Cross-Platform Delivery & Discoverability (Google)

Role: Product Lead for Dev Audio (Producer, Google Developer Media Lab)

Focus: Platform Constraints · Product Discoverability · Accessibility

I designed the delivery and discovery framework for Google's Search Off the Record podcast across a fragmented third-party ecosystem. I addressed UI limitations, distribution latency, and accessibility gaps while building owned discovery surfaces and running awareness experiments. Simple tactics—Smart App Banner and an announcement bar—lifted downloads by 146% and 247%, respectively. I also validated demand for transcripts, built the workflow, and saw ~21% listener adoption.

146%
Smart App Banner
Downloads Increase
247%
Announcement Bar
Downloads Increase
21%
of Listeners
Transcript Downloads
1.5M
in ≈2.5 Years
Total Downloads

Problem / Opportunity

Google's video ecosystem benefited from end-to-end ownership: hosting (YouTube), discovery (Search and YouTube), and accessibility (auto-captions). The podcast ecosystem, by contrast, was a fragmented network of third-party platforms: podcast players such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Overcast, each with its own UI standards, feed-propagation timelines, and accessibility limitations.

Google Developer Media Lab had only just begun experimenting with audio-only formats. There was no internal playbook, and our media engineering, design, and content management teams had few established workflows.

My research into delivery platforms, early user feedback, and adoption metrics surfaced several friction points:

The challenge was to mitigate delivery and launch risks while creating a foundation for discoverability, accessibility, and adoption in a medium Google didn't own.

Approach

Solving Delivery Challenges

Designing for Platform UI Constraints

Working with design, I led multiple iterations of the podcast's visual identity after discovering Apple Podcasts' requirement that the bottom 15% of cover art remain text-free. Testing across major players also revealed that many interfaces used white backgrounds, causing our original artwork to blend in.

I introduced a colored outline to preserve contrast and compliance, creating a single design system that rendered consistently across platforms.

Addressing Distribution Latency

To address distribution latency, I researched how RSS feeds propagated from Libsyn to major podcast players and discovered multi-day delays for first-time publications. I designed a pre-launch validation workflow: verifying feed updates across all major players before promotional activity began.

Outcome: Seamless multi-platform rollout and a standardized "pre-flight" checklist for future audio launches.

Building an Owned Discovery Surface

Search results for "Search Off the Record" surfaced only third-party links. I proposed and led the creation of an official podcast page on the Google Search Central Developers site.

Outcome: Improved brand ownership, search visibility, and a discoverable destination for audio content within the Google ecosystem.

Accessibility Validation & Scale

Early user feedback highlighted accessibility gaps for non-native English speakers, hard-of-hearing users, and those who preferred text over audio. To validate demand, I prototyped a transcript workflow using ML-based transcription (Trint) and light manual edits on the first few episodes.

Within weeks, roughly 14% of listeners were downloading transcripts, confirming clear demand. I then worked with our vendor management team to outsource transcript creation at scale. By the end of the first year, about 21% of listeners were downloading transcripts.

Outcome: Validated and scaled an accessibility feature that also enhanced discoverability, as transcripts became indexable and quotable.

Awareness Experiments

To address low awareness and limited adoption, I ran lightweight experiments across Google-owned surfaces:

Smart App Banner

Partnered with the Google Search DevRel team to implement Apple's native Smart App Banner on the mobile Safari version of the Google Search Central Developers site, enabling one-tap subscription.

Result: ≈146% increase in downloads within the following weeks

Announcement Bar

Ran a short-term experiment adding a promotional announcement bar to the Google Search Central Developers homepage.

Result: ≈247% increase in downloads during the experiment period

Outcome: Combined results showed that awareness and convenience were the primary adoption barriers. The podcast's growth continued organically thereafter, the experiments having jump-started a viral growth loop.

Impact

Adoption & Reach

Drove 146% and 247% increases in podcast downloads through Smart App Banner and announcement bar experiments. Sustained organic growth thereafter, totaling more than 1.5 million downloads in ≈2.5 years.

Accessibility & Inclusion

Introduced transcripts as an accessibility feature, scaling from 14% to 21% of listeners downloading transcripts. Validated strong user demand and improved discoverability through indexable content.

Brand Visibility

Built an owned discovery surface for Google Search developer audio, improving SEO and brand ownership for "Search Off the Record."

Organizational Learning

Findings became foundational for Google Developer Media Lab's podcasting practice. I was later invited to run internal trainings for multiple developer and consumer-facing teams.

Constraints

  • Limited organizational experience: Google Developer Media Lab and the Search Relations team were both new to managing cross-platform podcast delivery. Existing workflows for video and web content didn't translate to audio, requiring extensive discovery and coordination.
  • Remote collaboration: The project was developed fully remotely during 2020, adding logistical complexity across time zones and teams.