What Are Podcasting Links? (+ Do They Help SEO?)

Who would have guessed 10 years ago that radio would be the hottest new media format? Podcasts, which provide a modern approximation of the old-school radio show format, have become hugely popular over the last decade, some generating massive audience numbers that far outperform traditional media.

They can also be an effective way of generating links to your website. Podcasting links are the links in show descriptions for episodes, although podcasts can generate lots of other links in addition to this.

Let’s get into what exactly podcasting links are, why you should be thinking about them, and tips for how to start generating them for your website.

What Are Podcasting Links

SEOs are always thinking up creative ways to generate more links that are authentic, high-quality, and will deliver a positive SEO impact. With the media landscape – and Google’s algorithm – constantly in flux, the best strategies to achieve SEO success are always changing.

A newer way to generate high-quality links is through participation in podcasts. There are currently over 2 million podcasts worldwide, which virtually guarantees that there are plenty of podcasts currently being produced in your niche.

When a podcast goes live, it’s generally accompanied by a brief description. This may include a summary or show notes, and almost always includes a description of the guest and a link to their website. That’s a podcasting link, and it can appear in multiple locations including the podcast’s website, its social channels, podcast player descriptions, and mentions of the podcast around the web. It’s a bit like a guest post for the return of the radio show.

Here’s what a podcasting link looks like on the podcast’s page:

Source: Search Engine Journal

Podcasting Links and SEO

There are two main mechanisms by which podcasting links are advantageous from an SEO perspective.

The first is that they generally represent a high-quality, organic backlink. Backlinks are about a lot more than just quantity. The sources of your backlinks matter more than having a large number of them.

A lot of internet ink has been spilled about the importance of obtaining backlinks from high-DA sites with a lot of traffic. Don’t get us wrong, this can certainly help, but relevance is also an extremely important parameter that determines how much a backlink will boost your SEO rankings.

The more relevant the referring website is to your niche, the more Google will understand that your website is a valuable resource in the niche. This will help you rank for relevant search terms, which is ultimately the goal of SEO.So, what does this mean for podcasting links?

Most podcasts are highly niche-specific.

For example, check out how many SEO-related podcasts you can find with a quick google search for “SEO podcasts”:

This means that the podcasting links that you can get from participating in a podcast in your niche will come from domains that are very relevant to yours.

Plus, any additional links you might get from fans of the show discussing your episode also have the potential to come from websites narrowly focused on your niche.

This means that from an SEO perspective, those podcast lions can be excellent sources of link juice, helping you climb the SERPs faster.

But this isn’t the only mechanism by which podcasting can help you reach your SEO goals. The second is the potentially high branded search volume following your appearance on a podcast.

Participating in podcasts can result in listeners searching for your brand or your name to see what you’re all about, and these searches also signal to Google that your content is in demand.

This can help your ranking improve, and can also influence the search suggestions that Google generates when people search for related subjects.

Benefits of Podcasting Links

There are plenty of perks to participating in podcasts and generating those juicy podcasting links, and no major downsides to be concerned about. Here are some things to love about podcasting to generate links.

• Stay ahead of your competitors – Depending on your industry, there’s a good chance that your competitors aren’t thinking too much about podcasting links. It just isn’t one of the first link-building methods that people think about, and the thought of public speaking deters some from participating. This means that the links you get can help your backlink profile stand apart from that of your competitors.
• Limited commitment – Most podcast episodes last somewhere between 30 minutes to an hour. You don’t have to do too much planning in advance, although you may want to practice a little bit. Your host will generally guide the conversation, so all you have to do is carve out the time and maybe invest in a quality mic. When you think about how time-consuming other link-building techniques can be, this seems quite minimal.
• Get a variety of links – While most podcasting links will usually be homepage links with your brand as the link text, you can always request that your hosts link to a specific piece of content on your site to vary the links. Only do this if you actually discussed that content in the podcast episode, otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for them to link to it.
• Exposure to new audiences – In the process of getting podcasting links, your participation in industry podcasts will help you get in front of new, highly engaged audiences. Podcasts are more intimate and “sticky” than, say, reading an article. People click away from articles all the time, but if they’re committing 30 minutes or more to listen to a show, they’re much more engaged with it than other kinds of media.
• The links are organic – Since you don’t really have to solicit podcasting links, they can be considered organic. The more natural, organic backlinks you have from a variety of referring domains, the more Google trusts that your content is of high quality and worthy of appearing at the top of its search results.

Podcasting Links Best Practices

Going on podcasts may be a brand new activity for you, but everyone starts somewhere. It’s a medium that favors regular, free-flowing conversation over scripted monologues, so don’t worry about being super polished. Here’s how to go about landing on podcast so you can start getting some of those SEO-boosing podcasting links.

Make a list

The first step is to list out all of the podcasts you’d like to target. Google is as great a place to start as any since you’ll find “10 best” style lists with podcasts in your niche. You may also get a carousel of suggestions, like in the example above.

Podcast apps can also be a good way to find relevant podcasts. Search for a keyword relevant to your industry, and scroll through what comes up.

Do a quality check

With 2 million podcasts out there,  you can bet that many don’t make it very far. Some may only have a few episodes before faltering, or they may simply have ended. Double-check that the podcasts on your list are still active.

You can also check their domain authority (DA) to identify which ones would provide the biggest bang for your buck in terms of link juice.

Finally, make sure they actually include podcasting links in their descriptions by looking a the descriptions for past episodes with guests. If they don’t you can’t rely on getting a podcasting link from them even if you do appear. However, most should provide these links.

Reach out

Visit the websites for all of the podcasts you’re thinking of approaching and look for information about how to appear on the show. In general, it’s best not to just cold email or DM the hosts, since many podcasts have an application or pitch form. It’s always better to get in touch via whatever their preferred method is.

In your pitch, explain who you are, what you do, and what you would like to talk about on the show. Make sure it’s something that would be relevant to their audience and that hasn’t already been covered on their show.

Ideally, link to a piece of content of yours that’s related to the subject you’d like to discuss.

Sure, you may get some “nos”, but with persistence, you’ll start to hear yes more often.

Recording the show

Your hosts will likely send you some instructions in advance of your episode. In most cases, all you’ll need are a quiet place to record and a decent microphone. Let them guide the conversation, but do prepare some talking points in advance.

Finally, prepare a polished quick blurb for the end of the show when you’ll generally be given the opportunity to let the audience know where they can find you or learn more about what you do.

Start your own show

This may not be for everyone, but if you’re comfortable speaking, starting a podcast can be very effective for generating lots of links to your website and for raising your profile in your niche. It may not be worth doing if you’re only after links, but if you’re interested in participating in the conversation in your industry, this is one of the most effective kinds of content marketing to do so.

Summary

Podcasting links can be a great way to improve your SEO rankings, and they’re still relatively underestimated. By participating in podcasts, you can get some valuable links while becoming more of a recognized thought leader in your industry.

Link building can be time-consuming and produce results slowly, so why not leave it to the pros who can get results faster? Loganix’s SEO packages can take SEO off your plate, so you can focus on growing your business (and, of course, working the podcast circuit).