In the last episode I explained the process for indexing your show with Apple, this episode I’ll deal with Google Podcasts Manager.
There are two ways to have your podcast indexed with Google: passive and active.
The passive involves setting up your podcast, having a page with the rss feed and at least one episode with your host.
With these in place, Google Podcasts which sends out its web crawlers a few times a day, which locate your rss feed, check its validity, ensure your episode plays and then indexes the podcast. This means it will be available to play in the Google Podcasts App and pretty much nowhere else under this system. On this point, I still hear producers saying their show’s available on Google Play Music which it is not. Google stopped supporting podcasts there a few years ago. This is not just a google thing either, iTunes still gets a mention in way too many podcasts. There are legacy versions of iTunes out there in the wilds of the interwebs but Apple recommends Apple Podcasts as their preferred option.
Rant over.
Now to the active way to be indexed with Google.
You will need:
- A google ID
- An rss feed
Type “Google Podcast Manager” into google and you receive a few choices. If you already have a gmail account, you’re away. Either sign in, or if you are already signed in, click “Use Your Google Account”. This takes you to a page asking for your rss feed. You receive this from your host. Each host makes this available in a different space on their website so familiarise yourself with its location.
Once your rss feed is lodged, Google does its thing and you’re registered in their directory.
I am unaware of any podcatchers that draw from this directory as they do from Apple’s but I still lodge my shows with Google for two reasons. Firstly, it is somewhere else for listeners to find me and secondly, if Google ever gets their act together they will become the number one directory. Outside the English speaking world, Android phones far out number iPhones. Naturally enough the Apple Podcast app is not available on Android. The Google Podcast app comes with all Android phones but google needs to ensure it more prominently displayed the way Apple did back in 2014. So I lodge with Google for the day they seize podcasting by the neck and promote the daylights out of it. And you should be ready too. Time to lodge a podcast with Google? 3 minutes, tops.
Until next time.
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