16. How to Choose a Podcast Name

Your podcast's name is not just a catchy phrase - it's essential for bringing in new listeners! In today's episode, I share why it's so important, go over some podcast title dos and don'ts, and share some tips for coming up with your show name.

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This episode was produced by me, The Podcast Teacher! Contact me at Hello@ThePodcastTeacher.com.

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Transcript

Hey. Hey. And welcome back. I just finished a podcasting 101 live 5 day workshop, which was awesome, but, of course, also left this introvert exhausted. In the workshop, I covered several different aspects of starting a podcast. But one of the most popular lessons was about how to choose a title for your podcast. It's very important and is so much more than just a catchy phrase. So I'm going to share the secrets here in this episode so that you can hear them too.

I'll cover why the title is so important, go over some do's and don'ts, and give you some tips for coming up with your own show name. Okay. So you need to create your title with people and computers in mind. From the people perspective, your show name is one of the first impressions that your podcast makes. So the show name should convey your podcast's overarching topic as clearly as possible. This is generally not the time to be cute or clever unless you can do so while still being very clear. So people typically discover podcasts in one of 2 ways, either a recommendation from someone else or through search. So from the computer perspective, you want to optimize your podcast title to show up in search results.

There's a whole separate world of search engine optimization for Google. But today, we're going to focus on search engine optimization for the podcast players. As of today, most podcast players are not complex search engines. In the biggest one, which is Apple Podcasts, the only fields that are currently searchable are your show name, artist name, and the individual episode titles. Out of those, the show name field is the most heavily weighted. So if you want to guarantee that you'll show up in the search results for a specific keyword or phrase, that word or phrase must be in your title. I'll refer to this as your primary keyword throughout the rest of this episode, but please know that it can be a short phrase as well. I'll caveat my recommendation and say that it is possible to show up in the search results without the keyword in your title.

Of course, there's an algorithm to the search results, and the display order takes multiple factors into consideration, including the number of listens and loyal followers. If you do a test search in your industry, you will surely get some results without the keyword in the show name. However, as a beginner, your show is quite unlikely to get millions of listens and loyal followers overnight. So your best bet is to put your primary keyword in the title to guarantee that you show up in the search results period Levine if it's at the bottom of the list at first. Thankfully, strategically placing your keyword is the only thing you need to do to please the search algorithm. Easy peasy. Okay. So now let's get into some podcast title do's and don'ts.

These are generalities, but don't use the words the and or podcast in your title. They are overused and unnecessary. I suggest that you don't use profanity either. The rules are a little blurry on this one because quite a few shows exist with profanity in the title and therefore on the cover art, but Apple's rules say that explicit language on the cover art is prohibited. So it's a little bit of a gray area, proceed with caution if this is an area that you feel the need to dive into. Don't name the podcast after yourself unless you are a celebrity. The Julia Levine show wouldn't give any indication about the content of this podcast unless you already know who I am. Also, don't choose a name that's already taken.

You don't wanna be confused with another show. I'll explain how to find out if the name is taken in just a few minutes. Alright. So you should not do those things. So what should you do? First of all, you do want to include a primary keyword. As I mentioned before, including this is essential for showing up in the search results, especially as a beginner. It also clearly communicates the main topic of your show to the human in charge of making a selection from the search results. You do want to keep it at 5 words or less.

If you can get it down to just 1, 2, or 3 words, that's even better. Long titles can be a mouthful and harder for your audience to remember, and therefore, tell their friends about. Do make it easy to say and spell. You'll be saying it a lot, so it needs to roll off your tongue. Referring back to the importance of coming up in search results, your potential audience needs to be able to easily spell it in order to search for it. Also, do remember that you can change your title at any time. It doesn't need to be perfect for you to get started. Put some thought into it, but don't stress over it and let it hold you back from taking action.

Okay. So if you have a blank slate, where do you even start? You should start with your primary keyword since that will need to be in the title. Then you can add a powerful descriptor either before or after the keyword. So you can add on the word simple or easy at the beginning, making it something like simple weight loss, easy weight loss. Or you can add a word onto the end after your keyword, something like strategies or solutions. So weight loss strategies, weight loss solutions. You could also choose to call out a specific audience. This is what I did with my show.

