Substack SEO: How to Grow Your Newsletter

What Is Substack SEO?

Substack SEO refers to the strategies used to optimize Substack newsletters for search engines. 

It involves keyword research, content structuring, backlinks, and on-page SEO tactics to increase visibility. Proper Substack SEO helps newsletters rank in Google, attract organic traffic, and grow their subscriber base.

Why Invest in Substack SEO?

Investing in SEO for Substack can help improve your visibility, help you find more readers, gain better exposure, and potentially earn more from monetizing your content.

Blogging is still around, but nowadays, it’s more popular to write on platforms like Substack. 

Substack in particular is growing its market share, giving writers a chance to monetize and market their newsletter to grow their personal or company brand.

According to Substack’s 2024 statistics, there are more than 4 million Substack paid subscribers and over 10 million active readers, which helps more than 50,000 publishers earn revenue on the platform.

The numbers are still growing, and Substack’s paid subscriber base is increasing every year.

What’s most interesting is that the top 10 Substack newsletter publishers collectively earn more than $40 million a year.

With Substack rising and becoming a go-to place for quality content, the competition for attention is also on the rise. Optimizing for SEO on Substack can give you a better chance in the ring. 

Not sure what steps to take? Here’s what you need to know next.

Is Substack as a Platform SEO-Friendly?

Substack isn’t as SEO-friendly as it could be but, with proper SEO practices, users can give their content a better chance to rank in search engines and gain better exposure.

While the platform might not be the perfect and most SEO-friendly place to publish content, it’s slowly improving. According to users, Substack posts are already performing better in search engines than before:

“Content hosted on Substack.com is doing better on Google overall - I’ve seen significant improvements in my post rankings in recent months, without doing anything differently. Other creators have noticed the same trend.” 

- Source: PubStack Success

Substack users have also mentioned that optimizing new posts for search engines, crafting better headlines, and adding keywords in the URLs helped, among other SEO practices.

“Since I noticed that my posts were doing well on Google, I have spent a little more time optimising new posts for search engines, especially crafting headlines more carefully and making sure post URLs contain keywords.” 

- Source: PubStack Success

While Substack isn’t the most SEO-friendly platform out there, SEO optimization can have a positive impact on the ranking of the content.

But how do you optimize your Substack content for search engines? Here are the best practices.

15 Substack SEO Strategies

1. Switch to a Custom Domain… Or Don’t

A custom domain is a unique, branded web address without substack.com in it. Despite the domain not being present, it still allows others to visit your Substack profile or read a particular post you published on Substack. 

When you register on Substack, you get a subdomain, which contains your chosen username and Substack’s domain. A regular Substack URL looks like this:

It always consists of the following format: USERNAME.substack.com.

However, you can also set up a unique domain name, which looks like this:

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As you can see, a custom domain name doesn’t feature .substack.com anymore, and yet it still leads people to a Substack profile.

While we believe a custom domain is a much sleeker option, there are pros and cons to both keeping the Substack domain name and choosing to use a custom domain name.

Pros of Switching to a Custom Domain

Switching to a custom domain name provides several long-term benefits. 

For one, it allows you to build your own domain authority over time instead of boosting Substack’s.

This can eventually lead to better search rankings, especially if you work on building backlinks to your domain. 

The second long-term benefit is related to building your brand. By putting the spotlight on your brand – instead of the fact that you’re writing on Substack – you can boost recognition and make it easier for readers to remember and find you.

(Some case studies, like this one, also show that brand mentions and recognition can lead to better rankings in AI search engines, like Perplexity or ChatGPT.)

Finally, a custom domain just looks and feels more professional, which may also indirectly increase user trust and engagement.

Pros: 

• Building your own domain authority
• Building your brand
• Professional look
• Potentially increasing user trust and engagement

But before you make the switch, you need to be aware of the potential short-term (or even long-term) setbacks.

Cons of Switching to a Custom Domain

When you choose or switch to a custom domain, you start with zero domain authority. 

This can lead to decreased rankings and traffic, at least until Google reindexes your content or recognizes you as an authority in your industry.

Reindexing can take anywhere between a few weeks to a few months. Building your domain authority can take even longer.

Substack, for example, has a strong domain authority score of 78. 

When you use their domain, you get some of the benefits of this authority. On the flip side, if you use your own unique domain, you don’t get any of that initial boost. 

Cons:

• Starting from zero domain authority
• Potentially decreased rankings and traffic

So, obviously, switching to a custom domain has both its pros and cons – and perhaps you want a solution that lets you reap the benefits without the disadvantages. 

In that case, consider implementing redirects instead of making the full switch. 

Redirecting vs. Switching

Alternatively, you can purchase a unique domain and redirect it to your Substack domain (your profile). 

That way, you give users the option to type in or find you by your domain or brand name, but then automatically get forwarded to your Substack URL. 

