In recent years, we have seen podcasts becoming a important source of entertainment and information for many users. This is mainly due to the fact that they are available whenever we want and we can listen to them practically anywhere. Also, most of them do not offer advertising, although everything will come and I don't think it will take long.
Earlier this week, Apple sent an email to content providers in Apple's Podcast section informing them of the upcoming changes in the treatment of your section metadata. Either those changes weren't well explained by Apple or the podcasting community got it wrong. Apple has sent a new email explaining the new terms.
In the original email that Apple sent to the main content providers, it detailed the errors they should avoid such as including the text of the placeholders of their hosting provider, the literal repetition of the title or naming the author in the description, adding irrelevant content or spam and add episode numbers in titles.
In the first email, Apple hinted that if these guidelines were not followed, podcasts could be removed or rejected outright from podcasts stating that: "Poor quality podcast metadata can affect submissions, as well as active shows, so it is advisable to adhere to quality standards."
Federico Viticci, one of the most critical of this change in the guidelines, has received an email from Apple that states that podcasts they will not be eliminated at any time for showing the episode number in the title.
We've had a lot of questions about best practices for metadata on Apple podcasts. We want to provide more details and clarification as you think about improving your program's metadata.
Your show will not be removed for having episode numbers in the episode titles
Starting with iOS 11 in September 2017, we introduced modern RSS tags to improve podcast metadata. These tags include support for seasons, trailers, and episode numbers. The new tags help us present your show to your listeners on Apple podcasts and present your listening data to you on analytical podcasts.
