Yesterday I had an interesting call on which I was berated by the owner of a podcast directory that I mention in my book. It was surreal. But before I tell you that story, let me give you an important update on my top recommended podcast directories to submit to…
In chapter one of Promoting Your Podcast, I talk about how to get maximum exposure in the podcast directories. At the end of the chapter, I share a list of my top recommendations of directories to submit your podcast to. Since the aforementioned podcast directory owner didn’t like being in my book, now is a good time to update the list.
Below is my new list of most important podcast directories to submit your show to. Compared to the list in the book, a couple directories have been removed and a couple added. To form this list I used my original list from the book and the first page of a Google search for podcast directory as a reference. Then I added a few more based on my experience.
To provide some insight into how much traffic each of these sites gets, I created a table containing the following statistics.
- The number of links to the site according to Yahoo! Site Explorer (a measurement of authority as perceived by Yahoo!)
- The number of blogs linking to the site according to Technorati (a measurement of authority as perceived by bloggers)
- The Alexa Rank (a somewhat controversial but often quoted estimate of traffic; lower rank is better)
Then I calculated an admittedly unscientific rating of my own. I added the Yahoo link # to the Technorati link # and divided it by the Alexa Rank (since lower is better) to get a sort of proportionate “overview” stat to look at.
Note that for the iTunes podcast directory none of these metrics can be measured. The same goes for Yahoo! Podcasts and Digg’s podcast directory since they are both sections of much bigger sites.
iTunes is still an undisputed leader in the podcast directory space. It most likely gets more traffic than any other directory, but there is no way to know that for sure. Yahoo! Podcasts, while disappointing due to its apparent stagnation since launching in 2005, is still arguably a leader in the space as well—after all it’s Yahoo!. The jury is still out for me on the Digg podcast directory, but given the popularity of the site, it’s worth submitting to.
Now here’s the list:
|
Directory
|
Yahoo! Links
|
Technorati Links
|
Alexa Rank
|
Rating
|
| iTunes |
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
| Yahoo! Podcasts |
192,280
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
| Digg Podcasts |
585,091
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
| PodcastDirectory.com |
295,610
|
1,847
|
20,252
|
14.69
|
| Odeo |
38,383
|
60,409
|
7656
|
12.90
|
| Podcast Alley |
150,231
|
6,564
|
13,522
|
11.06
|
| Podcast.net |
157,870
|
9,594
|
31,010
|
5.40
|
| PodcastPickle.com |
81,787
|
2,709
|
28,038
|
3.01
|
| Podfeed.net |
72,647
|
524
|
54,474
|
1.34
|
| Digital Podcast |
50,186
|
2,753
|
72,506
|
0.73
|
Here are a few more notes about sites that appear on page one of the Google search for podcast directory, but that are not in the list above.
- The directory from Podcasting News is a sub-section of the site and so I wasn’t able to get stats for it. It is worth mentioning, but it doesn’t quite make my list above.
- Podcast Zoom seems to be new to page one of the Google results. This is the first I have heard of it. It wasn’t performing strongly enough yet to include in my list.
- iPodder.org (aka indiepodder) is no longer being maintained as far as I know.
- You can’t submit your podcast to the NPR podcast directory so I didn’t put it on the list.
Now…who did I remove from the original list? There were a couple podcast directories that I initially had high hopes for, but that didn’t live up to my expectations. A lot has changed in podcasting since my original list. Podcasting was much younger then. Here are the ones that dropped off:
- Transistr – this podcatcher (formerly ioOdderX) showed promise to take a strong second place to iTunes in market share. Because they included a directory right in the software, it seemed a good idea to have your podcast listed with them. When I wrote the book a new release of the software was supposed to be right around the corner. A year later…we’re still waiting. I’m not holding my breath.
- Zencast – This directory is produced by Creative to go along with their Zen line of MP3 players. Because they place second in market share to the iPod, I hoped that they might be able to compete with iTunes as a podcast directory. It just hasn’t happened.
Keep your eyes peeled for a Zune podcast directory.
And now….the rest of my story…
There’s one more podcast directory that is no longer on my list, Podcast Bunker. Originally they were on the list for two reasons:
- They were a curated “quality-not-quantity” directory that carefully chose the shows they listed. These kinds of directories often become authoritative sites and provide powerful Google juice.
- They had been rated one of the top 50 coolest web sites of 2005 by Time.
Now they’ve been removed from my list for three reasons.
- Their numbers wouldn’t even put them in the list above—scoring far below the last one in the table.
- They no longer appear to be taking submissions.
- The owner (or someone claiming to be the owner) clearly did not want to be included in my book. He made this apparent on the phone amidst swearing and yelling.
He told me that I should have asked permission to recommend their site. He also complained that I misrepresented them by stating that they required those who were listed in their directory to link back to their site. He claimed that has never been the case. I told him that all the info in my book was taken straight from their submission page (which now no longer exists).
So I consulted the Wayback Machine, an online project that archives snapshot versions of web sites through time (kind of scary, eh?). I pulled up the submission page as it existed when I wrote that chapter of my book in February 2006. You can see the archived page here.
The language clearly states:
(Important -please read) We also require that you place a link to The Podcast Bunker on your site. When you submit your site to The Podcast Bunker, you agree to place a link on your site if we add your Podcast to our listings. We will email you the location to the images for linking when we list your Podcast.
Maybe he’s forgetful. I don’t understand why someone would be so upset about me promoting their site in a book that is specifically targeted to their demographic. Like I said, it was surreal. I always like to give the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was having a bad day. Maybe it wasn’t the owner at all (although that seems an odd prank to pull). If you own the Podcast Bunker and didn’t call me, please let me know.