For example, if we type in: 

• yourbrandname.com 

We could potentially get automatically redirected to: 

• yourbrandname.substack.com

The best part? All of this happens without the user potentially ever noticing. 

So, to sum up, this approach allows you to:

• use your brand name
• keep your domain slick
• leverage Substack’s domain authority
• skip getting your content reindexed
• minimize potential SEO disruptions

This approach works best for established Substack users. 

New Substack users can choose to build on Substack’s domain and rely on their authority or use a custom domain and grow their authority from scratch. In either case, investing in SEO – especially backlinks – will likely be a must.

2. Choose a Target Keyword for Your Posts and Profile

Every Substack post gives you a chance to get discovered, but you need to use the right keywords.

Each post you write should target a keyword your readers search for. You can think of keywords as bridges between you and new readers acquired via search engines.

Put yourself in your readers’ shoes and think of what keywords they’d search for. 

For example, if we’re writing an article with tips on growing a Substack newsletter, we can assume that people could find it by typing in keywords like:

• substack seo
• how to grow on substack
• how to increase substack subscribers
• get more traffic on substack

To confirm that you, in fact, have the right keywords, use SEO tools like Semrush. These tools let you research keywords and find out if people actually search for them. 

Ideally, you’d find keywords that aren’t overly competitive but still have a decent search volume.

After you find your keywords, make sure to add them to your posts. You should especially add them to your:

• Headline
• The first 100 words of your post
• Image alt text 
• URL

You should also add keywords to your Substack profile. 

For example, you can add them to your:

• Substack profile bio
• Publication description
• Custom domain name (if you decide to use one)
• Tag or topic selections

Optimizing your profile and content will help Google understand what your content is about and who it’s for.

Just make sure to avoid keyword stuffing. Focus on writing content that flows naturally and is helpful to your readers.

3. Cover the Three Fundamentals: Title, URL, Description

Three fundamental things both Google and readers first see include:

• Title - Make it clear, include your keyword, and aim to match your audience’s language and search intent.
• URL slug - Keep it short and readable, and include your main target keyword when possible.
• Meta description - Substack uses the first few lines of your posts as meta descriptions, so use them to summarize the post and feature a keyword naturally.

4. Include Internal and External Links

Links in your content help readers and search engines understand it better and assess its credibility.

Just remember how many times you read an article that references a study but doesn’t link to it. Now, ask yourself: does that vague reference to a no-name study really make the article’s claims more convincing? Probably not. 

And if it doesn't earn your trust, it won’t earn search engines’ trust either.

This makes them less likely to prominently feature that content in their results pages. 

In contrast, high-authority external links – like links to peer-reviewed studies – can help you build that credibility and gain more visibility.

Internal links, on the other hand, primarily help establish your topical authority. They allow search engines to better understand what topics you're an expert in and how they all connect. 

So, for best Substack SEO results, do this: 

• Include internal links to your previous Substack posts and profile page
• Include external links to high-authority websites, like news sites, prominent magazines, and scientific journals

You can also include some version of “Related Reads” in each post, and use it to link to 2 or 3 of your or someone else’s related pages.

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5. Build Backlinks to Your Substack Posts

Backlinks are links from other websites pointing to yours. Search engines treat them as one of the most important ranking factors. 

In a nutshell, the more high-authority websites link to your Substack posts, the more authority they’ll gain and, consequently, the higher they’ll rank. 

You can build backlinks using a number of methods. For example, you can consider:

• Sharing your posts in relevant forums, like Reddit or Quora
• Pitching guest posts or interviews
• Repurposing content on Web 2.0 sites like Medium
• Asking other creators to link to your work where relevant

The problem is, using any one of these methods can be extremely time-consuming and unpredictable. You never know if the person you’re pitching your link to will actually end up publishing it. 

That’s why many content creators, including those on Substack, decide to buy backlinks outright.

If you want to do the same, our link builders can help you. Contact us for backlinks from high-authority websites.

6. Build Backlinks to Your Profile Page

Besides building backlinks to your Substack posts, you should also build some to your profile page.

Profile backlinks help build long-term authority. 

Your profile page is where readers subscribe, explore your posts, and learn more about you. So, obviously, you want it to be discovered often and to rank well.

To drive backlinks to your Substack profile, you can:

• Link to your Substack profile from your bios, guest posts, and other social profiles
• Encourage readers to share your profile page
• Submit the profile URL to newsletter directories or listicles

We’ve helped 12k+ clients improve their SEO by acquiring backlinks from high-authority websites and magazines. Contact us so we can help you build links, too.

7. Leverage Notes to Generate UGC Signals

Most creators know that Substack Notes can help them increase engagement. However, most don’t realize they can also leverage it for SEO.

Posting on Notes can boost early visibility and drive initial traffic spikes — a strong signal of content relevance and interest for both Substack’s algorithm and search engines.

