Podcasting for Content

I have always been an advocate of adding extra content to websites, both to benefit the users and to grow the size of the site. In fact, over the years I have been a bit of a broken record on this subject. Even when other SEO techniques were higher up on the hotlist, I pushed and pushed for content. Yes, link building is still as important as (or even more important than) content, but getting good links is a lot easier with quality content or “link bait.”

Considering that for almost two decades, we have been advising our clients to give us plenty of content for site updates and SEO, it’s nice to see that our focus on content has proven effective. It gives me great pleasure to see such a simple technique become such an amazing solution as our clients’ websites continue to dominate search and social results.

So how can you get new articles and information on your website quickly without writing short, weak articles just for the search engines? Try podcasting, which features audio recordings of interviews or dialogues. Talk about what you know, or interview other experts in your field. When you break out of the text rut, you can gain a whole new audience with your streaming audio files and you can use the transcriptions of your podcasts for SEO/social media channels. The following mini case studies demonstrate some possible uses of podcasting and how you can produce juicy information with ease.

Case 1: Online Music Store Owner

She’s obsessed with knowing every detail of every product on her site. When she is on the phone, she nearly completes a full-length review of a half-dozen products and makes cross-comparisons. Yet when she tries to write something for the website, she draws a blank.

Solution:

Make a list of 15 questions about five models of tenor saxophone. Discuss the metal used in each, the pads, the country in which they were made, etc. Record a 20-minute conversation (interview-style or monologue) using a digital voice recorder. Transcribe the recording and use the resulting text to make a web page. Add images of the store and all the instruments reviewed to make it spicy and give the reader something to look at while listening to the podcast. Then repeat the process with new questions (and/or new musical instruments). Try to develop a theme or angle like product comparisons or features like “Ask Dr. Sax….”

Case 2: Art Gallery Owner

The owner has a passion for art. He devours books on artists and the various styles of art. He has long, long conversations about art with clients and anyone else who will listen. In fact, he’s an artist himself, but not much of a writer. When it comes to the website, he struggles to write quality content—especially given that the art market has some heavy-hitting authors and doctorate-level dealers.

Solution:

Interview the artists that his gallery represents or descendants of featured artists who are no longer living to engage in a more natural and conversational way than a formal article allows. Record and transcribe the interviews, then take photos of the artists’ studios and the artists at work, and add them to the text. Consider including images of the sketches and photographs used by the artists, or pictures of what has inspired them. Ask a few offbeat questions to get some anecdotal details that won’t usually be found in an artist’s statement, book, or biography.

Case 3: Retirement Home

The owner of a retirement home is at a loss to create website content, because her business offers a service that many people don’t think about until they must. She blogs regularly, but wants to spice things up and show the world that assisted living doesn’t have to be stodgy or depressing.

Solution:

Interview employees of the facility as well as the board members, all of whom are passionate about providing an enriching environment for seniors. In the interview questions, use highly searched keyword phrases to prompt searchable answers (for later transcription). Interview residents of the facility for regular features on what makes a great retirement home and interview the staff for podcasts about elder care issues. If guest speakers come to the facility, ask if they would allow you to record their presentation for a podcast.

Photo credit: Rusty Sheriff / Foter / CC BY-NC