How iTunes Ranks Podcasts When Searching by Keywords

Hi all. I have a podcast called OperaNow! I have been doing since 2007. We have 125 reviews, almost 200 episodes and have been producing fairly regularly for that time. A few breaks here and there, but have stayed up-to-date.
My question is how iTunes determines what is listed when you do a keyword search. If you search for "opera", and then filter down by "podcasts" on the right it has a listing if 10 or so opera related podcasts. You can then press "see all" to see w longer list. My show is buried so deep it's amazing. We used to be higher up but have dropped down over the years.
Is this listing also determined by recent subscribers/activity? Some of the shows in the top 15 haven't producded new material in a few years, yet there they are. I'm just a bit confused as to how this is determined?
Any ideas?
-A frustrated podcaster

The methods the Store uses for ranking searches and choosing featured podcasts are shrouded in mystery. they may well be related to the number of subscribers, the frequency of updates, the perceived interest of the podcast itself, or any other factors. We don't know, and they aren't telling.
There isn't anything you can do about this except to make your podcast as interesting as possible, which I'm sure you are already doing. You are, though in competition with thousands of other podcasts.

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