PodSEO Rank Explained

What is the PodSEO Rank?

The PodSEO Rank is a proprietary metric that measures the relative visibility of a podcast compared to all other podcasts indexed by PodSEO. It reflects how discoverable your podcast is across major listening platforms—taking into account rankings, keywords, and visibility signals. A lower number means higher visibility: a podcast ranked #25 is generally more prominent than one ranked #250.

Rank vs. Score: What’s the Difference?

A score is a raw value representing how well your podcast performs in terms of visibility, keyword rankings, and other signals. A rank, on the other hand, is your position relative to all other podcasts.
For example, your podcast might have a score of 78.4, which puts it at rank #120, while another show with a score of 80.1 might be ranked #95.

Key difference:

• Score = Your own visibility performance
• Rank = How that performance compares to others

How is the PodSEO Score Calculated?

The PodSEO Score is a composite metric based on:

• Keyword Rankings: How many keywords your show ranks for, and how high.
• Platform Presence: Visibility across Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other directories.
• Episode & Feed Health: Speed, consistency, and technical quality of your RSS feed.
• Engagement Signals: Metadata quality, title optimization, and publishing cadence.
• Trending Behavior: Are you gaining or losing visibility week-over-week?

The score is then normalized and used to compute your rank compared to other shows.

Why Is My PodSEO Rank Going Down Even Though My Downloads Are Increasing?

This is a common and understandable question. Downloads measure audience size, but PodSEO Rank measures search visibility.

Here are some possible reasons:

• Other podcasts are improving faster in terms of visibility, so your relative position drops.
• Your keywords might not be growing, or you may be ranking for terms with low search volume.
• Your episode titles or feed updates might be hurting discoverability, even if your audience is loyal.

Remember: More downloads do not always mean better SEO.

So, How Do I Improve My PodSEO Rank?

Here are actionable steps:

1. Optimize your titles and descriptions using relevant, high-volume keywords.
2. Refresh older episode metadata to include trending terms and related topics.
3. Maintain a consistent publishing cadence—search platforms favor active shows.
4. Improve feed health by reducing RSS errors, boosting speed, and standardizing formats.
5. Track what works: Use PodSEO’s keyword insights to double down on winning topics.

How Do I Find Relevant Competitors?

PodSEO makes this easy:

• On your Podcast Details Page, use the “Add Competitor” button.
• You can search Apple Podcasts and add direct competitors manually.
• Alternatively, PodSEO auto-suggests podcasts that rank for the same keywords as you, even if they cover different topics.

This helps you understand what successful shows in your keyword space are doing—so you can learn, adapt, and improve.