Podcast SEO is different from blog SEO. You are optimizing for show discovery, episode long-tail keywords, and rich results — not just homepage rankings.
Technical foundations: XML sitemap submitted to Google Search Console. PodcastSeries and PodcastEpisode JSON-LD on every relevant page. Canonical URLs without duplicate content. Open Graph and Twitter cards with episode artwork.
Episode pages: Each episode needs a unique URL, H1 with episode title, show notes as indexable HTML (not PDF-only), and internal links to related episodes and guest pages.
Site speed: Google uses Core Web Vitals as a ranking signal. Static HTML sites consistently outperform WordPress for podcast archives — aim for 90+ Lighthouse performance.
Internal linking: Link from homepage to latest episodes. Cross-link guest appearances. Add a blog for topical keywords your episodes cover.
Migration: If moving from WordPress, map old URLs with 301 redirects before switching DNS. One-to-one redirects preserve years of link equity.
