Search engines may not be the main channel for getting podcast subscribers, with pretty much everybody relying on iTunes for distribution. However, the traffic that search engines bring cannot be brushed off, because the fact is that millions of people still use search engines everyday to look for information – including podcasts.

If you produce video podcasts, you have to make sure that your video content is will come out in search results. This is important because you increase the chances of someone stumbling on your video podcast and ending up liking it enough to come back for seconds by simply being searchable. After all, whether they really meant to find your video podcast, or was just looking for similarly themed videos, the point is that once they see your podcast in the search results you already get the benefit of increased awareness for your podcast and a chance at getting viewed.

To make sure you search engines find your video content, you should create a video sitemap and submit it to Google and other search engines. Video sitemaps work just like your ordinary XML sitemap, except that it points out all your URLs or pages that contain video content. Note that the video sitemap can contain content other than video podcasts.

When creating video sitemaps, note that Google requires you to include the following information for each URL in the sitemap:

• Title
• Description
• Play page URL
• Thumbnail URL
• Raw video file location and/or the player URL (SWF)

Videos found for each URL should also be tagged accordingly (see Google Video Sitemap Guidelines for details) putting in information such as duration, category, whether it requires a subscription or not, etc. These information will encourage search users to click on your video podcast when they appear in search engine results because they will see at a glance the information they need.

Image via ReelSEO

Not counting the actual podcast content or topic, your listeners’ experience will primarily be determined by the overall sound of your mix. This includes your narration, the background music, stingers, sound effects, and even the ambient noise. This also including the volume levels (use equalizers!) of all the different frequencies of all the tracks you mixed together for the podcast.

With so many things to consider when mixing your track, there is tendency to sometimes neglect the tiny details that sets a well-made podcast from a poorly made one. Here are two simple tips that addressed commonly overlooked issues:

Review individual tracks – Sure, the overall sound of the mix is what you listen to in the end, but each individual track you add to your podcast affects the final track. Make sure you don’t miss the small sounds that may not be much but can prove to be distracting (i.e. muffled cough or sneeze) by muting the background sound and music while editing the narration bit, or whichever specific track you happen to be editing at the moment. You can do this easily if you are using GarageBand by choosing the “Solo” option, or just drag the volume of all the other tracks down if you are using a different software.

Center all tracks – I hate it when my earphones go haywire and I just happen to be in transit with no option but to listen to glitch sounding podcasts and music on just one earpiece. What bugs me more than this though is when I have to listen to a podcast that wasn’t properly so that the people speaking sound like one they are speaking on each side of my ear. This can be easily remedied by simply making sure that all the recorded tracks are centered (Set the Dial on the Mixer in the Center or to Zero, depending on the mixer/software you are using). This way, the sound will be coming out from BOTH earpieces and not from the left or right.

Image credit: Knight Digital Media Center

Garage band, Apple’s music recording software package, can be a powerful tool for putting together great podcasts. Here are some tips on doing just that:

Make Session Templates

Session templates are general parameters that define certain elements of a Garage Band recording session. These types of templates are found in many audio editors and are time savers because they allow someone using the program to skip setting routine session attributes that they use regularly. This will save you a lot of time in setting up your podcasts so make use of it.

You can either set these parameters as a template in and of itself and open this template to begin the podcast recording or editing session or you can simply open a previous podcast and delete the audio. In the latter case all the parameters will have been saved with the session, just as they would be with a template, so you can just delete the audio that has been recorded and change any other parameters you wish in order to begin your new session. Bear in mind though that if you take the time to create a basic template you won’t have the minimal extra effort of deleting the audio tracks.

Get a Display you are Comfortable With

There are various zooms and other screen viewing parameters that can be customized in Garage Band. For optimum work convenience, choose a zoom and general screen view that works for you and stick with that. You want to have a decent amount of visual information on the screen while at the same time being able to see things clearly. The better you can see various elements on the screen, the easier it will be to work on your session effectively and efficiently.

Podcast Track

The podcast track shows your artwork and various other “meta-data” that is associated with the podcast. This is a newly added feature designed especially for podcasts. Make use of this tool to make sure that all the elements of your podcast other than the audio itself are in good order, editing them as needed from podcast to podcast.

Use Ducking

Ducking refers you assigning certain tracks greater preference than others in the overall sound scape. You can, for instance, set a basic sonic background of music and have the music get softer when people are speaking. This will save you have to go through and painstakingly bring volume levels down on the background track when there is voice data. It will also mean you don’t have to set the background track to an overall lower level throughout the podcast which is something you may not wish to do.

How to Edit Levels

There are some tips that make editing levels easier. You will want, for instance, the voices of everyone on the podcast to be set at the same level. It’s important to do this after a break when you haven’t been listening to things for too long and become habituated to the sound. Standing further from the speakers is also a good idea. This will help you discern which sounds are louder and which ones are softer.

About Guest Author:

Ross loves writing, when free you can find him working at office, doing online faxing, fixing other fax machines, and other work related to fax. He has been in fax industry for 8 years and loves every minute of his job.

Here’s a short video of a guy talking about pop shields or pop filters.

So you got your recording done, all is dandy, until you discover cracks, pops and hums all over the piece! What to do? Don’t fear, if there is in one advantage that digital has over analog, it’s in the cleanness field.
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It is the rare individual who takes to podcasting immediately. Sometimes the best way to ease into a new skill is to ask for a little company. Add some alcohol into the mix and what you have is cool and fun way of podcasting that will surely be entertaining and spontaneous.

Beercasts are gaining a lot of fans in the podcasting community because it is a lot of fun and a relatively easy way of making a podcast. the setup for a beercast is quite simple. All one needs is a few microphones, a Behringer mixer and an MP3 recorder.

A beercast is actually  round table discussion. A topic is presented to the participants and the discussions begin. It’s an easy setup and when it gets going, it is so much fun. A discussion like this will be energetic, free-flowing and, if the participants are witty and eloquent, quite a great show of verbal repartee. Of course, introducing some alcohol into the mix could result in even more free spirited discussions.

Beercasting is a great way to get your feet wet in the world of podcasting simply because conversations come naturally, unlike a monologue. A podcaster is more likely to feel more comfortable when he’s talking with other people rather than just talking on his own while on the microphone. Conversations will allow you to actually think about what you will say next when the other participants in the beercast are talking. Beercasts and multiple host types of podcast are so popular and more engaging to audiences that you will notice that in any ranking of podcasts, there’s more multiple-host formats in the list.

If you’re interested in trying out a podcast, try to read the excellent resource Podcasting Hacks.

Until Flux released something called a de-compressor, I would have said that the expander is the exact opposite of a compressor. You can pretty much tell it from the name, right? While the signal above the set threshold is toned down with a compressor, it’s the signal below the threshold that’s toned down with an expander. Thus creating an image of more dynamic audio.
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