7 – Can the Design of a Podcast Website Increase Listener Numbers?

Hello there and welcome to Podcast Podcaster Plus, the podcast offering tips and tricks to simplify and automate your podcast. Find all the episodes at podcasterplus.com/show. 

Today we’re diving into the crucial subject of podcast success that often gets overlooked, the design of your podcast website.

Many podcasters focus solely on the content creation and distribution side of things, which is no bad thing. So can a thoughtfully created website actually boost your audience? Well, let’s find out, shall we? As always, the episode is going to be divided up into various different sections, and we will provide all of the links over on the podcaster plus website in the show notes. 

So section one, the importance of a podcast website. Whilst podcast hosting platforms do offer essential tools for distributing your episodes, a dedicated website serves as a central hub for your podcast brand. It’s more than just a place to list the episodes. It’s for marketing, it’s a community builder, and a potential revenue stream. 

You see, a website allows you to do a lot. For example, it can enhance branding. You can create a consistent online presence which reflects your podcast personality and values. You can improve SEO, optimize your website for search engines, and that will attract new listeners organically.

What about engaging directly with listeners? A website might provide additional content, and a place for your audience to interact with you, and you could build a community over there. 

Now, what about the important thing of monetizing your podcast? Well, yes, you can explore options like selling merchandise on your website. You could offer some other premium content, not necessarily related to your podcast, or you could possibly run some ads. 

And also, it’s a place to centralize everything. It provides easy access to all of your podcast episodes, show notes, contact information, a bit like we’ve got for this podcast, which you can find at podcasterplus.com/show.

Section two then is going be our key website design elements for podcast success section. Let’s talk about the specific design elements that can make or break your podcast websites, based upon research from online websites. Again, links in the show notes.

Here are some considerations. User experience, which is often just simplified to UX. A clean, intuitive design is pretty paramount. It makes it easy for visitors to find what they need, whether it’s the latest episode, show notes or contact information. If you clutter things up, or make a confusing website, it’s really going to drive listeners away.

Make it mobile responsive. Ensure that your website looks pretty good on all devices. So that could be desktops, tablets, smartphones. Most people can consume podcasts on their phones. In fact, that’s the way that most people do do it. So mobile optimization is pretty crucial. 

High quality visuals. Don’t use cheap graphics. Use professional looking images and videos to enhance your brand’s aesthetic appeal. This includes your podcast artwork, website banners, and other visuals. 

Have clear call to actions guide listeners towards desired actions such as subscribing to your podcast, join your email list, or visiting other social media accounts. Use compelling buttons and make the messages pretty clear. 

You could also use your website for social proof, showcase positive reviews, testimonials and social media engagement. This might build trust and credibility. 

We mentioned earlier SEO optimization, but there’s another piece here. If you implement SEO best practices to improve your website search engine ranking, this is often done by including relevant keywords, optimizing your website structure, and building high quality backlinks. People still use Google to find information out there online, and if you can manage to optimize your website around your niche. Well, it’s definitely gonna be a place where people can find your website. 

And think about having a robust podcast player. Integrate a user friendly podcast player that allows listeners to easily play and manage episodes directly on your website. Podcaster Plus Blocks does this admirably? 

Section three, website platforms and tools. Choosing the right platform for your podcast website is pretty essential. The most popular option is of course WordPress. WordPress is a highly customizable platform with numerous themes and plugins. It offers really great flexibility, but may require some technical knowledge.

It’s the platform that we use. It’s the platform that we recommend. It’s the platform that we built our Podcaster Plus Blocks upon, and so that’s definitely what we’d recommend. Other options are things like Squarespace and Wix. 

Section four, measuring success. How do you know if your website design is working? Well track metrics such as website traffic. Monitor the number of visitors to your website using tools like Google Analytics. There’s loads of other options, but that seems to be the default.

Engagement metrics. Track metrics like time on the website, bounce rate and pages per visit. What about conversion rates? If you’ve got something you want to convert, measure how effectively your website does convert visitors into subscribers, or other desired actions.

And of course, podcast downloads. While not directly attributable to the website. A well-designed website can drive more traffic to your podcast hosting platform, leading to increased downloads. 

Section five. Well, it’s not really a section, it’s a conclusion. A well-designed podcast website is a powerful tool for growing your audience. By focusing on user experience, visual appeal, and effective marketing strategies, you can create a website that attracts new listeners, engage as your existing audience, and helps you achieve your podcasting goals. Do not underestimate the power of a great website in your podcast journey. 

So there we go. That’s what I’ve got for you this time around.

Thank you very much for tuning into the Podcaster Plus Podcast. You can find it at podcasterplus.com/show. 

And we’ll see you next time for some more tips and tricks To simplify and automate your podcast.