Podcasts are big investments of time, money, or both. To make sure you can sustain your company’s podcast long enough to see the benefits, you need evidence that it’s helping you accomplish goals. In other words, you want confirmation that it is worth your time and effort.
If you are thinking about launching a new podcast for your company or if you already have one, understanding how podcast analytics work and how to use them to your advantage can be the secret weapon that helps you achieve success.
In this article, I will cover:
- How to define what success looks like for your podcast.
- How to track analytics effectively on different platforms.
- How to use all this data to improve your podcast over time.
How to define and measure podcast success.
When founders and CMOs reach out to me and my team about starting a podcast, we begin the conversation with three questions:
- What is your goal?
- Who is your target audience?
- Why a podcast?
Establishing what success looks like early on will determine all the decisions you make about your show in the future. Whether it’s the podcast format choice or the length of your episodes, each decision should support your vision of success.
Of course, there is no hard and fast science when it comes to what “success” looks like for each podcast. It will vary depending on the answers to the above three questions.
For example, one of our clients is the William J. Perry Project (WJPP), an organization founded by former Secretary of Defense William Perry dedicated to raising awareness about the threat of nuclear disaster. Their overall business goal is to inform and educate people about the threat of nuclear issues.
When they contacted us for help producing and launching a podcast, they knew they wanted to target a broad audience and younger generations. They chose podcasting because of its potential reach and the power of storytelling. Success for WJPP was to inspire and mobilize as many people as possible.
Another client of ours wanted to launch a podcast for entirely different reasons. They ran an in-person training workshop with limited seats a few times a year. Their goal was to improve relationships with other professionals in the industry, establish themselves as a leader in the space, and generate leads for the workshop.
The podcast we created for each client was wildly different because their visions of success differed.
My point? Podcast analytics are the most helpful when viewed in the context of your goals.
A note on what podcasting can actually help you accomplish.
At Come Alive, we’ve worked with clients from many industries with a wide range of goals, from generating leads to training new hires. While a podcast can be helpful at any stage of the marketing funnel, we’ve realized that it is particularly beneficial for companies that genuinely want to build trust and connect with others.
I’ve spent a lot of time conducting “Jobs to Be Done” research and working with various coaches—including Corey Quinn, author of Anyone, Not Everyone—and I’ve realized we work best with clients who have something meaningful to share with their audience and who care deeply about human capital and relationships. This is why we’ve started by niching on professional training and coaching companies.
Regardless of your industry, take a moment and ask yourself:
- What is your goal for your podcast?
- Who is your target audience?
- Why is podcasting a good medium to accomplish your goal and reach your target audience?
Once you have clarity around those three questions, it will be easier to determine what metrics you should be tracking.
Which podcast analytics and tracking metrics matter?
While researching this article, I came across a lot of interesting yet often confusing information about podcast analytics. People generally search everything from “podcast analytics iTunes,” “podcast analytics Spotify,” and “podcast analytics Google” to “podcast analytics consumption” and “how to measure podcast performance.”
You’ve likely experienced the same issue.
It’s easy to “get into the weeds” on the topic, so let’s start by covering what podcast analytics are.
What are podcast analytics?
Podcast analytics are relevant information and metrics you can gather about your listeners and their listening habits.
They can include but aren’t limited to, the number of unique episode downloads, total episode downloads, listening platforms, apps, and devices your audience is using to listen to your show, the geographic location of your listeners, total time listened to each episode, the percentage of your audience who is subscribed, the number of episode starts and complete streams, age, gender, and more.
Beyond the hard metrics, you can also track additional factors, such as:
- Podcast reviews and ratings
- Testimonials
- Social shares and recommendation
- Digital or in-person feedback and engagement
Additionally, if your podcast has a dedicated website, you can track the number of site visitors, their behavior on your website, and the ways they found your website (paid, direct, organic, etc.).
If you have a newsletter, you can pay attention to opt-ins and open rates on your podcast-related campaigns.
If you have sponsorships, you can look at ad revenue and conversions on the ads you run. You can even evaluate how your podcast has influenced the networking or speaking opportunities you receive.