So my primary keyword is podcasting, and I'm choosing to call out the audience of introverts. So, of course, you know because you're listening to this show that is called Podcasting for Introverts. Continuing on with the weight loss example, we could say weight loss for moms or weight loss for entrepreneurs. I know these might seem a little bit bland, but they are crystal clear, which is the most important thing. Feel free to get creative if and only if you can still be clear. I suggest having a brainstorming session and writing down as many ideas as you can think of. You can also use AI tools like Chat GPT to help you. Then you wanna narrow it down to your favorites and then see what's available.

As more and more people start podcasts, it is increasingly difficult to come up with a unique name, particularly in a competitive niche. So I'm very glad that you are thinking about starting your podcast sooner rather than later. Once you have a few names in mind, head to the patent and trademark online database for your country and search for the name. If it's trademarked, cross it off your list. Next, search the podcast players themselves. Searching the 2 biggest ones, Apple and Spotify, will suffice. If a name already exists as a podcast, I suggest that you pick another one. First of all, you don't want to be talking about your podcast, have someone search for it, and wind up finding and listening to someone else's show because it has the same name and they got confused.

Plus, think about how you would feel if someone came along and created a podcast with the same name as yours. I know I would not be thrilled, and I firmly believe in treating others how I want to be treated. Finally, depending on your business structure and your specific goals, you may want to look at the availability of the dotcomdomain and any social handles. Okay. So the last thing when it comes to choosing a title is thinking about a subtitle. I mentioned earlier that the title is one of the few searchable fields in Apple Podcasts and that it holds the most weight. So some creators had the bright idea to create a subtitle with a bunch of keywords after their official podcast name in order to sway the search results. Some people who were doing this kind of keyword stuffing years ago, they got their podcasts rejected or removed from Apple.

So for years, I've told podcasters to create the title and not worry about a subtitle and definitely not to stuff any keywords into there. However, I've encountered several leaders in the podcast industry lately that are encouraging subtitles as more and more people start podcasts and the search results get more competitive. So I took a look at Apple's rules in this area, and they state creators cannot artificially increase, falsify, or otherwise manipulate a podcast's follows, listens, ratings, or reviews, or attempt to influence search using inaccurate or inappropriate terms. They only mention inaccurate or inappropriate search terms. So I wondered if that meant that accurate and appropriate terms to influence search would be okay. I did not want to potentially harm any of my clients' podcasts. So when I started this podcast, I decided to experiment and see what would happen. I initially submitted my podcast to Apple under just the name Podcasting for introverts, and it was approved.

Then I modified the title to include the subtitle of how to start a podcast and podcasting tips for introvert entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and online coaches. These are, of course, keywords and phrases that my target audience may be searching for, and they are accurate and appropriate. I haven't received any warnings, and you're listening right now so my podcast is still here. So at this moment in time, I believe that this may be a way to improve your searchability and to play by Apple's rules because I'm a big rule follower. I recommend crafting a subtitle by saying blank for blank, where the first blank contains content keywords or key phrases, and the second blank contains audience descriptor keywords. So for my podcast, in the subtitle, content key phrases are how to start a podcast and podcasting tips. Then I followed it with my audience keyword descriptors of introvert entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and online coaches. A subtitle's purpose is almost entirely for SEO, to get a few more keywords in after your main title.

When you refer to your show in conversation, you won't say the whole big long thing with the subtitle. You would just say, my podcast is called Podcasting for Introverts. You don't say the whole subtitle. Its primary purpose is to help your podcast come up in the search results for more terms. Okay. So I know that I just gave you a lot of info. So let me give you a quick recap with a checklist to run through when you're finalizing your title. You want to make sure that it includes your primary keyword and accurately describes the show.

Focus on clear over clever. Make sure it's not named after you unless you're a celebrity. You don't wanna include the words the or podcast in most cases. Keep it to under 5 words or less, and make sure it's unique that it isn't already taken. It is optional to include an accurate and appropriate keyword loaded subtitle. I also want you to remember that you can always change your title and or subtitle. It's literally just a few clicks. It does not need to be perfect from the get go.

So pick something good enough to allow you to take action and move forward with your podcast. Okay? And with that, I will talk to you soon.