Here’s how to make the most of Substack Notes for SEO:

• Share new posts in Notes with a catchy hook
• Engage with other writers and creators in Notes to stay active and visible
• Encourage others to share or mention your work
• Share short and personal stories to engage with readers

These tactics can boost social signals and positively impact your credibility and discoverability.

8. Add Keywords to Comments

Not many people know that Substack comments are indexed by search engines. This gives you another opportunity to add the keywords you want to be found for.

Of course, only do so when you can naturally include the keywords in your replies.

Not getting many comments you can reply to? Try our next tactic for boosting engagement.

9. Encourage Engagement

Engagement is crucial for both community building and SEO. Substack most likely tracks signals such as likes, comments, shares, and even replies to help choose and show relevant content to its readers.

In other words, high engagement on your posts may improve your visibility both on Substack and in search engines.

To improve the engagement in your posts, include a small call-to-action at the bottom. You can:

• Ask your readers a specific question
• Invite them to leave a comment outright
• Encourage them to share your post

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10. Add Images and Alt Text

Images can make your post easier to read and more engaging. 

And, again, engagement often equals platform visibility.

However, images may also help drive organic traffic from search engines. 

In some cases, they can improve your rankings in the main search results, as well as generate traffic from image-specific SERPs:

To boost your chances of that happening, just make sure you describe your images using alt text.

Alt text describes an image to help crawling bots understand its meaning and relevance to the article. It also helps people with certain disabilities, like visual impairments, better understand visual content.

So, instead of relying on generic alt text or using none at all, make sure you use descriptive and keyword-rich language.

• Bad alt text: laptop
• Good alt text: A woman working on a laptop in a restaurant

Think of alt text as a short description of your image.

11. Connect Substack With GSC and GA4

Connecting Substack with Google Search Console (GSC) and Google Analytics 4 (GA4) can help you collect data on user behavior on your Substack website, traffic, and more. 

This data is crucial for understanding what works and what you should improve.

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GSC helps you see which keywords drive your traffic, how your posts rank, and how Google indexes your content.

GA4 is useful for monitoring user behavior, understanding the performance of various channels you use to drive traffic, and much more.

Connecting GSC and GA4 is fairly straightforward. This official guide from Substack can help you take the right steps.

12. Implement a Sitemap

A sitemap is a document that lists all the URLs on your website. It helps search engines discover, crawl, and index your content efficiently.

Substack automatically generates a sitemap for all its users. You can find yours by adding “/sitemap.xml” at the end of your Substack URL.

For example: “yourURL.substack.com/sitemap.xml”:

To submit your sitemap to Google, log into Google Search Console, select Sitemaps in the menu, and add the URL to your sitemap.

You only have to do this once. 

This will ensure that your content is visible, i.e., that users can find it through Google. 

However, it does not ensure its visibility in other search engines – like Bing or DuckDuckGo. 

If that’s your goal, you should submit your sitemap to these search engines individually. For example, to submit your sitemap to Bing, use Bing Webmaster Tools.

13. Create a Pillar Post

A pillar post is a long-form, evergreen article that thoroughly covers a core topic relevant to your newsletter.

Its purpose is to serve as a central hub for related content — a high-value post that's designed to rank well and provide lasting value.

Such posts can:

• Acquire more backlinks and shares
• Help you internally link to it from all other posts
• Build topical authority in your niche

We recommend choosing a high-volume keyword that matches your newsletter’s theme and creating a comprehensive post on it.

14. Build Topical Authority with Topic Clusters

Pillar posts are comprehensive guides on a core topic. However, to make the most out of them, you should support them with a cluster of related content. 

Search engines value depth and topical authority, so it’s important to create supporting posts that explore specific subtopics in detail. 

For example, if you write a pillar post on SEO, your cluster of related content may cover the following subtopics:

• keyword research
• link building strategies
• local SEO tactics
• measuring SEO success
• …

Together, these posts signal expertise and improve your chances of ranking.

For best results, make sure to interlink them.

Each post can link to the pillar post and every other post in the cluster.

15. Optimize Substack Archive Page for Search Traffic

Substack archive is another indexable part of your Substack profile – which means it can appear in search results.

There’s no quick fix you can implement to ensure it shows up for the right keywords. The only way to do so is to optimize each post. 

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We recommend:

• Writing SEO-friendly headlines, including a keyword in the headline, and aligning them with what people search for
• Writing strong intros (which search engines will use as meta descriptions)
• When possible, organizing your Substack archive for easier navigation and topical relevance

A well-organized archive can act as a secondary homepage and bring in additional traffic.

Order Backlinks for Your Substack Newsletter

Need help growing your Substack newsletter? Boosting your SEO with backlinks can almost always help.

We’ve helped thousands of our clients boost their SEO by building relevant backlinks in high-authority publications. Book a meeting with our team or order your first batch of backlinks for your Substack newsletter today.