The list goes on and it can feel overwhelming.
That’s exactly why I find it more helpful to look at analytics through the lens of key performance indicators (KPIs).
Podcasting and key performance indicators.
Your goals and the subsequent KPIs that help you achieve those goals will help you determine what podcast metrics and evidence you should use to measure success.
For example, some years ago, I ran a personal podcast with the goal of creating networking and collaboration opportunities for Come Alive. I used specific KPIs and metrics to evaluate my progress on these goals.
Here are some of the KPIs I tracked to measure networking and collaboration:
- I had the opportunity to interview 100 guests, at least 75% of them were with people I would otherwise never have had an opportunity to talk to.
- I’ve been invited to guest on over 20 podcasts to share my message.
- I’ve received advance book copies of books and thousands of dollars worth of software, which I’ve used to improve what we do at Come Alive.
- I was invited to guest on a Simplecast webinar to discuss this very topic.
Those are just the metrics I used to track progress on my networking and collaboration goals. I also experienced additional benefits. One of the podcasts I guested on led to a listener contacting me directly, and after some conversations, it turned into a five-figure contract.
Side note: If you’re curious about how guesting on podcasts can help you increase revenue, you should read about how the social media management tool MeetEdgar generated 1.25 million visitors, 100,000 email subscribers, and $329,000+ in monthly recurring revenue by simply guesting on other people’s podcasts.
Another great example of how metrics can be used to track goal advancement is our client, Leading Voices in Real Estate. Matt, the host, is super intentional about who he brings on as a guest and what topics they talk about. His goal is to build in-depth authority in his niche, which means his audience needs to be super engaged. And that’s one of the things we track for him, engagement rate.
Thanks to his level of intentionality, the show has achieved over 1.7 million listens and a 90% engagement rate so far. He also regularly receives emails from listeners thanking him for his work and sharing their real estate stories.
Go back to the goals you wrote down for your podcast. Take a few minutes and write down what KPIs can help you reveal if you are achieving those goals. If you need help, here are 9 metrics you can track to determine ROI.
“Anytime a client is featured on a podcast, that’s exposure. Visibility like that can lead to more opportunities for exposure – and additional earned media. Earned media boosts credibility, which is more important for brands than ever.
To be seen as a thought leader, you need to take advantage of opportunities to share what you know. So podcasts offer yet another way for brands and individuals to get their name out there and spread the word about their expertise. This can lead to driving prospects – and potentially sales – their way.”
Garrett Public Relations
@PRisUs
How to track podcast analytics.
To recap, you’ve set your goals and defined your KPIs. So, how do you view and track podcast analytics?
Tracking podcast analytics properly is one of the most difficult and time-consuming parts of the podcasting process. It looks different depending on the platforms you use to track data. In general, you have four options:
- Your selected podcast media host.
- Your distribution platforms.
- Third-party analytics tools.
- Tracking adjacent metrics.
And let’s clarify something: podcast media hosts are not podcast analytics tools.
The podcast community as a whole could do a much better job with the language we use to describe things. In my research for this article, I came across several front-page ranking articles listing many podcast media hosts as “podcast analytics tools.” That’s simply not true.
A podcast media host is where your podcast audio files live. It’s where you upload the individual episode MP3s to be synced up with your website and distribution platforms like Apple and Spotify. Any trustworthy media host will have reliable analytics tools. However, podcast media hosts are not stand-alone podcast analytics tools.
Now, let’s examine the metrics that can be found on other platforms.
Tracking podcast analytics through your distribution platforms.
If you want a complete picture of your podcast’s performance, you may need to track additional data on your distribution platforms. My team reports on Apple Podcasts and Spotify for most of our clients. Each platform offers unique insights that we find valuable.
