Tutorials Podcasting

Podcast RSS Feed Explained

Beginner · ~15 min

Overview

An RSS feed is the backbone of podcasting. Understanding what it is and what it must contain will save you hours of troubleshooting when directories reject your submission or episodes fail to appear. This guide explains the structure, the required tags, and how to check your feed is valid.

What You Need

Your podcast host's RSS feed URL
A text editor or browser (to view the XML)
Our RSS Feed Validator tool

Steps

What an RSS feed actually is

An RSS feed is an XML file hosted at a permanent URL (e.g. https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/12345.rss). It's a structured list of your show's metadata and episodes. When Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other directory subscribes to your feed, they poll it periodically and download new episodes automatically. You never "push" to Spotify. They pull from you.

Required channel-level tags

These describe your show as a whole and must appear inside the <channel> block: <title>, <description>, <link>, <language> (e.g. en-gb), <itunes:author>, <itunes:image href="...">, <itunes:category text="...">, and <itunes:explicit> (true or false). Apple Podcasts will reject any feed missing these.

Required episode-level tags

Each <item> block represents one episode and must contain: <title>, <enclosure url="..." length="..." type="audio/mpeg"> (this is the actual audio file link), <guid> (a unique permanent identifier), <pubDate> (RFC 2822 format), and <itunes:duration>. The <guid> is immutable, never change it after publishing or directories will treat it as a new episode.

Validate your feed

Use our RSS Feed Validator: paste your raw RSS XML and it checks for all required iTunes and Spotify tags. Alternatively, open your feed URL in a browser, if you see well-formed XML, it's readable. Malformed XML (mismatched tags, unescaped ampersands) will cause silent failures across all directories.

Protect your feed URL

Your RSS feed URL is the identity of your podcast. If you ever change podcast hosts, use feed redirect (most hosts support this). It inserts a <itunes:new-feed-location> tag pointing to the new URL. Directories honour this redirect within a few days. Never simply abandon the old URL or your subscribers will stop receiving new episodes.

Pro Tips

Always wrap descriptions in <![CDATA[...]]> if they contain HTML, otherwise angle brackets break the XML.
Episode GUIDs should be permanent URLs or UUIDs. Many hosts generate them automatically.
The <itunes:type> tag (episodic or serial) affects how Apple Podcasts orders episodes in its interface.

Knowledge Base

What You'll Learn

Understand podcast RSS feeds, how they work, and how to configure your feed for maximum discoverability. Learn iTunes/Apple Podcasts requirements and how to troubleshoot common RSS issues.

What Is an RSS Feed?

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a file that aggregates your podcast episodes. Podcast apps (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts) read your RSS to know when new episodes drop. If RSS is broken, your show won't update in apps.

Essential RSS Tags

<title> Your podcast name.
<description> 1-2 sentence summary. Appears in podcast directories.
<author> Your name or podcast brand.
<image> Cover art. Must be JPG/PNG, 1400x1400px minimum.
<language> Usually "en" for English.
<explicit> "Yes" or "No." Affects discoverability and parental controls.

Episode Tags

<item> Each episode is an item.
<title> Episode name.
<description> Show notes and episode summary.
<enclosure> Points to audio file (MP3, M4A, etc).
<pubDate> Publication date.
<guid> Unique identifier (prevents duplicates).

Submission Checklist

Validate your RSS. Submit to Apple Podcasts (2-7 days approval). Submit to Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music. Most platforms auto-discover within 24-48 hours after first submission.

Where This Fits

This guide covers one specific part of podcasting. The wider picture. The whole setup from equipment and recording through editing, publishing, and handling remote guests, is in Best Podcast Setup for Beginners, which frames the discipline as a whole and links out to the detailed guides underneath it, including this one. If you are starting from scratch rather than solving a specific problem, read that first and come back here.

FAQ

Q: What happens if I change my RSS feed URL?
A: Avoid it if at all possible: changing your feed URL effectively creates a new podcast in most directories, orphaning your existing subscribers and reviews. Update content within your existing feed instead of migrating hosts in a way that changes the URL.

Q: Why hasn't my new episode shown up in an app yet?
A: Most apps poll RSS feeds periodically rather than instantly, so a delay of a few hours to a day is normal. If it's been longer, validate your RSS feed for errors first. A malformed feed can silently stop updating in some apps.