How to build a profitable podcast.
How can the listeners' reviews and ratings help a show rank higher in podcast search results?
A lot of effort, time, and creativity goes into producing a podcast. The goal of this hard work is to get more people to listen to your podcast and see it rank highly on podcast platforms.
Podcast rankings are vital as it affects how much people discover your podcast. A podcast that ranks highly is quickly found and is more likely to get new listeners.
A high ranking is social proof for many listeners that the content is excellent.
Now, there are ways to check if your podcast ranks well. And there are platforms that people rate highly. If your podcast ranks highly on these platforms, people believe you know what you are saying, and you are an authority in your category.
Not many podcasters, especially newbie podcasters, know how to find how well their podcast ranks. It is also essential to understand how well your podcast ranks to determine how well your marketing strategy is working. If your podcast ranks well, you know you are doing the right thing, and you keep at it.
There are not many ways to find how well your podcast ranks, but I have come up with ways you can check this; this will be particularly useful to newbie podcasters—knowing where to see your podcast rankings will help you get ahead of your peers in the podcasting world.
This is the most popular platform for checking a podcast ranking. Here are three things you have to note when checking how well your podcast ranks on Apple Podcasts. These are the reviews, rankings, and ratings.
These elements are all essential, and they work together to help your podcast
A review is a written statement from listeners about your podcast show. It can affect how well your podcast ranks, but it depends on the number of people that have reviewed your podcast.
A rating is the number of stars that people rate your podcast show. Like the review, the number of people that rate your show is what matters. If a few people rate your show and they drop five stars, it wouldn’t matter. But if thousands of people rate and review your show, it will increase the ranking.
The ranking is the position that a show occupies in its category. You can list your podcast in multiple categories, but it only ranks in the first category that you list it. To check for your podcast ranking on Apple podcasts, you must know the category your show is listed in, and check for the top podcasts in that category. The shows at the top of the charts likely get more daily subscribers than the ones at the bottom.
Chartable is a new website that looks good, and it helps you do all the work. This website gets all the show rankings, reviews, and ratings on Apple podcasts and simplifies it into an easy-to-use chart. It is not limited to only Apple podcasts, as it gets ratings and charts from Podcast Addict and Stitcher as well.
It is a great platform to see how well your show is doing at a glance.
Podcast Addict is a free to use application for Android users. One of its features tells the number of users from Podcast Addict that subscribed to your podcast. It has a number at the bottom that signifies your subscribers on Podcast Addict. Although this app doesn’t have a massive number of users and it only accounts for about 2 percent of the total podcast downloads. So it doesn’t give a complete view of the number of subscribers a podcast has in general.
Castbox does well in giving you an accurate view of how popular your podcast is. It is a mobile app that has a web player as well. Like Podcast Addict, it only accounts for about 2 percent of the podcast downloads. However, it doesn’t stop at only showing you the number of subscribers your show has; it also shows you the number of downloads your podcast has.
Castbox gives you an insight into the average number of listens you get per subscriber. If your show has a higher number of subscribers than downloads, it shows that some of your subscribers don’t listen to your show.
Here, I will give you a few methods on how to watch your podcast rankings. It is up to you to choose the way that works most effectively for you.
But before I show you these methods, let me show you how podcast rankings work.
If your show ranks well, more people are likely to discover it, and it increases the probability of gaining new listeners.
Your show also gets an increase in credibility. People will automatically think it is great content if it ranks highly, as people must like it for the podcast to rank highly.
I do not claim to know everything that podcast directories consider when ranking a podcast, but these few factors will affect your podcast rankings. If you do well with these factors, you have an increased chance of getting high up on the charts.
As expected, downloads are essential to your podcast rankings. If your podcast gets a download, it sends a massive signal that your show is good as the listener has to like your show to download it on their device.
Like downloads, plays show how well people like your show. According to speculations, it also helps when your show gets repeated plays. Repeated plays are when the same listener plays the same show episode more than once. What repeated plays indicate is that a listener has found value in your show episode and they cannot get enough of it.
This is another excellent factor. When you get subscriptions, it shows that a listener loves your show and wants to be aware when the next episode drops.
Ratings are feedback from listeners. When you get a lot of ratings for your show, it is likely to affect how well your show is ranked. If your podcasts are getting a lot of four and five-star ratings, it sends a signal that you dish out quality. If it gets low ratings, it sends a sign that your content is of low quality. If you have zero ratings, it is also not a good look.
We may not be able to determine how many reviews affect your podcast rankings, but it is an essential factor. Good reviews help your show get new listeners. One way to get reviews is by asking your listeners on your show.
Most podcast directories place a lot of importance on artwork. If your show has low artwork, it will likely affect how well it ranks. Good artwork determinant varies as it is subjective, but you need a high-quality artwork at the least.
The information you filled in when you submitted your podcast is your podcast data. These details could affect your show ranking. The category you filled for your show, as well as the description is essential data.
1. Check Podcharts To See Your Podcast Ranking
Podcharts is a tool that monitors both apple and Stitcher podcast rankings over a period. It is easy to use and simple to understand.
It not only shows you your show’s current ranking. You also get to see how your show’s ranking changes over a period. This tool is a perfect way to determine how effective your marketing and promotion style is over a period.
You can use Podcharts in two ways. The first is by browsing the charts. You can see how well your show performs in your region and its category.
The second way is by opening an account and adding the podcast you want to monitor to your dashboard. This way, it is easy to find your podcasts every time you need to check. You will get an email when your podcasts rank in the top 100 under any category in any country.
If you try to add your show on the dashboard and it is not recognized. You will have to submit the Apple podcast link.
2. Use Chartable To Check Your Podcast Ranking
Chartable is a tool like Podcharts. It also tracks and records a number of podcast directories rankings over a period. Chartable monitors ranking on Google, Apple and Spotify.
All you need to do is to find your podcast to see its rankings in the main and subcategories you listed it.
You have to select your country so Chartable can display your show’s ranking in your region. You will click the main category and subcategories to see how well your show has performed against its pairs.
Chartable also shows your show’s current position and how it has performed over time. The green arrow shows improvement while the red arrow means it has dropped in rankings.
You want more people to listen to your show. If your show ranks well, this will boost your chances of getting new listeners. Here are five ways you can get your podcast to rank.
When publishing an episode, Apple podcast for instance allows for twelve keywords. You have to know the SEO friendly keywords to use.
Do your research and maximize the keywords for visibility. There are several websites for you to get relevant keywords for your show category. Uber Suggests is one of such websites.
Good content will always find a way to the top. Regardless of your knowledge on how to maximize visibility for your show, if you don’t put out good content, it will be in vain. Listeners recommend shows for other listeners, and this will improve your rankings as the listeners will keep increasing. You will also get good reviews and ratings.
A listener can stream your show’s episode, or download it. But the best thing for your podcast is when they subscribe. Always promote a subscription for your podcast. It would be best if you say this on your show, promote it via social media and websites.
Only a few words appear in the search bar when listeners search for shows. Utilize this by keeping your episode title short and pass the message quickly. Don't write everything about your show away in the title. It will make more people discover your show.
Consistency is key in whatever you do. If your listeners trust you to keep to your show publishing time, they will stay loyal, and your rankings will also improve.
Remember, avoid obsessing about rankings.
Focus on producing good content and allow your show to rank well organically.
However, knowing how to see rankings for the podcast is right, and you should make a conscious effort in learning the process.
We help marketers grow social engagement, traffic and revenue with a podcast.