Apple Podcasts: You can find your Apple Podcast analytics using your Apple Podcast Connect account. Here, you’re able to see information like:
- Number of followers
- Number of listeners
- Number of engaged listeners
- Top countries or regions
- Total time listened
Spotify: In recent years, Spotify has stepped up its podcast game, providing unique insights about your audience that many other platforms can’t. You can view your podcast analytics on Spotify on your Spotify for Podcasters account. Here, you’ll be able to see data like:
- Number of starts
- Number of streams
- Number of listeners
- Number of followers
- Details on each episode
- Gender of your listeners
- Age ranges of your listeners
Pro tip: Individual distribution platforms are only one piece of the puzzle. Look at your media host and see what percentage of your audience can be attributed to that specific platform. Weigh them accordingly in your reports. For example, if 60% of your audience listens to your show on Apple Podcasts and only 5% listens on Spotify, Apple data should weigh more heavily.
Tracking podcast analytics using third-party analytics tools.
While the most compelling analytics come from the dashboards of podcast media hosts and distribution platforms, there are additional analytics tools designed specifically for podcasts. I believe less is more, but here are a few worth mentioning.
Chartable: This is a great way to see all your reviews (from all countries) in one place. It’s also a great place to see your rankings on the Apple Podcast charts.
Podtrac: This popular podcast analytics tool boasts some of the most accurate third-party metrics. I’ve used it occasionally for some of our clients.
Podnews: Podnews isn’t technically a podcast analytics tool, but it is a great way to get a general summary of your show, see all the places your podcast is available, and more.
Podcastindex.org: This one is similar to Podnews. It is not technically a podcast analytics tool but good for uncovering insights.
Podcast X-Ray: This is a newer, free tool created by the Bumper team. It is useful for research, and all you have to do is plug in a show and see what information it returns.
Tracking adjacent metrics.
As I mentioned earlier, sometimes it is worthwhile going beyond direct podcast metrics to measure your show’s impact on your business. The following tools are not podcast-specific but provide relevant metrics that can help determine your show’s ROI.
Website metrics: Tracking users and their behavior on your website can be incredibly helpful, especially if one of your KPIs is to direct traffic to your website. We typically use Google Analytics and Google Search Console. For a privacy-friendly option, Fathom Analytics.
Email metrics: Email lists are an excellent way to stay in touch with your listeners and give them value outside your show. It also provides another perspective on their interaction with your brand. We use ActiveCampaign to track link clicks and engagement with content. However, we’ve also used ConvertKit and OptinMonster in the past, and there are tons of other options out there.
SEO and topic research tools: You can save yourself serious effort long-term by doing upfront research around the topics your audience could be interested in. We use these research tools all the time to help decide on better topics for our clients’ shows. Some of our favorite tools include SEMrush, Mangools, Sparktoro, Moz, Google Trends, and Google’s Keyword Tool.
Content monitoring: There are many automated, AI, and machine learning tools out there that notify you when you are mentioned somewhere online. For example, Google Alerts notified us that our client’s podcast was named one of 15 must-listen podcasts about the real estate industry by Business Insider. These tools are easy to set up and can help you keep track of brand mentions.
Use cases for podcast stats and analytics.
Defining the goals for your podcast and tracking the KPIs using relevant tools is only the first part of the equation. The final piece is knowing how to use your findings to make a better show. Do this well, and your audience will thank you for it (and grow in the process).
The caveat is that there is no single right way to do this. What matters is intentionality.
At Come Alive, we use podcast analytics in two different ways:
- For planning.
- For improving and reviewing performance.
Using podcast analytics for planning.
Many people create content by getting an idea, turning it into an article, podcast episode, or video, and then wondering why it’s not getting any reads, listens, or views. Worse yet, after creating a low-performing episode, you spend a ton of time and resources pushing your podcast on social media, in your newsletter, and through word of mouth, trying to gain some interest.
I would like to suggest a different 3-step approach:
Step 1: Research before you create.
I’ve borrowed this concept from people like Joanna Wiebe of Copyhackers, Aaron Orendorff of iconiContent, and Andy Crestodina of Orbit Media.
Creating content is time-consuming.
In fact, Andy Crestodina’s article on Zero Waste Marketing shares just how time-consuming it can be:
We also know from research that the average post takes 3+ hours to create. Do the math and you’ll find that hundreds of millions of hours are wasted each day doing content marketing. It all adds up to 7.7 lifetimes that are wasted every day writing posts that get no results.
