There are limitless tactics and strategies out there to build links and grow the SEO profile. Some of them are foolproof, while some come with penalties from Google. Ruins podcast for link building is an entirely legitimate strategy that is often underestimated. We cannot stress this enough, but podcast link-building can be the ultimate game-changer for your business. So, let’s dive deep into more about link building with podcasts together and decode the hidden potential today.
What is Podcast Link Building?
Just like any other link-building strategy, you get on a show, talk about your topics or your services and build podcast links back to it.
If you have tried multiple tricks to gain traffic and increase the exposure of your business, podcast link-building could be the one you are missing out on. Podcasts currently have vast popularity and can reach limitless people with no restrictions whatsoever, which can easily help your overall business.
You can either host your very own podcast or even be a guest speaker at any authoritative podcast and gain traction effortlessly.
Numerous companies already have established podcasts that are up and running for months. They have already gained huge traffic and success from it. Some of the similar podcasts and their hosts are:
- The Search Engine Journal Show – Brent Csutoras, Danny Goodwin, and Loren Baker.
- SEP 101 – John Carcutt and Ross Dunn
- Webcology – Dave Davies and Jim Hedger
How Does Link Building Work for Podcasts?
If you have just created a new blog or a course and want to promote it the best, podcast link-building is the way to go. The process is quick and simple.
- Find potential podcasts that might be interested in taking up your course and talk about them
- Create custom pitches for their hosts, inviting them to come and talk about the newly launched blog or course.
- Record the entire episode
You will get even better results with your podcast link-building strategy when choosing websites with higher DA since this would offer you more exposure and authority over your course.
Benefits of Podcast Link building
Podcasting has multiple benefits, and improving your SEO presence is just one of them. Some other benefits include:
- You get access to an engaged audience who already listens to the specific podcast and is highly receptive to what you say in the episodes.
- If you opt for guest podcasting, there is a lot less effort than being a host.
- Even though guest blog posts are an excellent marketing strategy, podcast link-building is an effortless way to accomplish the same or even better feat.
- The content posted is highly shareable.
- Reviews help build credibility and authority over time.
- You can get your links on high DA websites, which can significantly bring you a significant chunk of traction.
How to Build Links on Podcasts
Now that you know the basics, let’s jump right on to how you can build your links on podcasts and bring in the traffic flowing to your website!
Find your Niche
Nothing works without being affirmed about your niche in marketing. Hence, for starters, you need to identify your niche before creating the list of potential podcasts.
For example, if you are launching a new blog post or course about manifesting your dreams, your niche should revolve around spiritual and mental well-being.
Likewise, if you are launching a new marketing course for new startups, your niche should be marketing.
This will help you find podcasts relevant to the same niche and get going.
Search iTunes
When you have your niche sorted, you need to focus now on building your list of podcasts that you can guest on, and the very first step is to search for the best podcasts on iTunes.
Simply visit iTunes and search for podcasts in your industry.
Enter your industry keyword, and you will find tons of podcasts that are popular within your industry.
Check out their popularity and add suitable ones to your list.
Pro tip: Focus more on the new podcast that is finally achieving traction since it is much easier to get on and sometimes even a part of larger websites!
Search Podcast Search Strings
Next, go to the Google search bar and search for your targeted podcasts.
Type in “podcast + industry keyword” and similar other keywords to look out for the best choices out of all.
Not only can you find multiple sought-after podcasters, but you will also find blog posts that are reviewing the top shows in the industry. Such posts will help you in assessing the credibility of the podcasts and choose accordingly.
Reverse Engineer Competitors on Podcasts
If you want to find out podcasts you have never heard of, the thought of, or might not pop up in the search results with regular keyword research, here’s an excellent method to find out the podcasts your competitor is a guest at.
Go back to Google and search:
“Podcast + competitor site” or “podcast + influencer name”
And there, you have a long list of podcasts that you can target next!
Filter your results! We filter them so that we only pitch the right people.
With the steps listed above, you might find at least 90 or more potential podcasts already. However, 90 of them might not be responding to you back or are not the best choices for you.
If you want to get a higher success rate when pitching podcasts, you need to filter the list you made based on specific criteria.
This way, you will end up with only the top 50-60 best podcasts that will benefit your brand.
To filter out your choices, you need to first check the criteria. Here are two ways to find this out.
You can either go to the concerned podcast page and look out for the last episode they published.
In case you don’t find the publish date on their website, head on to iTunes and check out the podcast.
Is the Link Worth the Effort?
Every marketing strategy requires a quality control check. Preferably look for podcasts with DR higher than 20 for the best results.
To check out the DA of a podcast, you can use the Ahrefs Domain Rank toolbar or similar other tools.
Add the URL of the podcast, and it will show the DR of the site.
However, don’t just rule out every podcast with DA 20 or lesser since many shows even have DR 5 with 50,000 monthly listeners!
Do They Have your Audience?
