Operations
Part of A practical guide to running podcast SEO operations across a full team
Seven podcast SEO team roles mapped to their data sources
Seven podcast SEO team roles and the data each one owns, with inclusion criteria, a numbered sequence for assigning sources, and answers on UK and EU evidence.
What to take away
- The most common mistake is hiring a generalist who owns every number, so nobody can say which source justifies a metadata change.
- Seven roles cover the work. Metadata and technical skills sit alongside audience research, production, distribution, measurement and compliance.
- Each role should own one named source and one decision, not a shared dashboard nobody trusts.
- Inclusion criteriaroles that touch podcast discovery on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and the open web, England first, with notes where Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland differ.
- No ranking by budget is implied, and no tool or vendor is assessed.
Which roles belong in a podcast SEO team
Assign roles to sources before you assign people, and let one person hold two roles in a small show. The definitions below follow the same source-first logic as the launch-stage review of data and sources.
Seven roles and their sources
Role
- Metadata editor
- Titles, descriptions, artwork
- Technical SEO
- Crawlability, sitemaps, page speed
- Audience researcher
- Demand evidence, adoption context
- Content producer
- Transcripts, supporting articles
- Distribution manager
- Feed health, submissions
- Measurement analyst
- Download and click reporting
- Compliance owner
- Consent, disclosure, rights
Owns
- Metadata editor
- Apple Manage your podcast
- Technical SEO
- Google crawler overview
- Audience researcher
- DESI
- Content producer
- Not named
- Distribution manager
- Not named
- Measurement analyst
- Not named
- Compliance owner
- Not named
Source
- Metadata editor
- Technical SEO
- Audience researcher
- Content producer
- Distribution manager
- Measurement analyst
- Compliance owner
The seven roles and their evidence
| Role | Named source | Single decision |
|---|---|---|
| Metadata editor | Apple Podcasts Connect | Whether show title, description or artwork text changes |
| Technical SEO | Google Search Console | Whether a crawl or index fault goes to the fix list |
| Audience researcher | RAJAR MIDAS and Ofcom Media Nations | Which UK audience segment or country page to prioritise |
| Content producer | Spotify for Creators and YouTube Studio | Whether a transcript or article publishes as a discovery asset |
| Distribution manager | Spotify for Creators and Apple Podcasts Connect | Whether a feed change or platform submission goes live |
| Measurement analyst | Spotify for Creators analytics and Apple Podcasts Connect analytics | Whether a download or click trend justifies a metadata test |
| Compliance owner | ICO guidance and Ofcom Broadcasting Code | Whether a listener data or disclosure change is approved |
The metadata editor owns episode titles, descriptions and artwork text, and works from Apple Podcasts Connect and the Manage your podcast page when changing show-level fields on Apple Podcasts.
The technical SEO owns crawlability, sitemaps and episode page speed, and reads Google Search Console and the Google crawler overview to understand how Googlebot and other user agents reach those pages.
The audience researcher owns demand evidence, reading RAJAR MIDAS for UK listening and Ofcom Media Nations for platform use, with cross-country adoption context from the Digital Economy and Society Index.
The content producer owns transcripts and supporting articles, and checks Spotify for Creators and YouTube Studio for transcript and description fields.
The distribution manager owns feed health and platform submission records, and checks Apple Podcasts Connect and Spotify for Creators before a feed change.
The measurement analyst owns download and click reporting, and reads Apple Podcasts Connect analytics, Spotify for Creators analytics and Google Search Console.
The compliance owner owns consent, disclosure and rights questions, and checks ICO guidance and Ofcom Broadcasting Code where broadcast rules apply before signing off any change to listener data collection.
Where roles overlap and where they must not
Metadata and content overlap on episode descriptions, so the metadata editor signs off the final wording. Technical SEO and distribution overlap on feed redirects, so redirect changes sit with the distribution manager. Measurement and compliance overlap on analytics tags, where unclear roles cause rework, because a tag added for reporting can change what consent covers.
How to assign sources to roles
Work through this sequence once, then revisit it each quarter.
Assign sources to roles
- List every show, feed or episode decision
- Name the source behind each decision
- Match each source to one role
- Write source and decision in one tracker line
- Check no source has two owners
- Review gaps and close the two costliest
- Record who approved each change and when
A worked example of one line
For example, a team paying £400 a month for analytics might record this tracker line:
audience researcher | RAJAR MIDAS and Ofcom Media Nations | decision: prioritise England pages for series 3 before Scotland and Wales
That single line gives the role a source and a decision to defend.
What to do when a source is missing
If no source exists, say so in the tracker rather than guessing. A gap is useful evidence when you plan the next hire, and it stops a generalist from inventing a number to close a meeting.
Governance, geography and handover
The wider operations and delivery guide sets out how the roles fit a full delivery cycle.
Geography and rule differences
Most podcast SEO rules here are platform rules rather than law, so they apply across the UK. Where a legal duty applies, check the position in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland separately, because consumer and data rules can differ from England.
Handover and continuity
Write a handover note for each role covering the source, the decision and the last change. When someone leaves, the note keeps the evidence chain intact.
Common questions
How many roles does a small show need?
Two or three. Combine metadata with content, and technical with distribution, then keep measurement separate so reporting stays honest.
Should one person own all the data?
No. Split the sources, then have a second person audit the decision trail each quarter.
Do these roles change with platform updates?
Rarely. The platforms change their interfaces, but the work of feeding, describing and measuring episodes stays with the same roles.
Is this list a buyer's shortlist?
No. It describes internal team roles and the public sources behind them, and it does not assess agencies, tools or suppliers.
