to the algorithm, and this is a big one.

Speaker 1:

Reviews In the context of the algorithm, reviews are somewhat important. There are other aspects in which reviews are more important. They don't affect your ranking within the algorithm, but they do help to benefit your credibility, your social proof, and give people an understanding of what they're signing up for when they click on your show. When they do find it. Consistency is also huge. I talk about consistency all the time for listener value that people like to have something that they are reminded week over week. Hey, this show exists, especially with Apple changing how they auto-download. But the algorithm also loves consistency. Platforms like Spotify and Apple these are the biggest podcatchers. They favor shows that publish regularly because that does keep listeners engaged. Like we were talking about earlier, weekly episodes tend to perform better than sporadic uploads and this is something that is both with the algorithm, but also that is just human nature. We like things that are routine. We like to have our cute little rituals. Something else that is interesting about new episodes is that when new episodes drop, the algorithms on different podcatchers may temporarily boost that show just to kind of see where the audience interest is. So this is a way that they can kind of help support shows with finding a new audience, and you are rewarded for being consistent.

Speaker 1:

Keywords and metadata are essential. This is something I've talked about with SEO and show notes. Searchability in podcasting depends on your titles and your show notes. Using keywords your target audience is searching for is critical in the algorithm being able to pair you with your ideal listener. Episode titles that perform most highly with the algorithm include keywords like how-to tips or anything else that's like a trending topic, and the same goes for show notes. This should include relevant phrases that people who are searching for your specific content should be looking for, and that's why I kind of treat the show notes as like just an SEO feeding frenzy, because that is where the algorithm is doing so much of the heavy lifting and, honestly, it's less what people are looking at. People come to listen to your show. They don't really come to read show notes. Typically, show notes act as like the footnotes or, I guess, like the index, almost where you can find what is being referred to in the show. But the algorithm is combing through for keywords to help match the right podcast with the right audience member.

Speaker 1:

Something else that is relevant to the algorithm is high engagement in the first 48 hours. The first 48 hours after you publish an episode are crucial. Downloads and listens during this time frame let the algorithm know how in demand a show is. So that's why I always suggest promoting really heavily during that window and, you know, encouraging your listeners to show up for you. But that's also this is where episode timing becomes the most significant. So this is why I typically will recommend people not make Fridays their publishing days, because we tend to see listening sink a little bit during the weekends. Now, especially what I have found for my show. But just in talking with my clients and kind of reviewing how their analytics look, weekends are often when I am discovered and when I notice that my clients are discovered and people will go through and binge episodes. But for the week over week listeners, you want to catch them on days that they are more prepared to make you a part of their routine, like with their commute, and algorithms also reward shows that have a wide listener base.

Speaker 1:

If your audience is expanding geographically or is entering new demographics, platforms may boost your podcast a little bit more widely. The caveat with that is that you don't want to just become a show that's for everybody. You still want to really keep it clear who you're appealing to and who you're speaking to with your podcast. But if you are able to start reaching people in different geographic locations especially, that is huge and good for you. So think about strategies that can help you reach those different people. Talk about things that are specifically interesting to them. That's something I see all the time with, like paranormal podcasts. If a show covers a story from Ireland, they'll see a boost in listeners from Ireland because people are excited Like, oh my gosh, you're talking about this specific cryptid that no one outside of Ireland knows about. How cool to hear it on this show that's from somewhere else. So thinking about ways that you can engage with a wider audience while still keeping your special sauce and your you-ness is something that is significant and can help boost you with the algorithm.

Speaker 1:

So some tips for leveraging the algorithm in your favor is focusing on engagement. You know, encouraging people to follow the show, encouraging people to share the episode, having a really strong presence on whatever your promotional strategy looks like. For some people that's going to be Substack, for some people that's going to be social media meta or blue sky and being really present and getting things out there, optimizing metadata. So this is those clear, keyword, rich titles and show notes. There is also potentially a school of thought that the metadata that you put actually as you're exporting the track, is helpful. It's something that I do just for the sake of doing it, but it's not necessarily critical and I'm not sure how much it's just habit versus actually helpful for me. So that's something that you can explore and play with for your own show.

Speaker 1:

Consistency as always if I've said it once, I've said it a bazillion times being consistent with releasing, releasing your episodes on the same day of each week and just continuing to show up for your audience is going to boost both the human behavior side of things but also the algorithm's intervention. And then, of course, promoting everywhere that you can, whether that's your email, social media website, any channel that I mentioned earlier. Having that external promotion and not just relying on the algorithm will actually help the algorithm notice you later. It seems a little counterintuitive, but in order to get noticed and favored by the algorithm, you have to show up to the algorithm and keep track of your analytics, see what's working, see what's not, see what episodes people are responding to and tailor your content strategy around that. That's one of my favorite things to do with, like my one-off clients, or a new offering that I've got called Voxer Socks Off, which is a 24-hour unlimited access to me on Voxer just to talk about anything within your show, and analytics are one of the things that I can nerd out on forever, so that's something I'm really excited to be offering.

