As a podcast host, understanding your analytics is key to building and sustaining a successful show and can even help you increase traffic to your podcast website.
Knowing what types of people are listening to your episodes, how long they’re staying tuned in, and which episodes are resonating with your audience can help inform your content creation strategy as you craft engaging stories that keep people coming back for more.
Ratings and reviews can give you some idea about what your podcast audience thinks about your show, but for a more accurate understanding, you’ll need to examine your podcast analytics.
In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about podcast analytics tools to teach you how to measure podcast success and make informed decisions about the direction of your show.
8 Key Metrics To Monitor
Podcast analytics don’t have to be intimidating. There are eight main data points to keep an eye on, and if you’re like most podcasters, it’s actually kind of satisfying to see your hard work reflected back in cold hard numbers.
Let's look at the top metrics that can yield the most useful information.
Metric #1. Number of Subscribers
Just because someone listens to your podcast a few times doesn’t mean that they’re devoted fans. Subscribers, on the other hand, are more likely to be engaged, loyal listeners.
A higher number of subscribers can also help attract sponsors and advertisers, which is helpful if you’re hoping to make a living from your show.
Metric #2. Total Downloads
This metric reflects the total number of podcast downloads from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and other podcast streaming services.
It’s important to note that total downloads don’t necessarily reflect the current audience size or even your average listens—some people may download an episode but never actually listen to it.
Metric #3. Daily Downloads
Tracking the number of downloads per day can provide insight into which shows have resonated with your audience. Having this information available can help inform your content creation strategy, allowing you to create more of the type of content that people gravitate towards.
Metric #4. Average Listen Time
This metric reflects how long people are listening to your episodes, allowing you to gauge listener engagement.
If you find that people are tuning out before the end of an episode, it may be a sign that your content isn’t resonating with them or that it’s too long for their attention span.
Metric #5. Geographic Location
Knowing where your listeners are located can help you tailor content to specific countries or regions. You can also look for opportunities to reach a broader global audience by creating content that resonates with people from different cultures.
Metric #6. Type Of Device Used For Listening
Understanding which types of devices people listen with can help you optimize your podcast for the best user experience.
Metric #7. Peak Times For Listeners
Knowing when the most people are listening can help you plan promotional campaigns or plan your publishing schedule around peak times. You can also use this information to tailor the length of your episodes or adjust their release schedule.
Metric #8. Unique Listens
Unique listens refers to the number of people who have downloaded or streamed your podcast episode. By tracking both unique listens and subscribers, you can gain insight into the reach of your show as well as the level of engagement from your audience.
Now let's look at exactly how to get this data.
Bonus tip: Use social media as another data point for how your podcast is performing. Create content for each episode and track posts, likes, shares, and comments to see what content resonates with listeners.
How to Check Podcast Stats
Tracking podcast analytics can involve using a variety of tools and techniques. Using several methods can help you piece together a more accurate look at how your content is performing.
- Utilize a podcast hosting platform: Most popular podcast hosting platforms, such as Buzzsprout or Libsyn, provide analytics that let you track the performance of your episodes, including unique listens and downloads.
- Check the directories where you have the most listeners: Each podcasting app, such as Apple Podcasts or Spotify, provides analytics that allows you to track downloads and listens within their platform. This data can be used to understand the performance of your episodes in a particular directory and make adjustments to optimize reach.
- Use an external podcast analytics provider: Companies like Podcast Insights and Chartable offer comprehensive analytics services that can provide detailed insights into your podcast’s performance, including listener demographics and audience engagement levels.
Analyzing these metrics regularly will give you an understanding of what’s resonating with your audience, help you identify key trends in the industry, and adjust your content to maximize reach. Keeping track of these metrics will allow you to measure success and make informed decisions about how to grow your podcast.
Learn more: Apple Podcasts Connect and Spotify for Podcasters
- Use Podpage Google Analytics: While Podpage can't give you data points on your podcast specifically, our Google Analytics tag lets you track engagement on your page, which can be helpful intel. The Analytics tag can also tell you demographic information on your visitors, giving you more insight into your audience.
Understanding Your Stats: How To Measure Podcast Success
Looking at each metric separately will provide you with valuable insights into your podcast's performance and allow you to identify areas where improvements can be made.
Here are three tips for interpreting your analytics and leveraging them to make better content that will get you more listens.
- Track the performance of each individual episode: This allows you to identify which types or formats are resonating best with your listeners and gain insights into how to improve future episodes.
- Monitor trends over time: Regularly monitoring trends in your podcast metrics over time will help you identify changes in listener behavior, as well as areas of growth or decline.
Look for trends in the data points mentioned above and analyze the trends you find. You may find that one particular type of episode or format resonates better with listeners or that a particular promotional strategy is leading to more downloads.
- Create targeted promotion strategies: Use analytics to hone in on specific audiences and create targeted promotion strategies. Track the results over time and analyze the data to inform your decisions on how best to grow your show.
Now let’s review some mistakes to avoid when looking at your stats, so you can avoid unnecessary pitfalls that could slow your growth.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Sometimes podcasters underestimate the importance of their podcast analytics or haven't been taught how to interpret them. Here are three mistakes to avoid so you can get the most from your data.
- Not considering user engagement: While tracking downloads and listens is important, it’s also essential to measure user engagement. Analyzing the performance of your episodes across different platforms will give you a better understanding of which ones are resonating with your listeners, as well as where they might be dropping off during the episode.
- Not testing different strategies: To get the most out of your podcast, it’s important to test and experiment with different strategies. This could include trying new promotion techniques, experimenting with different types of content, or adjusting the length or format of episodes. Tracking changes over time will give you an understanding of what works and what doesn’t.
- Not setting measurable goals: Setting tangible, achievable goals is an important part of growing your podcast and measuring success. Without clear objectives, it’s difficult to gauge whether or not you are meeting your targets and making progress. Make sure to set short-term and long-term goals for your podcast so that you can track your performance and stay on track.
These mistakes can have a huge impact on the success of your podcast. By avoiding them, you’ll be in a better position to measure your performance, make informed decisions about how to grow your show and reach more listeners.
Conclusion
Understanding your podcast analytics is essential in order to measure the success of your show and make informed decisions about how to grow it.
To get the most out of your analytics, be sure to:
- Track the performance of each episode;
- Monitor trends over time;
- Set goals and measure success;
- Consider user engagement, test different strategies.
By leveraging these insights, you’ll be in a better position to improve your podcast, reach more listeners, and turn them into loyal supporters of your show. With the right approach, you can use your analytics to get the most out of your show and build an engaged audience.