The main aim of appearing as guest speakers is to drive traffic from the podcasts. If they do not have a decent amount of audience, it is pointless to go on a show and talk. Here’s how you can check their audience base:
- Check their previous content and episodes
- Check out their previous guest episodes
- Check out their blog content
- Check out the home page and about page
This will give you an insight into the existing audience that you can leverage and drive traffic.
However, there is no such requirement of having the same audience since you can also pitch for podcasts where the topics overlap.
Since we were looking out for content marketing shows, and you have a blog post or course about mastering the skill of SEO, you are good to go!
Get Pitching
Now that you have your final list of podcasts, it is time that you start pitching to their hosts. Even though pitching requires the basic rules of sales, persuasion, and conversion, here are specific tips and tricks that can help your pitch get approved real quickly!
You have to make it all about the end user!
Nobody does a favor for free. If it doesn’t benefit the end-user, there are significant chances of getting rejected or even ghosted out.
Thus, most of it or all should be about the end-user. You need to ensure that the podcast host is getting a significant advantage by inviting you or booking you as a guest speaker to their podcast.
To find out how you can be an advantage to them, you need to look out for points that they matter to them and find some way of benefiting them through your guest appearance.
And if you finally find that final knot, there is a high chance that they will revert to your email soon.
Find the Angle
To create the best pitch, you need to do ample research beforehand.
Go through their content and the About page to find the perfect angle.
You can try asking yourself certain questions such as:
- How, as a guest, can you help them?
- How can you help their listeners?
- How can you make them look good in front of the listeners
- How simple will it be for them to invite you to their podcast?
Alternatively, look out for connections and try finding the connecting point with them.
How to Apply
Almost every website has certain methods of applying, which can be in the form of a contact form. Most people tend to overlook this and jump directly into sending an email, resulting in a rejection.
To find out this info, check out their “Contact Us” page, and you can find details about the mode of application to follow!
However, if you don’t find such criteria, you can easily send them an email with your pitch!
Pitch the Show
While creating your pitch, here are a few things you need to consider:
- Do not mass email every podcast host. Personalize every pitch for the podcasts.
- Keep the headlines very concise and simple. Do not add any extravagant words.
- Bring up the connection angle right within the first few lines of the email to grab the reader’s attention.
- Tell them about yourself briefly and add social proof that connects with what you just mentioned. Remember not to brag at all.
- Mention the advantages they will have by inviting you over as a speaker for their podcasts.
- Mention different objections that are common in their podcasts and how you will help them combat all of them.
- Include a final Call to action that is highly compelling and will persuade them to invite you over or at least revert to your email.
- Follow up at regular intervals since most podcast hosts get multiple emails per day, and there are high chances that your email might get lost. You can also choose to automate this process.
Record the Show
Now when you have finally converted your podcast guest appearances, it is time to record them finally. Let’s check out some effective tips that will help you ace your podcasts in no time!
Be the Guest!
If you are the guest, be very interactive yet subtly portraying your knowledge to your audience.
Mention a few pleasing statements, such as you are glad to be a part of their podcast or thank them for having you over right from the beginning and towards the end of the podcast.
Prepare in Advance – Research Content
If you want to create a remarkable and long-lasting impression on your listeners, you need to tailor the conversation that best suits the listener.
Listen to their previous episodes before your record to get a hint on how they talk and actively participate in the conversation. This will help you understand the awareness level of your topic to your audience and the interviewer’s style of questions. If you are already aware of these points, you can easily understand how deep you want to get into the topic while talking about it.
Additionally, you can also reference previous episodes for better understanding and also enhance your overall impression.
Be a Standout Guest
Now when the show is recorded with all the content and the references, it is time that you look forward to the backlinks.
However, if you are skeptical about whether you will receive your podcast backlink or not(which is very unlikely), you can always take a step further and guarantee your backlink!
Edit and Save your Audio
To save the host from some hassle, try editing and removing the before and after conversations in the podcast. Save the audio, and they can’t be thankful enough since you have saved up a lot of effort by eliminating the pre-show audio yourself!
Send Them Those Assets.
The worst thing about podcasting is undeniably the edits, uploads, finding assets, and other tasks. To stand out as a guest, send all the assets to the host yourself and save the effort!
Link all the relevant resources yourself with prior research and thus, guaranteeing your backlinks too!
All such extra tasks might be a bit too much for you to carry out since it requires hours and loads of effort to get them done. Alternatively, you can hire professionals who are already well-versed in podcast editing and outsource this task.
We cannot stress this enough but the more benefits and advantages you offer your host for inviting you to their podcasts, the better your chances of finally getting the backlink.
Hence, as a newbie to the world of podcast backlinking, this step can make a significant difference.
Enjoy the Link
Now when you have scraped out the relevant data, edited the audio, and sent it, it is time that you wait for your podcast backlink to arrive.
Once you receive the backlinks, you know the drill!
Final Thoughts
This podcast backlinking strategy is everything that you need to try out in this competitive environment to stand out from the rest. Use your podcast backlinks and attract the audience to visit your website or check out the course/blog post you talked about. Lastly, try to be highly valuable to your host and your listeners. Rest assured, with the blend of all these steps, you can actively witness the traction flowing in no time!
