Which categories should your podcast be in? Here's some help.
Thank you for joining me for The Audacity to Podcast! I'm Daniel J. Lewis.
Choosing the right category or genre for your podcast has the potential to help your podcast
get discovered and featured. But what should you do with so many categories to choose from
and yet sometimes seemingly not enough depending on what your podcast is about.
Follow along in the notes for this episode or share this episode out with some other
podcaster you think would benefit from this by going to theaudacitytopodcast.com/categories
or you can get that a simple tap or swipe away inside of your app.
Now before I get into this, a little side note. The terms genre and category are often used
interchangeably in podcasting because podcasts have often been added to music-first platforms
where the genre label is very common there. But most podcast apps now use the term category. So
I'll stick with that for this episode. But you may sometimes see genre, especially if you're
looking at the back end code for some of these things. They often still use the term genre there.
But on the front side, we'll consider category to be our term for this episode.
So let's get into the categories in Apple Podcasts. Apple was the first company to popularize
RSS features to standardize podcasting back in 2005 with the release of iTunes 4.9. For more than
a decade, Apple offered 68 categories. Some of those were parent categories, some of them child
categories. Now, Apple offers 110 categories for your podcast. 19 of those are parent categories.
And I am not going to bore you with listing all 110 categories. There's a link in the notes to
Apple's list of all of their categories if you're interested in seeing those parent categories and subcategories. And since nearly all
podcasts now use the iTunes RSS namespace to make podcasting possible,
at least until Podcasting 2.0 completely dominates the world, most other podcast apps also use
Apple's categories. At least those top 19.
Even if they don't use the subcategories, the way that the RSS feed is built, when you put yourself in a subcategory,
you're also in the parent category. So those other apps can read the parent categories,
those 19 top level parent categories. While Podcasting 2.0 is also seeking to build an
expanded category list that apps can use, maybe even with some dynamic features, Apple
has laid a really nice foundation that will probably be built on for many other innovations
and improvements. So regardless of what you think about Apple and how they categorize
things, I think you need to be paying attention to it and try to fit somewhere within that
mold however you best can, even though there might be expanded capabilities in the future.
You might be thinking, well how am I supposed to pick only one category from all of those
110?
Well, podcasts can be in more than one category.
Publishing tools have a variety of limits.
But Apple's official statement is, "You can choose up to two categories or subcategories
that best reflect the content of your show."
So even if your publishing tool lets you pick five categories, assume only the first two
or maybe three will actually matter.
And I would say that even though Apple sometimes doesn't follow their own guidelines that
they put forth, so it might be that three or five or even more categories actually work
in Apple Podcasts, but really just assume it's only the first two.
If you pick a subcategory, you are also automatically included in the parent category and that doesn't
count against your assumed limit of two categories.
So if you actually look at the RSS feed, the way you would see it is that the subcategory
is inside the parent category.
Like for example, Christianity is a subcategory of religion and spirituality.
So if you are hosting a podcast about Christianity, your RSS tag would show religion and spirituality
and inside of that, Christianity, but Apple would prioritize the subcategory and yet also
include you in the parent category.
So there's the potential right there to be in four categories by selecting two subcategories.
It might help to actually look at the notes for this episode where I've put in an example
of what this RSS looks like so you can see the subcategory inside the parent category.
Those notes are on the website at theaudacitytopodcast.com/categories in case you can't see that part inside
your podcast app.
So because of this, because you can be in multiple categories, and because you can be
in both the parent category and the subcategory by simply selecting only the subcategory,
you don't have to worry about putting yourself in both the subcategory and the parent category
because you're already there if you pick up subcategory.
So as much as possible, focus on a subcategory if you can.
Some of these categories, like government for example, don't have subcategories.
That's fine.
If your podcast is about government, then pick that top level category.
And don't worry about the subcategory, but you can pick an additional subcategory and
maybe even more than that.
But again, assume only the first two really matter.
But what matters most?
