Podcasting vs. Blogging: What Actually Works to Grow a Business in 2026?
“Which is better for growth?” is one of the most common questions I hear when people are debating blogging versus podcasting. The truth is, there isn’t a universal winner. Both platforms can be incredibly powerful… it just depends on where you’re starting from and how you want to reach your audience.
If you’re launching without an audience, blogging is the stronger starting point for 2026. If you already have a community paying attention to you, podcasting may be the faster accelerator.
Here’s why.
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Searchability Still Favors Blogging (By a Lot)
When it comes to podcasting vs. blogging, blogs are built for search — and the numbers back it up:
- Companies with blogs generate 67% more leads per month than those without.
- 80% of bloggers say blogging drives strong marketing results.
- Businesses that use blogging as a marketing tool are 13x more likely to see a positive ROI. (read more stats here)
Blogs can rank, drive traffic, and generate leads for years if optimized well. In my own experience, I started a destination wedding business in 2017 and blogged consistently for three years. Even now, that content brings in steady leads every month. I don’t personally run the service anymore — someone on my team manages the inquiries — but the organic traffic machine continues to do the work.
That is the long-tail power of search. A single well-optimized blog post can keep sending traffic your way for months or even years. It’s one of the few marketing channels where your effort compounds instead of disappearing 24 hours later.
Can people find podcasts organically through search?
I love podcasting too, I’ve been hosting my marketing podcast for two years and just passed 100+ episodes, so I’m not knocking the medium. Podcasts can absolutely grow your brand and build trust quickly, especially if you already have people listening.
But despite what some creators claim, most people aren’t discovering podcasts by searching things like “How do I grow on Instagram?” or “How do I hire a web designer?” Even if the episode exists on that exact topic, podcasts rarely rank the way written content or Pinterest does.
Podcast discovery tends to come from:
- The host promoting episodes directly
- Word-of-mouth
- Guest appearances
- Social media repurposing
- Recommendation algorithms
In other words, when it comes to podcasting vs. blogging, podcasts are not a passive marketing channel. You don’t publish and wait for organic traffic to roll in — you actively drive listeners to the show if you want it to grow.
Combining Blogging With Podcasting
There is an exception here: podcast episodes tend to perform significantly better when paired with SEO-optimized blog posts. It doesn’t need to be one or the other in the case of podcasting vs. blogging.
If you’re repurposing, don’t just copy the show notes, paste a few paragraphs, or drop the raw transcript. That won’t rank (and it’s a terrible user experience anyway).
The version that works is a full blog post that:
- breaks down the key takeaways
- stands on its own
- gives someone a reason to stick around
- is optimized for search
If a listener can finish your episode and then skim the blog for the highlights, you’ve done it right. This strategy allows the blog to handle discovery while the podcast handles depth and connection.
Should you start a podcast or start blogging in 2026?
It depends on where you’re starting.
If you already have an audience that’s engaged and wants to go deeper, podcasting can be an incredible nurture tool — and may even make more sense than starting a blog first.
However, blogs are much better for attracting new audiences. Podcasts are better for strengthening relationships with people who already care.
And the numbers back that up: the average listener stays engaged through about 75% of an episode. Considering that the typical episode is around 41 minutes, that means people are spending roughly 30 minutes each week listening to you. (Those stats can be found here and here)
Compared to the micro-attention of social platforms, that’s huge.
One of the biggest advantages podcasting has over blogging is intimacy. Listeners bring you along while they drive, run errands, make dinner, or go on a walk. You’re literally in their ear — and that creates familiarity, trust, and a deeper relationship over time.
That’s why I see podcasting as a powerful middle-of-funnel channel. If someone already knows who you are, a podcast gives them a reason to stick around and stay connected. It’s less ideal for discovery, though. For a brand-new prospect, listening to a 40-minute episode from someone they’ve never heard of is a big ask. Skimming a blog? Much easier.
What I’ve Seen From Doing Both Podcasting and Blogging
I’m not speaking in theory when it comes to podcasting vs. blogging here — I’ve done both for years.
I started podcasting at the very beginning of 2024 and I’m now two years in with over 100 episodes. Before that, I had already seen what blogging could do for my first business in the wedding industry, where I’ve been blogging since 2017. And since 2020, I’ve been blogging for other business owners as well.
Between those experiences and my service that repurposes podcast episodes into SEO-optimized blog posts, I’ve watched how well these two platforms work together when layered strategically.
Stacking both podcasting and blogging
Not everyone has the time or resources to operate on multiple channels, but if you can pair them, blogging and podcasting make an extremely effective ecosystem.
A simple model looks like this:
- Blog → Top of funnel
Attracts new people through Google and Pinterest, and acts as passive lead generation. - Podcast → Middle of funnel
Builds trust, deepens connection, and nurtures the people who already found you.
Then, for the final step in the pipeline, I’d add email marketing. Once someone is reading your blog or listening to your podcast, you don’t want the journey to end there. Strong calls to action and consistent emails help turn attention into action.
Podcasting vs. Blogging: What The Data Tells Us
Blogging continues to be one of the strongest evergreen traffic channels heading into 2026. Companies that use blogs generate 67% more leads than those that don’t, and 90% of marketers still rely on blogging as a core content strategy. In an era where customer acquisition is expensive and attention spans are short, the ability to compound traffic over time is a major advantage.
Now compare that with podcasting:
- Over 584 million people listen to podcasts globally (as of 2025)
- 69% of listeners say podcasts helped them discover new brands
- 68% have made a purchase based on a podcast recommendation
Sources are above*
Those numbers support the difference in how each channel functions. Blogging helps people find you. Podcasting helps people trust you. And trust is what leads to conversions.
So Which Is Better for Growing a Business in 2026?
The real question isn’t which platform is better in general — it’s which platform is better for you based on where you are right now.
Here’s the recommendation I give most people in 2026:
If you’re just starting out or you need consistent visibility:
Start with blogging. It’s highly searchable, easier to scale, takes less money to set up, and builds an asset library you can later repurpose into other formats (including podcast episodes). Blogs compound — and compounding is the dream scenario for marketing.
If you already have an audience and you want to deepen the relationship:
Start a podcast. Long-form listening builds trust in a way few platforms can match. Just make sure it sits inside a holistic strategy — podcasts rarely grow from search alone, so you need a visibility and repurposing plan from day one.
Which one are you going to try? Head to my Youtube video and let me know in the comments!