Speaker 1:

So now I want to switch gears a little bit and talk about how you can say the things that you need to say on your podcast in a way that will help you fly under the radar with the wrong people and connect with the right people. So, as we're talking about algorithms, podcast algorithms do not listen to your content the way that humans do at the point of recording this. This may be a change that we see, especially as AI continues to advance and develop, but presently algorithms cannot listen to your episodes. They rely on that metadata listener behavior and show notes to determine what your podcast is about and who should be listening to it, rather than analyzing the audio itself. So, as we look to play that to our favor, if you are genuinely trying to make sure that everybody has the opportunity to listen to your podcast, making sure that you're using good titles and keywords and show notes helps the algorithm understand what your podcast is about. This is also where transcripts are helpful, because it's easier for algorithms to analyze text where they're not able to listen to audio tracks. This is not something that Spotify or Apple currently does, but it is an SEO thing that factors into, like your personal website.

Speaker 1:

Because of this, as we're having so many conversations about censorship or media suppression, with things changing over at Meta, and now we're seeing, like, weirdly, people are following Trump and Vance and all these people that they hadn't followed and are, like, automatically being unfollowed from other people. There are a lot of interesting in a bad way things that are happening within social media right now and for so many people, that has been a way that they have disseminated information to their audience or their community, and this is somewhere that podcasting, I believe, is so incredibly powerful as we look to revolutionize and resist certain aspects of what is happening in the world around us and because of these dead angles that algorithms cannot see, you have a little bit more creative liberty that you don't have on places like tiktok. So you know, right now we've got like the cute winter boots trend, like be careful, it's getting a little icy out, uh, in this part of town. These things that we have to do to be really vigilant about censorship don't exist in the same way with podcasting, which liberates you to speak more clearly and be more frank. You know, that's where, like spelling men backwards came from on like Facebook, or saying corn instead of adult content, or I'm trying to think of other ones Unalive is another one instead of talking about dying and that type of censorship just doesn't exist here in the same way. So, because podcast platforms are not currently policing your content in the same way as they do on social media, you get to be a little bit clearer, you get to be a little bit more specific, which is going to help you become more of a voice to the people with which you are trying to reach.

Speaker 1:

And if you are feeling super concerned about censorship or podcasting hosts or platforms going away or being affiliated with something that you might not support. You can explore a self-hosted RSS feed to give you complete control over your content. But at this point I think that the big ones Libsyn, you know, I love Buzzsprout I think that by existing in the way that they do, that they continue to be champions of free speech and they're going to provide distribution to all major platforms. I, of course, will keep you informed if any of that changes for any reason, but I believe that those podcast hosts are safe and reliable, at least at this point in time. It feels like every morning I wake up to new changes in the world, but at this point I have no reason to be concerned about that. But, like I said, if you are super concerned hosting maybe on Substack or embedding your own RSS feed into a website that you own if you are tech savvy, that's helpful.

Speaker 1:

While you're able to speak more freely within your podcast, it does change how you promote yourself on social media or in other channels. So, just because podcasting is a little bit more of a free-for-all, a little bit more of the wild wild west of content, thinking about how you're going to play the game if you are still on meta's social media avenues where you are more likely to see suppressed posts or flagged languages. You know, avoid directly referencing sensitive content in promotional materials. Use that neutral or, like we talked about earlier, with coded language. Redirect followers to your email lists or communities that you control where you can share your links, your thoughts, etc. Without any of that big brothery moderation. And, you know, use those kinds of tools that are going to route traffic directly to your podcast without forcing you to specify topics that meta platforms don't seem to be liking right now, and do your best to build direct engagement with your listeners. Build loyalty that bypasses suppression by fostering those direct relationships. Email marketing, I think, is going to be a really huge thing in the next few years as a lot of people are giving up on meta as a whole and as blue sky continues to grow and be new. Having a list that you own that will not change because some big boss guy says it's changing, is going to be significant. Starting a private Discord, I think, is also something that a lot of content creators are going to be doing as a place to have a community. In the past, up until like two weeks ago, facebook groups were huge communities for podcasters, and I don't think that that's going to change. But I do know a lot of people who are having a mass exodus from meta, and so Discord is definitely another option that people can pursue I also.

Speaker 1:

This is just good practice, but I do want to remind you to back everything up and keep your files somewhere. Maybe that's investing in flash drives or like a terabyte or external hard drive. Just save your episodes or transcripts on those external drives. If you trust cloud storage, that's awesome. I'm a big Google Drive person. That's where a lot of my content is backed up. But if you feel more comfortable having it physically, getting something like a flash drive or an external hard drive, you know, just so you've got it All right. That's it for today.

Speaker 1:

I'm definitely frustrated that this is necessary content to be making right now. For the next few weeks, I am pivoting and focusing on AI for podcasting because I'm super excited that my course is launching on February 21st. I have, oh my gosh, I've put so much love into making this and I'm really, really, really excited for you to see it. It's going to make things easier on you, as content creator, to free up more of your energy for doom scrolling if I'm being so for real right now, but in general it's. It's something that is really precious to me and I hope that it helps make podcasting easier and more magical for you. So if you're not already on the wait list, get over there. The link is in my show notes. But in general, thank you for being here, thank you for using your voice, thank you for being brave enough to talk about what is important. I love you. Go drink some water and thank you, thank you. Thank you for helping me take podcasting up an octave. © transcript Emily Beynon.

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Rue Spence

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