Podcast Metadata Analysis
Learn more about how you can optimize your show's metadata to perfectly match the podcast platform requirements and best practices
The PPO Metadata Checklist is an essential tool within the Podcast Platform Optimization (PPO) feature set on PODIUS.io. It helps you understand how well your podcast metadata aligns with platform best practices—and how to improve it for better visibility and discoverability.
Where Can I Find It?
Head over to Podcast Platform Optimization and verify your podcast if you have not done so yet. The metadata checklist is only available for verified shows. Open the podcast page and navigate to the "Metadata" section. Scroll to the bottom to find the metadata checklist. This section will take a couple of seconds to load.
What Is the Metadata Score?
At the top of the Metadata section, you’ll find your Metadata Score, a number between 0 and 100. This score indicates how well your show is optimized across different podcast platforms. If your podcast has perfectly optimized metadata, the score will be 100.
Warnings (🟠) subtract 3 points from your score. Errors (🔴) subtract 5 points from your score.
Depending on how many issues there with your podcast, the score will be higher or lower. The score updates in real time — just refresh the page after making changes to your feed. Read this article to learn more about our scores.
What We Check
Our evaluation is based on platform guidelines, industry best practices, and our in-house expertise. We analyze your podcast's metadata across the following criteria:
Criteria | Checks |
|---|---|
Podcast Title | eg., optimal length, special characters, unnecessary filler words |
Podcast Author & Owner | eg., owner email available, optimal length, podcast owner set |
Podcast Description | eg., no html used, includes podcast title, optimal length, includes social media links |
Language | eg., language provided, valid language ISO code |
Genres | eg., genre validity, min and max genres reached |
Cover Art | eg., fast loading speed, file size, resolution, file format |
Episode Details | eg., descriptions, title and audio source provided for each episode, trailer available, chapters available |
Feed | eg., feed latency, secure connection, feed size |
Miscellaneous | eg., copyright, explicit tag set, external link set |
We tailor our analysis to the platforms where your podcast is published:
RSS Feed
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Cross Platform (to ensure metadata consistency across platforms and catch typos or discrepancies)
Note: Some platform checks may be more detailed than others, depending on the available data.
Status Types Explained
Every check in the checklist has one of three status types:
🟢 Green (Okay) – Everything looks good. No action needed.
🟠Amber (Improvements Recommended) – Not critical, but improving this area can boost discoverability.
🔴 Red (Action Needed) – There's a serious issue. We strongly recommend addressing it immediately.
Why This Matters
Optimized metadata ensures your podcast:
Appears more frequently in platform searches
Has better chances of being recommended or featured
Gives listeners a clearer understanding of your show
Want to improve your score? Start by resolving any Red issues, then work on Amber recommendations. Your Metadata Score will update automatically after each change — just refresh the page to see your progress. It may take up to 24 hours to see your score change propagate throughout PODIUS.
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