Topic: Keywords

Podcast titles are categorized into four types: cute/in-joke titles, lazy numbered titles, keyword-stuffed titles, and human-centric descriptive titles. The hosts argue for a structure that leads with a descriptive phrase followed by a guest name or "voice" hook to satisfy both search engines and human readers. They conclude that creators should "write for the stranger" while trusting regular listeners to tolerate less creative, more functional titles.

Maya and Tom conclude the episode by previewing next week's topic, "The Question Behind the Query," which will cover long-tail search intent and how journalists reference podcasts. They sign off after promising a list of bad search queries to analyze.

Owning a domain allows podcasters to use Google Search Console, a free tool that reveals specific search queries, rankings, and click-through rates. This data is unavailable on platform-hosted pages because Google requires domain verification to share performance signals. PodHerd offers an integration that connects these search insights directly to the creator's dashboard to validate growth strategies.