Google Developer Advocate and Search Relations team member Martin Splitt answers a question about the SEO benefits of having audio versions of your blog posts, reaffirming what Google has been saying for years!
Audio article versions and search rankings benefits
During the most recent SEO Office Hours Shorts video, Martin was asked if adding audio versions of blog articles would help improve the page rankings. Martin’s answer reaffirmed what Google has been saying since February 2021.
Here’s the question:
- “Will adding audio version of my blog article impact the page’s rankings?”
Splitt’s answer was concise, and although he said it wouldn’t help improve SEO, he advised doing it anyway.
Martin’s reply:
- “Unlikely, I don’t think it will; I think it is a good thing for the user, though, so I would definitely do it, but not for SEO reasons.”
Google’s previous advice on audio versions
Google’s Search Advocate, John Mueller, answered a similar question during a Google Search Central SEO hangout in February 2021.
Mueller said adding audio versions to text posts, neither helps nor hurts rankings. However, he also addressed a point about duplicate content that Martin Splitt failed to mention (possibly because it wasn’t in the question).
Here’s John’s reply to a similar question from 2021:
- “As far as I know, we don’t do anything with audio versions of content. We also wouldn’t see that as duplicate content, so it’s not that you have to avoid that.
I mean, duplicate content itself isn’t something you really have to avoid, but even if you wanted to avoid the situation that you’re suddenly ranking for the same things with different pieces of content, the audio version is something that we, as far as I know, would not even process separately.
At most we might see that as a piece of video content and show that also with a video snippet. But, essentially, it wouldn’t help or detract from a page’s overall ranking.”
The indirect benefits of adding audio to your blog posts
Although four years apart, Mueller and Splitt’s answers to the question, “Will adding audio version of my blog article impact the page’s rankings?” are similar.
Both say adding audio won’t improve your page rankings, but indirect benefits exist.
Here’s Mueller’s explanation:
- “I don’t think we would look at that and say: “Oh, there are different kinds of content here; it’s a better page because of that.
It might be that there are indirect effects, like if users find this page more useful and they recommend it more, that’s something that could have an effect.”
Sure, the answers are vague, but they hit on an important point.
Whilst Google doesn’t rank a page higher because it has multiple content versions, adding audio to your articles can indirectly help your blog reach a wider audience (for example, the visually impaired or auditory learners), boost engagement rates, enhance your user experience, and encourage sharing.
All of these make adding audio to your text posts a worthwhile endeavor.