The primary category matters most. No matter how many categories you put in your feed, the first one is
what matters most. Whether that is a top level category that you've specifically set, or if it's
the subcategory, then the subcategory is mattering most over the top level category. Your secondary
and other additional categories will help you show up in those category collections, editorial
features, searches, and browsing. But Apple says that in addition to what your secondary category
or categories due for your podcast. It's your first category or subcategory that is used for
the top charts displaying on your podcast listing when someone taps into your podcast and even for
recommendations on other podcasts in the catalog. Like if you scroll down to the bottom of your
podcast in Apple Podcasts either on desktop or on mobile you'll see something that's basically like
people also listen to these other podcasts, that is based on your primary category. And for
recommendations inside the "Listen Now" section of Apple Podcasts, that's all based on your primary
category. So it's the primary category that matters most. Now here are four steps to pick the right
podcast category out of these more than a hundred that you could choose from. Step one, ignore the
charts and saturation. Look at the number of podcasts in each category from PodcastIndustryInsights.com.
I have a link to that in the notes for this episode. And you'll see that Education and
Society and Culture have the most total podcasts by large margins. But filter out the inactive
podcasts, those that haven't published an episode in the last 90 days, and you'll
now see four categories fighting for having the highest numbers of the 90-day active podcasts.
Those four categories are education, religion and spirituality, business, and society and
culture. And as for what category the 90-day active podcast mark as their primary, since
what I just cited was any podcast in those, even if it's a secondary category, society
and culture still leads by more than double the runners-up as the primary category for
podcasts. And then after that, it's a close battle for second place between comedy, education,
business, and sports. So now comedy and sports have been added into the competition there.
These stats are based on the top level parent categories, which if you're in the subcategory,
you're also in the parent category. So it's based on those top level categories. If we
drill down to the subcategory level, these stats would start drastically splitting apart
and you would find categories that have hardly any podcasts. But this shouldn't really matter.
Just because a movie news podcast could top a subcategories chart doesn't mean it should
be in the tennis subcategory.
Look at these statistics only as informational, not as guidance.
In other words, don't pick a category simply because no one else is there.
Ignore that.
Ignore the charts.
Ignore how saturated those categories are.
Step two, see where your "competitors" are.
There are probably other podcasts talking about the same things or similar things that
your podcast talks about or maybe even in the exact same niche.
So look at them and see how they categorize their podcasts.
While you might think it's best to avoid the same categories as your "competitors",
I think it would actually be best to choose the same categories.
This makes it much more likely for podcast apps to recommend your podcast as relevant
to the other one.
Just like in Apple Podcasts, that whole "listeners also listen to" kind of thing, or "this
podcast might be related to that one" that's driven from your primary category.
And if you are in a different primary category from all of your typical competitors, then
your show won't be suggested on their shows in those podcast apps, in the ListenNow and
some of those algorithms and such.
It also gives you more opportunity to be featured within that category in case there's ever
a special collection, like an editorial collection, they'll be looking in that category for
podcasts about that thing first.
And I think it even increases your chances to be discovered because your podcast could
appear in the same relevant context as your competitors, whether that's algorithm-driven
or anything else.
Think of it this way.
Grocery stores don't put ice cream with pet food.
Sure, it might stand out to see an ice cream next to pet food, but when someone wants ice
cream, they'll go to the ice cream shelves of the frozen food section. So if your brand
of ice cream that you've made and you're selling was being sold next to pet food instead
of with all the other ice creams, probably none of the ice cream motivated shoppers would
see and buy your ice cream. Or to quote the philosophy I remember from young Hayley Mills
in Disney's 1961 film The Parent Trap, let's stick together. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
How was that for dramatic reading? So see where your competitors are.
Step three, pick what best describes your content. While your podcast can probably fit
under several categories, or maybe you feel like it doesn't fit under any of them, look
at the list, I have the link in the notes for Apple Podcast Categories list, look at
that list and consider what can actually describe your content the best. Take the Audacity to
Podcast for example. I cover podcast marketing, how-to's, and technology. The show appeals
to geeks, entrepreneurs, businessmen and businesswomen, and hobbyists. So what actually describes
my content the best? Not my audience, but my content. Looking at my archive of episodes
and my plans for the future, I can see that I talk about technology the most and what
that technology enables you to do.