– Andy Crestodina, Orbit Media
So, what’s a better way to create content? Research your audience’s needs and answer the questions and concerns you’ve been hearing all day.
Step 2: Understand who you’re talking to and what they care about.
Corey Quinn, author of Anyone, Not Everyone and host of the Deep Specialization podcast (which is also the name of his signature course), explained it to me this way:
When companies focus on a niche, they can serve customers on a deeper level. Successful companies do serious work to understand who their target customers are. Here are some examples of things you can do to understand your target listeners:
- Identify their primary objections and create collateral that answers their questions and objections before they even call you.
- Research demographic details like age, city, education, etc.
- Explore psychographic details like the motivation behind their buying decision and why they want to make a change.
- Study the competition to inform your messaging and help you stand out.
- Go straight to your clients and ask them what motivated their decision to work with you.
- Visit chat rooms and research reviews online to learn what your customers are saying, their language, and their struggles.
In the same way, podcasts can benefit from focusing on a niche topic instead of trying to be everything to everyone. If this is a topic you are interested in, I highly recommend Corey’s book and course—I went through the course myself, and we helped him produce the audiobook.
By talking to your listeners at conferences, hanging out in the same online groups, and researching topics with SEO tools, you can create content that people are already searching for and interested in.
Step 3: Keep an eye on podcasts and search.
Search engine optimization is an ever-changing field (like almost everything online). It can be an interesting source of information on what topics could be relevant for your audience.
For a long time, podcasting wasn’t affected or impacted by SEO. You could add show notes and metadata to your files, but these were minor factors in search, especially for audio-only podcasts. However, this is a bit different for video podcasts.
If you distribute your video podcast on YouTube, Google will analyze your content and potentially feature your episodes in their show results. For example, when I search the question, “How to frame a window,” the top search result is a YouTube video titled “How to Frame a Window and Door Opening.” Google has decided that video is the best answer on the web for my question.
Audio-only podcasting isn’t quite there. I have yet to see Google return suggested clips of podcast episodes.
It’s hard to say what will happen in the long term, but keeping an eye on any developments in this space could lead to interesting insights.
To be clear, I don’t make podcasts for search or propose you do so. I believe podcasting works best when you care about creating value for actual humans, not search bots. That said, if you can leverage search in what you’re already doing, then cool.
Using podcast analytics to improve your show.
Podcast analytics can help you improve existing shows almost in real time.
For example, one show we produced had a slightly longer-than-normal introduction. At the time, we thought it was important to frame each episode, and we wanted to save time by reusing roughly 70% of the intro in each episode. However, we found that many listeners skipped the introduction after the first two episodes. Based on this data, we changed the long pre-recorded intro for a shorter, original, host-read intro for each episode.
There are many ways to use analytics to improve your existing show; it’s all about keeping your eyes open, looking for trends, and using data to implement changes.
A warning: the dark side of podcast analytics.
Recently, a podcaster I met told me he pays “a guy” in another country to artificially increase his downloads so he can say his show is in the top 5% of all podcasts. He even said it with a proud grin. Cool story, bro…
It’s worth noting that, in recent years, some podcasters have found ways to game the system by purchasing mobile ads to boost their number of downloads, similar to buying social media followers.
When I hear things like this, all I can do is shake my head. There is little you can gain by artificially increasing your metrics. You can boost the number of downloads as much as you want, but your podcast will only help your business grow if you can reach and attract your target audience.
As Tom Webster from Edison Research says in his article, Podcast Audience Strategy: What Your Downloads Can’t Tell You:
…look beyond the download counts and top charts, and instead focus on the health and sustainability of an audience. Disruptions happen every day, in every industry. Podcasting will have any number of meteors striking it over the next several years. And the key to surviving those meteors is a diverse, thriving population of humans, not downloads.
Tom Webster, Edison Research
To Recap.
Podcast analytics are important and can and should be used to improve your show. However, to use them well, you must understand your goals, the KPIs that can help determine whether you’re reaching them, and how to apply any findings to improve your show.
Finally, many platforms, services, and tools exist to help you achieve these goals, but none matter if you aren’t focused on your listeners.
Analytics matter, but your listeners matter more.
