Why a Podcast Search Engine Matters for PR Campaigns
If you’re working in podcast PR, you know that finding the right shows to pitch is half the battle. Pitching the wrong show can be disastrous for your client and the show. For example, Bobby Lee of the famed Bad Friends podcast ended up on The Iced Coffee Hour, a personal finance show. Bobby clearly had no idea why he was there; he hates managing money, and the hosts are known for being super frugal. Just watch this clip to see how awkward it got. You definitely want to avoid that.
A purpose-built podcast search engine helps you do just that. It makes your PR campaigns more effective by helping you:
- Find the Right Podcasts:
- Quickly filter through shows that actually discuss topics your client cares about (like our "real estate" example).
- Use comprehensive filters to narrow the field. Think audience size, listener location, how active the podcast is, and even social media clout.
- Vet Potential Opportunities:
- Understand a podcast’s estimated audience size and engagement.
- Review recent guests and topics to see if your client is genuinely a good fit.
- Streamline Your Outreach:
- Easily find contact details, like emails or guest submission forms, without digging forever.
- Gather the key info needed to make your pitch relevant. (Self-promo alert: Some tools, like Podseeker, go further and help craft personalized pitches, but we'll get to that later).
- Stay Organized:
- Save lists of potential podcasts, keep notes on them, and easily track your outreach progress all in one place.
By exploring several podcast search tools side-by-side, you can see how each one supports a PR workflow. A good podcast search engine doesn't just find interesting podcasts; it helps you through the whole process, from searching and vetting to pitching and tracking.
Let’s dive in.
1. Podseeker: Built for PR Workflows
Alright, let's talk Podseeker. I built it specifically for PR workflows, aiming to make it the best tool for the job. It helps you easily find relevant podcasts, pitch them, and track your PR campaigns, all in one place.
The whole interface is designed around that workflow. You'll find the search bar right at the top. Just type in what you're looking for – maybe by title, keywords like 'real estate', topics, people's names, you name it.
On the left, you’ll see the filter panel. This is where you really start narrowing things down quickly. I've optimized it based on what PR folks need, so the first three filters are key recommendations:
- Active podcasts: No wasting time on dead shows.
- Has guests: Focus only on shows that actually feature interviews.
- Has emails: Prioritize shows where contact info is readily available.
Just clicking these helps filter out a ton of irrelevant podcasts right away.
But you can get even more specific to find that needle in a haystack. The advanced filters let you exclude certain categories. This is super useful. For instance, maybe you want 'spiritual' podcasts but need to exclude specific 'religious' ones? Or you need 'criminal justice' podcasts but want to avoid 'true crime'? Done. That kind of precision saves a lot of manual sorting later.
Once you have your filtered list, sorting is critical for prioritizing your efforts. You can sort the results by things like estimated audience size, when the latest episode dropped, or even YouTube subscribers and Instagram followers.
And Podseeker supports the next steps too. Once you’ve identified relevant podcasts, you can use the built-in tools to craft your pitch and send emails directly from the platform (so they come from you). Plus, you can track your campaign progress right there. Everything is integrated to keep your PR workflow smooth.
2. Rephonic: Clean and Simple, But Missing a Few Pieces
Next up, Rephonic. Its search interface is clean, simple, and fast—hard to argue with that. Searching “real estate” pulls up a tidy list: titles, publishers, categories, listener stats, active status, and language. Solid start.
- What You See: Results are straightforward, but there’s no upfront hint about whether a podcast takes guests. You’ve got to dig into filters to limit it to guest-friendly shows.
- What’s Missing: No emails or contact links jump out at you from the search page. Click into a podcast, though, and you’ll find more—description, website, audience stats, even a cool 3D graph visualization of listeners.
- Pitch Potential: The podcast page has contact info and a media list feature, which is handy once you’re there.
Rephonic keeps things minimal and loves showing off audience data with flair. It’s useful, but you’ll need to click around a bit more to get the full PR picture.
3. Podchaser: A Community Vibe with Lots of Layers
Podchaser’s search interface is intuitive and simple, but it’s got a lot going on. Type “real estate,” and you’re hit with options: podcasts, episodes, categories, tags, networks, credits, lists, brands, and users. It’s a buffet of info.
- Diving In: Click the “real estate” category, and you get a podcast list. User-submitted tags add flavor, but it’s not always clear how they’re vetted.
- The Network Puzzle: They list Capitol Broadcasting Company as a network, which threw me off—CBC does morning talk shows, not real estate pods. Hmm.
- Credits and Brands: The credits section name-drops folks like “Meet Kevin” and “Donald Trump” tied to real estate. Brands like HelloFresh and Geico pop up too—sponsors, maybe? It’s intriguing but murky.
- Community Feel: Lists (some redundant) and user profiles suggest Podchaser’s big on user-generated content. It’s less about PR workflow and more about podcast fans connecting.
Podchaser’s got depth and a community angle, which is great if you’re exploring. For PR pros on a mission, though, it might feel like too much to sift through.
4. Listen Notes: Fast, Episode-Focused, and a Little Quirky
Listen Notes is another contender with a simple, fast interface. One catch: it defaults to searching episodes, not podcasts. Search “real estate,” and the top result might be a one-off episode from a comedy pod like For Fact’s Sake!—not exactly PR gold.
- Podcast View: Switch to the “Podcasts” tab, and you’re in business. Results show guest-friendly flags, email icons for outreach, categories, and a save-to-list option.
- Podcast Page: You’ll get a description, hosts, topics, and recent episodes. Tags are user-generated (e.g., “353304” for BiggerPockets—huh?), and audience country data adds some context.
- What’s Missing: No guest names in episode lists, which could help for relevance checks.
Listen Notes is quick and functional, but that episode-first quirk might slow you down if you’re hunting specific shows.
5. Podsearch: Old-School Simplicity
Podsearch keeps it basic—think early web vibes. The interface feels a little dated, but it works.
- Search and Filter: Search “real estate,” filter by categories, and bookmark what you like. That’s it.
- Light on Details: No guest info or audience size in the search results. The podcast page gives you basics and listening links, but not much else.
Podsearch is fine for casual discovery, clicking through categories. For PR pros needing depth, it’s too lean.
Beyond Search: Podseeker’s Focus on Achieving PR Goals
Look, there are several tools that are pretty good for just searching podcasts. But the real question is: how does the tool fit your actual PR goals and daily work?
Podseeker was purpose-built for the entire PR workflow. Yes, the search interface and filters are designed to help you find podcasts where you can be a guest. But it doesn't stop there. Once you find a good fit, you can use Podseeker to craft a personalized pitch and send it directly from the platform (so it comes from your email).
There are other features too, maybe beyond the scope of this quick guide, designed to make your day-to-day campaigns easier. Things like setting up client profiles, creating targeted media lists, and more. Even the underlying podcast database itself is curated with PR needs in mind. It’s all about supporting the whole process.
Conclusion
So, based on search power and the specific information PR campaigns need, here’s my ranking of the best podcast search engines we looked at:
To summarize, the list is:
- Podseeker
- Rephonic
- Podchaser
- Listen Notes
- Podsearch
Do you agree with this ranking? Disagree? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let me know at oky@podseeker.co, and I might share different perspectives here later.
Related reading: Why PR Professionals Should Use Specialized Search Engine
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