Sometimes that's marketing, sometimes I explain exactly how to use something, and
sometimes I step completely away from the technology and focus on motivating you, whether
you're a professional or a hobbyist.
Thus, I think the technology category is the best fit for The Audacity to Podcast, and
And that gets confirmed by seeing that most of the other podcasts about podcasting are
also in the technology category.
Yes, some of my "competitors" – although I really don't look at them as competitors,
that's why I put the word "competitors" in quotation marks every time in this episode
– and some of those competitors are primarily in the marketing category.
But The Audacity to Podcast talks about technology and what you can do with that technology more
than talking specifically about marketing.
And while I think that all my content is educational, not every episode is formatted like a lesson
or tutorial so I don't think it should be primarily in the education "how to" subcategory.
But I still include marketing and education "how to" as additional categories.
And in the 2023 People's Choice Podcast Awards, I submitted The Audacity to Podcast in the
technology category and in the education category.
And in the 2023 Spark Media Podcast Awards, I submitted my show in the Business category.
Now, side note, please vote for The Audacity to Podcast in these awards when the voting
opens.
I will let you know about that both through email, on social networks, and through a special
little announcement episode of this podcast.
So please watch for that and support The Audacity to Podcast when that voting opens.
Coming back to your show, to see if you chose the right category that best describes your
podcast, try describing it with that category to someone else.
Like I host a, fill in the category name here, podcast, where you can pick only one category.
For example, I host a technology podcast, I host a TV after show podcast, or I host
a personal journal podcast.
Look at that list of 110 categories, practice saying it with each of those categories maybe
that you think might apply, and the one that fits best is probably the one you should use.
Yes, I know this isn't always so clear. You may just need someone else to look at
the list of relevant categories and tell you which one they think best describes your podcast.
For example, there was once an unsuccessful campaign a couple of years ago to get a climate
science category in Apple podcasts, but I think Earth Sciences fits those podcasts just
as well. And if Apple ever wanted to make a featured collection of podcasts about climate
science, they would probably look first inside of the Earth Sciences category. So even though
it's not the most accurate category, it's the most accurate of what's available and
it describes the podcast the best.
And step four, pick where your audience would expect to find your podcast. Similar to seeing
how someone else would primarily describe your content, consider where people might
expect to find your podcast when browsing different charts, different categories, and
even some of the different features and collections. Bringing back my ice cream example, if someone
is searching for organic ice cream, they'll probably go to the frozen organic section
first. And if there is no such section, they'll go to the ice cream section. They won't
go to the pet food section looking for ice cream. They expect to find ice cream in the
ice cream section, or they would expect to find organic ice cream in the organic section,
and they would expect to find the ice cream section in the frozen food section.
While some stores might actually put ice creams in special featured areas, it's more about
where are people going to expect to find what they're looking for.
Similarly, where would your ideal audience go and expect to find your podcast there?
I think that's in the technology category for the Audacity podcast and your show could
be completely different.
These four steps to help you pick the right podcast category are number one, ignore the
charts and saturation.
Number two, see where your competitors are.
Number three, pick what best describes your content.
And number four, pick where your audience would expect to find your podcast.
I hope this has helped you to figure out what podcast category would be best for your podcast.
Whether you're thinking of changing categories right now or you're starting a brand new podcast.
And if this episode has helped you and you think it might help any other podcasters,
please share it by going to theaudacitytopodcast.com/categories or you can share and review the notes a simple
tap or swipe away inside of your podcast app.
Now that I've given you some of the guts and taught you some of the tools, it's time for
you to go start and grow your own podcast for passion and profit.
I'm Daniel J. Lewis from theaudacitytopodcast.com.
Thanks for listening.
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