An ID3 tag is a type of metadata container used to store information into a media file (traditionally an MP3 audio file). The ID3 tags could include a title, an album title, the artist (author), genre, cover art, the year recorded and other details that are useful for the listener of your show.
For example, this is the information contained in the ID3 tag.
Populating your media files with an ID3 tag will ensure that your media is displayed correctly on most portable media players and software based audio players. For example, some mobile apps will pull the ID3 tag instead of pulling the details from the RSS feed (particularly the artwork).
You should be sure that you use ID3v2 tags, so that the headers are located at the start of the podcast (not at the end). This allows players to use the ID3 data ahead of streaming time without downloading the full podcast file.
In Podbean.com, we require that you use ID3v2 tags and the artwork included must be no larger than 300 x 300.
There are many applications available to edit the ID3 tags on your audio files. We have an FAQ that tells you how to edit your ID3 tags using Apple Podcasts, which is free to use. You can do this or use any application that supports ID3v2 tags, and then upload your file with the ID3v2 tags to Podbean to distribute as usual.