Naming your podcast episodes is an important step in properly marketing your podcast. Your podcast episode titles play into your discoverability, potential listener's decision to listen, and much more. That is why you should put some real thought into your episode names, similarly to how you should carefully decide on the title of your podcast itself. So with that said, check out our advice for naming your podcast episodes below!
Do's:
- Focus on communicating what your podcast episode is about.
- If you would like to include the episode number in your episode titles, put the episode number at the end. The same goes for if you would like to include a guest's name in the title.
- Keep your podcast title succinct to ensure your title isn't cut off in directories. Generally speaking, aim for 5 words or less with a maximum of 60 characters. Many directories do allow for longer episode names, but it is best to be succinct so your titles appear perfectly in all directories.
- Ensure that you convey the essence of what the episode is about.
- Use keywords in your episode titles to convey what your episode is about while improving the searchability of your podcast.
- Prioritize creating honest and relevant titles.
- Remember that your potential audience members are also reading episode titles to get a sense of your podcast and to decide whether they want to listen or not.
- Create unique titles for each episode unless the episodes are part of a series.
- Name your episodes for optimal searchability, both in directories and search engines.
- Monitor the stats on your podcast to see how certain titles perform. Look for patterns and try to evaluate any similarities between titles that perform on a comparable level. Avoid title techniques that tend to perform at a lower level and utilize any title techniques that seem to perform well.
Don'ts:
- Create compelling episode titles that encourage potential listeners to tune in, but do not clickbait listeners with false or outlandish titles that are hardly applicable or not applicable at all to the content of the episodes.
- Don't include the date and time in your episode titles.
- While keywords are helpful for your episode names, be sure not to "keyword stuff."
- Avoid using quotes from your podcast and vague references to your episode topic as they don't really communicate anything about your episode.
- Refrain from trying to make titles that are cool, cute, or funny.
- Don't include your podcast title or the word "Episode" in your episode titles.
- Avoid using first-person pronouns (“my,” “me,” “I,” etc.) in your episode names.
When it comes down to it, there is no cookie cutter way to title your podcast episodes as it largely depends on your podcast episode topic and you as the host! However, if you follow these dos and don'ts, you should be on your way to creating informative, compelling, and searchable episode titles. Take some time for each new episode to brainstorm a title and quickly evaluate it. Put yourself in a listener's shoes and consider whether the title tells you about the episode and if it is exciting enough to make you want to click it. And, remember that it might take some trial and error to figure out the best episode titling process. So, create your titles and use the available statistics on your podcast episodes to fine tune your process and create even better titles that resonate with your listeners. Happy podcasting!
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