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• Daily Idea - Podcast Promo Search

• SEO Court: Is This a Parasite?

The Google for Podcast Codes

The One Liner

Find any podcast’s promo code instantly

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The Longer Story Version

The Problem

Podcast ads are effective… but chaotic.

“Use code TIM20.”

“Link in the show notes.”

“Offer expires soon.”

You hear it while driving.
You forget it by the time you’re ready to buy.

Then you Google it.

What do you get?
SEO-farmed coupon sites from 2009.
Popups. Fake codes. Expired junk.

Listeners want the discount.
They also want to support the creator.

The problem isn’t discounts.
It’s retrievability.

There is no clean, trusted database for creator commerce.

The Solution

A search engine for podcast and creator referral codes.

You type the show name or the product.
You instantly see all associated codes.

Verified. Updated. Clean.

User-submitted but moderated.
Partnered directly with creators to keep codes fresh.

Listeners get the deal.
Creators get credit.
Brands get clean attribution.

It’s not a coupon site.

It’s the infrastructure layer for affiliate-driven media.

And yes, we surface our own referral relationships at the top.
That’s the business model.

If Google is search for information,
this is search for creator intent.

How We’d Build It

Phase 1 – Prove Demand

Goal: Do people actually search for this and use it?

• Scrape existing search demand using DataForSEO + Keywords Everywhere
• Pull transcript data via Podscribe or Podscan to extract codes
• Store in a simple Supabase database
• Frontend built fast with Framer or Typedream
• Use a vibe-coding stack like Lovable or Replit Ghostwriter to accelerate scraping + parsing

Distribution:
• SEO pages for “[Podcast Name] promo code”
• Post in podcast subreddits
• Short TikToks showing “stop rewinding ads”

No dashboard.
No extension.
Just search → result → click.

If people use it, we move.

Phase 2 – Make It Useful

Goal: Improve accuracy + retention.

• Add user submissions with moderation
• Add creator verification badges
• Build freshness alerts using Cron jobs + simple monitoring
• Use Firecrawl to check landing pages for expired codes
• Start outreach to top 500 podcasts for direct partnerships

Add a simple creator page:
“Your codes, organized. Claim your profile.”

Now it feels real.

Phase 3 – Scale the Commerce Layer

Goal: Own the category.

• Browser extension that auto-surfaces codes at checkout
• Creator dashboard for tracking visibility + clicks
• Featured placement bidding system
• Optional cashback layer

GTM:
• Partner with podcast networks
• Pitch it as an affiliate optimization tool
• Build a weekly newsletter: “New Creator Deals”
• Sponsor a few mid-tier podcasts to dogfood the product

At scale, this becomes creator infrastructure.

Why It Needs to Exist

Podcast advertising is massive.
Affiliate commerce is normalized.
Search intent already exists.

This behavior is happening anyway.
People are Googling “[Podcast Name] promo code” every day.

Right now they land on spam.

This turns that chaos into a clean layer.

It helps listeners save money.
It helps creators get credit.
It helps brands get attribution.

It’s simple.
It’s behavior-backed.
It monetizes from day one.

And it feels inevitable once you see it.

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SEO Court: Is This a Parasite?

Court is in session.

Prosecutor stands up.

“Your honor, this is RetailMeNot with a podcast hoodie. It scrapes promo codes creators worked to negotiate, ranks for ‘[Podcast Name] promo code,’ inserts itself between listener and show, and skims affiliate revenue. Classic parasite. No new value. Just SEO jiu-jitsu.”

Defense smirks.

“Objection. It’s infrastructure.”

“Listeners are already Googling these codes. That traffic exists. Right now it goes to spam farms. We’re organizing chaos. Verified codes. Clean UI. Direct partnerships. Better attribution. That’s not scraping. That’s plumbing.”

Prosecutor fires back.

“If it’s plumbing, why does it monetize top placement? Why not just link directly to creators? The moment you prioritize your own affiliate relationships, you’re arbitraging creator labor.”

Defense:

“Aggregation isn’t theft. It’s how the internet works. Google aggregates links. Kayak aggregates flights. Zillow aggregates listings. The difference is whether you improve the user experience. If creators can claim profiles, update codes, and get better tracking, that’s net positive.”

Judge leans forward.

“So what separates this from a coupon parasite?”

Defense:

“Intent and alignment. Parasites hide value. Infrastructure makes it visible. Parasites chase expired codes. Infrastructure maintains freshness and attribution.”

The real question isn’t legal. It’s ethical.

Are we centralizing creator commerce in a way that increases transparency?
Or are we training users to bypass the intimacy of host-read ads?

If creators win, it’s infrastructure.

If platforms win and creators lose leverage, it’s parasitic.

The verdict depends on execution.

Court adjourned.

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