Apple Podcasts new podcast categories - picking the right one for your podcast

Choosing the correct category for your podcast is now a serious consideration, thanks to a major Apple podcast's update recently.

But how do you go about choosing it?

Well, that's the point of this episode.

Okay, so your podcast is all up and running, and hopefully you launched it having properly planned and strategized it.

If you haven't, it's never too late.

But we'll come to that in a bit because once the episodes are recorded, the artwork's locked in, and you've even managed to write a half decent show description without slipping into marketing waffle.

Then comes the important decision around which category you should choose to publish it in.

And let me tell you, getting this wrong can impact on your chances of getting discovered, particularly if your podcast marketing is purely organic.

Apple Podcasts has just updated their app to include a very specific section on categories.

This means you can now find podcasts based on the category they're in.

And any podcasts you're already following are broken up into categories too.

This is actually a pretty significant change that brings Apple Podcasts closer to to the offerings of their competition.

Let's get into that now.

Here's why Apple podcast categories actually matter.

Most indie podcasters don't give two about which category they slap their show into.

Some will just throw it into society and culture because that sounds nice and broad.

Others might chuck it into business because they think they're dropping revenue earning knowledge bombs.

And then you got the people who pick at random because they they just want to get the bloody thing launched.

Here's why that's a terrible idea.

Apple Podcasts is still one of the biggest platforms for podcast listeners.

And Apple's category system doesn't just affect where your podcast sits in their directory.

It also determines who you're competing against and what chart you might actually stand a chance of ranking in.

If that's important to you.

And let's be honest, it probably is.

Yes, pick a crowded category and you're going to be drowning in a sea of established, well funded, algorithm friendly podcasts with teams of people marketing them.

Pick a less competitive one and suddenly you've got a fighting chance of getting noticed.

But just how crowded are these Categories?

Back in 2021, podcast researcher Dan Meisner did a deep dive into just how packed Apple's podcast categories were.

He analyzed over 1.6 million podcasts and 38 million episodes to figure out where the indie podcaster might have a chance of actually standing out.

Here's what he found.

Education was the most crowded category, even more than society and culture.

This makes sense because every other podcast seems to be about learning something every day or unlocking your potential.

End quote.

Yawn.

Some of the most overcrowded subcategories included self improvement and personal journals, which is unfortunate because these are where a lot of indie podcasters are naturally gravitating towards.

On the flip side, some categories had barely any competition.

Things like volleyball, swimming and rugby under sports, as well as mathematics and crafts.

Now, of course, unless your show is actually about volleyball or Pythagoras theorem, that's probably not much use to you.

But what it does tell us is that the more niche you go, the better your chances of ranking in a category that's not already flooded.

So here's how indie podcasters can use this to their advantage.

If you're running a podcast as a one person band, you don't have the luxury of a massive marketing budget or a team to help boost your discoverability.

You know people like me, so you probably need to be strategic about your category choice.

Here's how you can be.

First of all, be specific with your subcategory.

Instead of chucking yourself into society and culture, could your show fit into documentary or relationships instead of education?

Could it go in courses?

If you go too broad, you're competing with massive podcasts like TED Talks.

If you go a little bit more niche, you've got a better shot at standing out.

Secondly, check out your competition before you commit to a category.

Go on Apple Podcasts and see what's actually ranking.

If you see a list dominated by big name shows with production teams and celeb guests, ask yourself, do I really want to compete with this?

If the answer is probably not, then pivot.

And thirdly, avoid the super prolific categories.

What do I mean by this?

Well, some categories have a ridiculously high number of episodes per podcast.

This means the shows in these spaces are churning out content like maniacs.

Examples include, firstly, Judaism, Buddhism and Christianity.

Under religion and spirituality.

These subcategories are insanely prolific.

With some podcasts dropping daily sermons, it'll be hard to compete with that.

Then there's news and true crime.

If you're not releasing at least weekly, you're getting buried.

Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

If your podcast fits into one of these spaces and you've got the stamina to keep up, great.

If not, consider a category where weekly or even fortnightly releases will still cut through.

I'd love to be able to give you the answer to all this, but without knowing your specific niche and topic, I'M absolutely not going to be able to advise you through a podcast episode.

Fourthly, consider where your listeners actually browse Your podcast might have crossover appeal across different categories, but where's your ideal listener actually looking for content?

If your show is about mental health but also leans into personal growth, health and fitness might serve you better than self improvement.

If you're running a business podcast, don't just dump it in business.

Maybe entrepreneurship or marketing would give you better exposure to the right audience.

And a final thought on this Categories aren't set in stone.

A lot of indie podcasters don't realize this, but you can actually change your category later and as often as you like.

If you start off in society and culture and realize you're drowning amid the noise, you can switch to something else.

That said, don't treat this as a casual decision.

Every time you change categories, you risk confusing Apple's algorithm and your existing audience.

So do your research, be intentional and don't just pick the first thing that sounds good.

And most importantly, make a choice that helps you get discovered.

Not lost amid the noise.

Now, I mentioned at the beginning of the episode that a lot of this is handled by doing proper strategizing and planning.

If you skip this step, it's not too late for you to correct it.

Now, I offer consultancy sessions with podcasters of all shapes and sizes.

If you'd like to book one, grab the link in the episode description or go to podmastery.co strategy.

That's podmastery co strategy.

Best of luck.

The Podmaster is a pod nosed production.

Find out more about us at Podnos Co uk.

Podnos.