If you’re interested in starting a podcast, choosing the right hosting platform is essential. However, with so many options to choose from, deciding on the best solution can be difficult. There are a variety of factors to consider. SoundCloud is one option that gives you powerful features regardless of if you’re a podcaster or using any type of hosted audio/music content.

SoundCloud is one of the most popular audio & podcast hosting solutions available. This audio social platform positions you to share your podcast with millions and makes it easy to integrate it with WordPress.

In this post, we’ll discuss the benefits of using SoundCloud as a podcast host. Then we’ll walk you through three methods you can use to add your SoundCloud podcast to your WordPress site. Let’s dive into it!

The Benefits of Using SoundCloud to Host Your Podcast

Technically, you don’t need a dedicated host for your podcast. However, we recommend using one. The primary reason for this is because large media files can bog down your site’s speed and hurt its overall performance.

Therefore, to make the most of your podcasting experience, you can use a host such as SoundCloud. While most podcast hosts nowadays are dedicated to podcasting, SoundCloud is also great for musicians, DJs and more, so it gives you flexibility if that is what you’re after.

In addition to making it easy to upload and share your podcast in one place, this platform also provides advanced statistics and analytics for each episode. This means you can gain helpful insight into your podcast performance and make improvements accordingly.

Another benefit of using SoundCloud as your podcast host is that they have a solution for every budget. The free, basic plan includes embed controls, lossless high-quality storage and download, and basic stats.

However, for just a bit more per month, you gain access to the Pro Unlimited plan, which offers a variety of advanced features and tools. This includes scheduled releases and repeat tracks.

Unlike other podcast hosts, SoundCloud operates as a social network of sorts too. This means people can interact and engage with your podcast the same way they would with content on other social media platforms.

Finally, when you use SoundCloud as a podcast host, you’ll have multiple methods you can use to integrate your podcast within your WordPress site. They’re all free and easy to do.

How to Embed a SoundCloud Podcast Within WordPress (3 Methods)

Even though we recommend using a separate platform to host your podcast, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still integrate it with your WordPress site. Creating a website for your podcast can help it grow and make promoting it easier. Let’s take a look at three ways you can add your SoundCloud podcast to WordPress.

1. Embed Your Podcast With Code from SoundCloud

If you want to add a particular podcast episode to your WordPress site, there are a handful of ways you can do this. The first is by using the SoundCloud embed code.

After you sign up for your SoundCloud account and upload and publish your first podcast, you can find the embed code by going to the podcast episode, then clicking on the Share button:

A pop-up window will appear. Click on the Embed tab and copy the code:

You can also preview how the podcast will appear on your WordPress site and adjust the display settings.

Next, go to the back end of the WordPress post or page you want to add the podcast to. In the editor, select the  Custom HTML Block and paste in your code:

When you’re done, save your changes. To preview the podcast on the page, select the Preview button in the top right-hand corner.

2. Use Our Podcast Importer Plugin to Incorporate Advanced Features

While the above two methods can be an effective way to add your podcast episodes to WordPress, neither are particularly efficient. This is why we recommend using our Podcast Importer plugin, which we’ve created to help automate the process:

To use it, install and activate it as you would any other WordPress plugin. Then, from your WordPress admin dashboard, navigate to Tools > Podcast Import SecondLine:

This will bring you to the Import a Podcast screen:

Next, you can simply copy the URL of your SoundCloud podcast feed and paste it into the first text field as you did with the SoundPress plugin. However, as you may have noticed already, the difference with our Podcast Importer plugin lies in the handful of advanced features to choose from:

For example, if you want to have your podcasts automatically imported into your WordPress site as new posts, you can enable this by selecting the box next to Ongoing Import. Additionally, you have the option to:

• Import the feature image for the podcast episodes
• Append the episode number to the post title
• Use an embed audio player instead of the default WordPress player
• Select a post type and author

When you’re done, click on the Import Podcast button at the bottom of the page. That’s it! Now your new podcast episodes will automatically be posted to your WordPress site.

3. Install the SoundPress Plugin on Your WordPress Site

Another way to integrate your SoundCloud podcast with your WordPress site is by downloading and installing SoundPress, which is the SoundCloud WordPress plugin:

This is recommended if you are using an older version of WordPress or still use the Classic Editor, and the plugin is free to download and use.

Once you install and activate it on your WordPress site, you’ll notice an Add SoundCloud button added to the WordPress editor toolbar:

When you click this, a panel will open. Copy the link to your podcast from the SoundCloud platform, then paste it under SoundCloud URL:

Finally, select Done. You’ll then be able to see it within the editor. If you’re satisfied with how it looks, click on the Publish button!

Conclusion

Choosing a reliable platform like SoundCloud to host your podcast can make it easier to upload and share your content. In addition to flexible plans and helpful stats, SoundCloud also makes it easy to add podcast episodes to WordPress.

In this post, we discussed three methods you can use to integrate a SoundCloud podcast with your WordPress site:

1. Embed the code provided by SoundCloud.
2. Use our Podcast Importer plugin to incorporate advanced features.
3. Install the SoundPress plugin on your WordPress site.

Once you have the technical aspects of integrating your podcast with WordPress ironed out, you might consider enhancing the aesthetics and functionality of your podcast website. When you’re ready to do that, we recommend checking out one of our WordPress podcast themes!