How to Rank Highly for Podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

Optimising your podcast for platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify will help you increase visibility, grow your listener base – and stand out in a competitive market. It can drive brand awareness and loyalty, and impact your bottom line in positive and enviable ways. It’s not even that big of an investment. You can optimise a podcast pretty quickly as part of your upload process, and with just a few extra assets, gain a lot of output from a little extra input.

Some of our clients run podcasts filled with exciting and inspiring content about travel such as Wild Frontiers– and we’ve helped them with strategies to reach even more travel enthusiasts.

Here’s our ten step action plan for better podcast rankings on platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Your first step is to craft a keyword-rich podcast title for your show or series.

It should clearly convey what your show is about, and include relevant keywords that listeners might search for.

For example, the title of an adventure travel podcast could include keywords like "adventure travel," "world exploration," or "cultural journeys"; this makes it easier for potential listeners to discover your podcast through search. A great example of this would be ‘The Thoughtful Travel Podcast’. The title is optimised to include keywords such as "thoughtful travel", "travel" as a keyword on its own, and "travel podcast". These keywords, in their order, mean the title is well-optimised for search rankings and performs well in terms of SEO.

Your show description plays a significant role in podcast ranking, too. Write a compelling, concise description that clearly explains what your podcast is about – and what listeners can expect. Be sure to use relevant keywords related to your show, and include any unique selling points of your podcast (guest speakers, exotic destinations, or insider travel tips).

Next, it’s time to get granular – and do the same at the episode level.

Imagine that each episode title is a mini marketing tool. Use descriptive, SEO-friendly episode titles that are descriptive and concise, with the most important keywords at the front.

Avoid vague titles, like this one; established shows can get away with this because they’ve got their audience already. Instead, give listeners, platforms and search engines a clear idea of what the episode covers.

And don’t waste space with stuff like “Episode 07:” as a prefix – cut to the chase, and tell listeners what they’ll get in the content.

Your episode description should expand on the title, highlighting key details and working in relevant keywords. Mention topics, destinations, or guest names to pull in listeners searching for those specifics.

Here’s a great example of what to do from Holly Rubenstein’s Travel Diaries – which packs in great details to the description, and has a keyword-rich title that leads with the special guest.

Tip: Make the first 20-30 words of your description particularly strong – these will show up in search previews.

Platforms like Apple Podcasts allow you to select up to three categories for your show – so choose categories that best describe your podcast’s niche. For a travel podcast, relevant categories might include:

● Society & Culture > Places & Travel
● Leisure > Hobbies
● Education > How To

This helps your podcast appear in related category searches, increasing discoverability.

You can also apply tags that help with search and discoverability. Use specific and relevant tags for each episode; tags like sustainable travel, adventure trekking, or cultural experiences – whatever your episodes’ content.

These tags make it easier for platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts to surface your episodes in relevant searches – and to add them into users’ recommended content.

Learn how to add metadata for Apple Podcasts, which should also apply to feeds for Spotify.

Listener engagement (especially ratings and reviews) plays a huge role in podcast rankings. This is most profound on Apple Podcasts, where the more 5-star reviews your podcast receives, the higher it can rank – but a highly rated show gains notoriety anywhere.

Encourage your audience to leave reviews at the end of each episode, or add a reminder in your show notes.

“If you enjoyed this episode, we’d love it if you could leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. Your support helps us reach more travel enthusiasts!”

And encourage listeners to share episodes on social media, or with their friends – because the more shares and downloads your podcast gets, the better it will perform in algorithm-driven recommendations.

Your podcast cover art is one of the first things potential listeners see. Don’t use AI-generated images, stock imagery – and definitely don’t steal anyone else's art or photography off Google Image search (you’d be surprised how often this happens!). Instead, create your own assets or lean on a design team to make them for you.

Opt for an eye-catching, clear design that’s easy to read, even as a small thumbnail. Keep all imagery relevant to your podcast’s themes, and use standard image sizes; both Apple Podcasts and Spotify recommend a square image of 3000 x 3000 pixels for cover art. The Condé Nast Traveler Women Who Travel podcast is a great example of great podcast cover art; it's easily readable and eye-catching, making it obvious to potential listeners exactly what it is.

Keep the design simple but bold, with clear text, and an image that really sums up your show.

Image: spotify.com

Consistency is key to podcast growth. Apple Podcasts, Spotify – and all other podcasting hosting platforms – favour podcasts that publish regularly. This keeps audiences coming back, and signals that your podcast is active. The Armchair Explorer is a great example of this, with regular publishing every month.

Tip: If possible, maintain a consistent release schedule (for example, weekly or fortnightly). Tell your audience about new episodes in newsletters, social media posts, or in-episode announcements, to keep them engaged.

Show notes are a major resource and a great way to add in relevant, searchable content. Summarise the key points from each episode in your show notes, and include links to mentioned resources or guests' websites. This not only helps your podcast SEO, but also enhances listener engagement by adding value.

And while sometimes tedious to produce, transcripts provide searchable text that both listeners and search engines can access. Many podcast production suites now include automatic transcription features, and tools like voice typing in Google Docs can also be used for a quick solution. ChatGPT and other AI tools can clean up transcripts, too, but there’s always going to be some input required.

But the payoff for including a transcript for each episode is pretty big; you give search engines more content to crawl, improve your SEO, and cater to those who prefer reading over listening (or who have accessibility requirements).

Use the analytics tools provided by Apple Podcasts and Spotify to track how your podcast is performing. Pay close attention to listener retention rates – if listeners consistently engage with at least 75% of each episode, it indicates a high level of interest. Also, keep an eye on geographic data, and episode popularity. This can help you refine your content and optimisation strategy, based on what works best.

For example, if most of your listeners are in the U.S, it might be beneficial to adopt American English for your titles and descriptions, release episodes to coincide with key dates and time zones, introduce local content and guests, and explore which destinations U.S listeners are most engaged with.

There’s no clear-cut answer to whether shorter podcast episodes are better than longer podcast episodes. But generally, listeners favour shorter episodes over longer ones. We would suggest aiming for 25 to 40 minutes per episode.

This range is ideal for audiences looking for concise, digestible content, often consumed during a commute, workout, or short break.

Longer episodes, clocking in at 45 to 60 minutes can work well for in-depth interviews with big names, storytelling, or complex topics that require more discussion. Listeners who are highly engaged with the subject may prefer this longer format – so don’t rule it out.

Check your analytics again, and see what your listener retention rates are like per episode. If they fall off during longer ones, think about trimming them in the future.

Probably the biggest way to grow your podcast is to get guest speakers involved – but it also has knock-on effects to your rankings.

Guests often bring their own audience to your podcast, and you can encourage them to share the episode with their followers. All that extra attention can make your podcast a hot topic, and drive up engagement.

After the episode airs, send your guest a promotional package that includes:

● A personalised message thanking them for being on the show
● Pre-made social media posts tailored to their voice and style, with direct links to the episode
● Branded images or audiograms featuring quotes from their episode

Use the episode as an opportunity for them to showcase their expertise or experiences. People are more likely to share content that positions them as an authority in their field – so tag them in social media posts with engaging quotes or key takeaways from the episode, and feature them in your email newsletters with links to the episode.

If your guest has a project, book, or event they’re promoting, plug it in the podcast. They’ll be more motivated to promote the episode if it supports their own goals, and if it’s relevant to your show – then it’s relevant to your audience!