Google on Thursday announced the ability to play podcasts directly in desktop and
mobile search results. It will launch today in the U.S. for English-language queries.
Later this year, the company plans to bring the same capability to Google Assistant and Google Podcasts
for the web.
Starting today, Google will begin serving playable episodes in search results alongside web pages, news, images and videos, when someone searched for a podcast about a topic in
Google search.
Zack Reneau-Wedeen, product manager of Google Podcasts, used “about Awkwafina” or “Instant Pot recipe podcasts” as two examples in a blog post.
Google, which announced the forthcoming service earlier this year, will serve episodes based on the search algorithm’s understanding of what is being discussed on a podcast. Soon, people
searching for podcasts won’t even need to enter the term “podcast” to find the content.
advertisement
advertisement
For Google Assistant, users will need to say “Hey Google, play a podcast about
Marie Curie,” or state another topics. The Assistant will suggest relevant episodes for them.
In Google Podcasts for web, users will have an option to search for relevant shows and
episodes and listen on the computer or the phone.
As always, the progress of listening to the podcast is synced with other devices, so the user can pick up where they left off anywhere on
another device.
Marketers looking for a way to increase their search engine optimization strategy might want to consider podcasts, from free to subscription services.
Podcast
publishers will soon have the ability to specify where users can listen to their podcasts, such as other apps or websites. The user will have the option to discover podcasts that are exclusively
available by purchase or subscription.