Apple Podcasts Web Embed Finally Arrives, Helping You Nibble Before Biting

Even when it’s free, subscribing seems like a big step. Are you really going to like that podcast, or is it going to be boring? Will you get huge value from it, or will it be packed with ads.

Today, Apple finally released something most podcasters have wanted for years: web embeds.

“The new Apple Podcasts embed player offers you a way to showcase your podcast on a website,” Apple says. “Visitors can play an episode, browse recently published episodes, and open Apple Podcasts for iOS, iPadOS, or macOS to learn more and subscribe for free.”

They’re also good for podcast listeners, who can now easily give a podcast a listen, check a few recent episodes, and make a more informed decision if they want to click through and make a longer-term commitment to a podcast. The embeds come in four different sizes that are responsive to the website they’re embedded in and also respect “dark mode” if viewed in Apple’s browser, Safari.

The embed tools are available in Apple’s podcast marketing tools, which include links, buttons, badges, icons, and — if you’d like — even a QR code option.

This is a feature podcasts have been waiting a long time for. Spotify, one of Apples biggest competitors in podcasting, has offered web embeds for years via its podcasting tool Anchor, and many of the other podcast platforms such as Transistor.fm offer something similar.

The good news for both podcasters and podcast listeners is that competition in this space is heating up, which means there’s an arms race now to provide better tools for creation, marketing, and consumption.