Voice assistants are all the rage these days. From the comfort of your bed – or even while driving – you can ask Siri, Alexa, or Cortana to play your favourite song, find the nearest Italian eaterie, or get directions to a specified location. In short, podcast SEO for voice search is popular and could help you attract more listeners.
Should my law firm invest time in voice search SEO?
If you’re already flying, maybe not. Let’s be honest. If your subscriber numbers are high and engagement is through the roof then further promotion is unnecessary.
Voice search SEO could be a shrewd move if your:
- subject specialism is niche and hard to understand
- competitors already run popular podcasts
- budget is extremely limited
- feedback is non-existent or poor
- listener numbers are low
These reasons aren’t definitive. But, if one or more items on this list resonate, optimising your podcast SEO for voice search could reap fantastic long-term benefits for your law firm.
Is it really worth optimising my podcasts for voice assistants?
Before investing time in voice search SEO you want reassurance that your efforts will be rewarded. Although voice search is still relatively new, 20 percent of online requests are made using spoken commands.
How can I optimise my podcast SEO for voice search?
Here are a few steps you can take to tailor your podcast SEO for voice searches.
Step 1 – research and use conversational keywords and phrases
People who search by voice usually want fast answers. ‘Hey Siri, find the nearest restaurant near me’ is a time-critical request. The person is probably driving and wants to find somewhere to eat – so they can refuel before recommencing their journey.
Contrastingly, someone who types in ‘compare laptop prices’ wants to conduct an in-depth analysis of a range of products before making an informed purchase decision.
This raises the question: how do you find the right conversational keywords and phrases to boost your podcast SEO for voice search?
#1 Google search
Plain old Google search is a tool you can use to mine podcast topic ideas for future episodes.
Here are three we found in under a minute:
- When do solicitors exchange contracts?
- How are divorce laws changing?
- What do family solicitors do?
These could be converted into podcast titles or form structured questions within a specified podcast.
#2 People Also Ask
In response to a query, Google will also list related questions asked by other users interested in that particular topic.
Therefore ‘when do solicitors exchange contracts?’ also generates…
- Will my solicitor tell me when we exchange contracts?
- Why do solicitors take so long to exchange contracts?
- What time do solicitors exchange contracts?
- At what stage do you exchange contracts?
Using these questions you could dig deeper to get better insight into your intended demographic.
#3 Answer The Public
Answer The Public is a tool that eavesdrops on autocomplete data entered by users into search engines and then organises those questions into clusters – so that you can discover what questions they’re asking about your keyword or phrase.
The tool gives you three free tries and the search results are usually conversational – potentially providing enough podcast SEO ideas to last an entire month.
Step 2 – optimise your podcast SEO for voice using your conversational keyword research
Here’s the problem: prospects would need to know the precise title of your podcast before So what can you do get their attention?
#1 Use conversational keywords in your script
Having identified a title, it’s time to start planning. When structuring your podcast for SEO use relevant conversational keywords as headings and build them into your script.
If you’re interviewing a thought leader you may need to improvise – but your podcast will most likely comprise an introduction and conclusion. So use these sections for your keywords and phrases.
#2 Convert keywords and phrases into indexable text
You can do this by adding:
- A specified key phrase found via Google Search, People Also Ask, or Ask the Public into your podcast title
- Closed captions to your podcast which, contrary to popular belief, search engine bots can read
- Creating a transcript of your podcast and uploading it to a page on your company website
When adding a podcast to web page include your conversational keywords and phrases wherever possible – for example, URLs, alt tags, and meta descriptions.
#3 Analyse your results and keep abreast of trends
Deep dive into your metrics
Once your podcast is live you’ll need to start tracking:
- Engagement. More eyes on your podcast can’t be a bad thing – but if your comments section is empty your topic might not be striking the right notes.
- Views. How many people have watched your podcast? Where relevant, compare this data to previous months to spot trends.
- Position. If your podcast is embedded on a web page use Google Search Console to determine its average ranking position.
Keep up to speed with trends
Trends within your industry change often. This means today’s hot topic is tomorrow’s forgotten news. Keeping abreast of current trends is essential if you want your podcast SEO strategy to yield great results.
In addition to using tools like Ask The Public:
- Add keywords and phrases to Google Alerts to get notifications whenever your chosen topic is mentioned.
- Scour forums and groups on social media to discover which topics your prospects (and competitors) are discussing.
- Visit competitor websites often and pay particular attention to their latest blog post.
Conclusion
Nailing podcast SEO for voice search is hard. And we’re not talking about the technical aspect of the process here. Yes, you’ll need to master tools like Zencastr and Adobe Audition – which can be tough if you’re a beginner. More so, it’s the research and preparation that presents the real challenge.
For example…
- Are you asking the right questions?
- Are you using the best format?
- Are you publishing on:
- The right channels?
- At the right time?
- In sufficient volume?
In short, there’s a lot to think about. Does your law firm have the time, in-house resources, and experience to do all of this?
If not you might want to trust your podcast SEO to experts with the know-how to get you the results you need and deserve.
Contact us now to book a free no-obligation consultation.