Anyway, which podcast directories didn’t I list that give you a nice stream of traffic? Please share your experience and suggestions in the comments.
March 10th, 2007 at 10:34 am
Great post Jason – there’s something I’d like to add. Be sure to read the fine print when you submit to a directory. In some cases, you may be giving rights to the directory owner that you might want reserved for yourself.
And I strongly agree that iTunes is the most important. We get 80% of our traffic from them and our advertisers NEVER ask us how we sit in any other directory. They just want to know where we rank in iTunes. That’s something to ponder if you want to sell ads.
Lastly, I can vouch for the link-back request at Podcast Bunker, which is why I never submitted any of my shows to them.
Again, great post as usual.
March 10th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Scott,
Sage advice on reading the fine print. You also have to look at how the directory uses your content. For instance, PodShow puts it in a javascript pop-up player surrounded by ads. So you have to ask yourself if you mind that.
March 10th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
I’m not sure which directories are best for generating traffic, but I wanted to point out that there’s a huge difference in the number of podcasts/episodes indexed at each of the directories. That makes me wonder about the quality of the directory. For instance, Podcast Alley has almost 6 times as many episodes listed as Podcast Pickle does. Might be another thing to consider!
March 10th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Jason, great stuff. And I commend you for telling us about the phone call. That may bring you some headaches in the future, but it is good that you shared this with us.
Digg. Hmmm. I am not sure what is going on there, but since I got listed with them in early January, I consistently have between 17% and 30% of my weekly visitors come from my listing there. I don’t post on digg. I really have not given it much weight. But any site that drives 30% of your total traffic in a week is worth considering. Of course, I also don’t have 3,000 visitors a week, more on the order of 100. But, a percentage is a percentage. They are worth listing at I believe.
March 10th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Mack,
That is an interesting point that I had not thought about. Are you suggesting that having more podcasts listed is better or worse? Please share more.
DPeach,
Thanks for sharing your Digg experience. That definitely sounds like a healthy stream of traffic and worth having in your arsenal. You’ve certainly had more success with it than I have. But, I figured that for certain podcasts the Digg directory could provide some gold.
March 10th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Jason, I think it has to do with the category I am in. I don’t have a lot of diggs, but I am on the third page of my category, Religion. The podcast is Missionary Talks. Podcasting Underground is currently on page 20. I don’t think people just browse back to page 20 looking for something to listen to.
I have a definite advantage with people just casually looking around. It would not be hard to see people browsing back just 3 pages. I am just a handful of diggs away from page 2. If I get there I might even see a bigger spike in my traffic.
March 11th, 2007 at 2:42 am
I am thinking having more episodes/podcasts listed is bad. It suggests to me there is no deleting of dead ones (thinking about podfading here). Or maybe that filtering of duplicates isn’t as good.
I suppose it’s a matter of personal opinion. My gut tells me that the smaller directory that grows slowly but steadily is probably going to be most useful (includes mainly active podcasters, no duplicates, removing deleted episodes, etc).
We’ve tracked the growth of directories for quite some time now…maybe I should do a post about it.
March 11th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Mack,
I can see your point about cleaning out “dead” podcasts from a directory. But what about the value of a podcast’s archives even if it has “podfaded.” A listener could still find “evergreen” content listed in the directory. Duplicated are a problem. Yahoo! Podcasts is a big culprit of having duplicate podcasts AND episodes listed.
I do wish, though, that iTunes did a better job of keeping things “cleaned up.” But I can also see that it could be logistically difficult in come cases.
Slow, steady growth and selectivity are what intrigued me about Podcast Bunker. I liked having an example in my list of a directory that was more “selective” in its listings and going for quality not quantity. Hopefully someone with a little more sense can start another directory like this.
You definitely should do a post about the growth of podcast directories. That would be a VERY interesting post indeed. Let me know if you do it.
March 13th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Another criteria that I think is often overlooked when evaluating podcast directories is their level of organization — which is tied to the number of podcasts they list. A directory can list thousands of shows, but if they are organized into too few categories, finding the podcasts you like becomes a challenge — and, theoretically, you’d see less traffic from that directory. (I offer Podcast Alley as the prime example of this.)
I do think it’s possible to list many podcasts, and organize them into tighter categories for better access. I’ve always liked Podcast Pickle’s approach to this, although they didn’t make your list.
Excellent post – many thanks!
March 13th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Hi Diane,
Good input. And actually…Podcast Pickle did make my list.
March 14th, 2007 at 9:49 am
You also left our Morpheus which supports Podcasting and has some following. How do they stack up with the others sites? Nice report Jason.
March 28th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Great post Jason and thanks for the updates. The comments have also been great with new places to promote my new podcast! Sweet!
April 5th, 2007 at 8:36 am
The site looks great ! Thanks for all your help ( past, present and future !)
June 1st, 2007 at 7:33 am
Very interesting post. But it makes sense to pay attention as well to new niche podcast directories like educational podcast directory Learn On The Go.
Thanks.
July 15th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Take a look at The Key Event podcast portal it allows a
podcaster or anyone else to embed the directory’s interface in their website or blog. Even though this directory is fairly new it may offer new ways for podcasters to expose their shows
August 6th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Here is another: Castipod.com Podcast Directory
December 18th, 2007 at 2:18 am
Very strange that someone would get so angry about being promoted. You cant pay for that kind of coverage. DINGBAT… IT’S FREEEE! I’ll never understand that. Great post Jason.
March 30th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
That was really a great post by Jason and thanks for the updates. The comments have also been great with new places to promote my new podcast! Very nice of you