All right, let's talk podcast stats.

I know, I know.

When most podcasters hear the word stats, they either go into a blind panic or just stop listening entirely.

But here's the deal.

If you're not tracking your podcast's performance, you're essentially throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping it sticks.

In terms of your growth, podcasting isn't just about talking into a mic and hoping for the best.

It's about active strategy, growth, engagement, and making smarter decisions.

And that all comes from understanding your stats.

So let's break it all down.

The key metrics every podcaster should be tracking.

How to interpret that data without losing your mind, the best tools for tracking your performance, and how real podcasters have been using analytics to level up their shows.

No fluff, no jargon, just actionable advice.

So let's get into it.

Let's face it, there are two kinds of podcasters in the world.

Those who check their stats obsessively, and those who pretend they don't care while secretly checking out their stats obsessively, refreshing the screen every five minutes.

If you're serious about growing your show, you're gonna need to track the right numbers.

Otherwise, it's pure guesswork.

And guessing is not gonna get you more listeners.

I'm sorry, but it won't.

So in this episode, I'm gonna walk you through the most important podcast metrics, the best tools for tracking them, and how you can use those analytics to immediately make smarter decisions with your content.

Podcasting is super popular these days, which means it's super competitive, and everyone's fighting to get those listeners.

To get noticed and grow your audience, you need to know who's listening and what they're vibing with.

That's where podcast analytics comes in.

Tracking analytics isn't just a good idea.

It's absolutely essential if you're serious about podcasting.

Without this data, you're basically clueless about who's listening, what they like, and what they don't.

It's like yelling into the void and hoping someone hears you.

Analytics gives you valuable info that can help you plan your content, market your podcast, and grow your audience.

By understanding your listeners, demographics, listening habits, and engagement levels, you can make more of the content they love, optimize your release schedule to meet that content where they are, and figure out what you can do better.

Ignoring the analytics means missing out on chances to connect with your audience, grow your listeners, and reach your ultimate podcasting goals.

You don't want to be leaving money on the table if you're doing this for your business as a revenue tool.

Let's face it, you're putting time and effort into making the content, but if you're not checking what's working, you're not getting the most out of it.

So here's how the top podcasters use analytics to refine their content and attract the right audience the best podcasters use analytics in tons of different ways to improve their content and grow their audience.

They're looking at metrics like downloads, yes, but they're also looking at listener numbers, listener demographics, and audience engagement.

They get valuable insights into what's working and what's not.

This means they're not just sticking with their podcast hosting platform's stats dashboard.

They're going into the individual platforms to find out what activity is happening on their feed within those apps.

Yes, this means you've got to log into Apple Podcast Connect.

Yes, it means you have to log into Spotify for creators.

And yes, it also means you probably have to log into Amazon Music now and again.

This data driven approach lets them make smart decisions about their content strategy, making sure they're delivering the right content to the right audience at the right time.

Here's the beauty of this analytics within the dashboards can show which episodes are most popular, which segments listeners like, and where listeners are just dropping off.

And this info can be used to improve content by focusing on topics that are proven to be popular, adjusting episode formats to fit that, and improving pacing to keep your listeners engaged.

By understanding those audience demographics and listening habits, podcasters can tailor their content and marketing to attract and keep similar listeners.

They can also find new potential audiences and develop strategies to reach them effectively.

Analytics can also help with making money by finding opportunities for sponsorships, advertising, and premium content.

For example, if you know you've got several listeners within an institution listening to your show, reaching out to that organization with an opportunity to advertise with your show is not a ridiculous idea.

They're already engaged.

Overall, analytics gives podcasters tools and insights they need to create awesome content, build a loyal audience, and achieve podcasting goals.

By understanding and using data effectively, you can stay ahead of the curve and continue to grow your podcast in an increasingly competitive media.

So let's talk more about these key podcast metrics you need to track.

Well, we've mentioned downloads, but let's factor in streams as well.

It's important.

Downloads are nice, but they don't tell you the full story.

Just because someone had your episode on their app within their phone, it doesn't mean they actually clicked play.

What is a good download number?

Well, I can't answer that for you.

That comes down to you needing to do some research in your industry.

What do other shows in your niche tend to get in terms of download numbers?

Also, are they IAB certified numbers?

That matters because if a rival doing a similar thing to you is bragging on thousands of listeners but they're not IAB certified, that could mean there's a ton of bots in there.

IAB certification means that the download has had to meet certain criteria in order to be measured as a legitimate download.

This usually means they need to have engaged with the RSS feed for a minimum of 60 seconds to be counted as a listen.

We've already touched on this, but listener demographics are really important to tell you who the hell is actually listening.

Find out the age, location and gender.

And yes, this does matter because if your audience is mostly middle aged dads but you're making TikTok references, you probably need to rethink your content strategy.

You're not connecting with your ideal listener.

You need to get an idea for your retention rate.

Are people actually listening to at least 50% of the episode or are they bouncing off after 30 seconds?

If your listeners drop off within the first two minutes, you might have a content problem.

If you look into this, you'll start to spot patterns in your listener behavior.

And although it's not as important as your retention data, your engagement data is also a little bit important.

Check out your reviews and your social media engagement.

If your audience is engaging, there's a sign you're building a community.

There's not just accumulating listeners.

So let's talk about some of the best tools to track your podcast performance overall.

Then, without needing a PhD in data science, obviously the podcast apps Apple Podcast Connect, Spotify for creators, and the other platforms like Amazon and Pocketcasts and any other of the platforms that allow you to get into the dashboard, consider using third party metric systems like PodTrack or Podder.

At PodKnows we use Podder and that gives us a real deep insight into who's listening to our client shows.

Of course your hosting stats are there for the taking.

Captivate, Libsyn and buzzsprout all offer you surface level data.

And if you tend to promote your player in Captivate, that gives you on player stats as well.

If you're posting your podcast as a video, then of course you've got access to brilliant stats within YouTube.

And if you've got a website for your podcast, well done you.

You're going about things exactly the right way.

Also, check out your Google Analytics to see what people are doing when they come to your episode pages.

So now we got these bits of data, how can we use them to actually grow the podcast?

Well, first of all, we need to interpret the data so we can make some smarter content choices.

Are we noticing trends?

Which episodes are performing the best and why?

Are we adjusting our format and length based on our listener retention data?

If your listeners are only listening for about 10 minutes, it's pointless putting out epic 60 minute episodes.

Are you spotting drop off points and fixing the weaknesses?

If there's a bit that means most of your audience drops off and skips, consider ditching it.

It's not working.

So there we are.

We cover the key podcast metrics, the best tools for tracking them, and how to use these analytics to grow your show.

If this episode helped, you, share it with another podcaster who's as obsessed with their stats as you.

And if you want more no BS podcasting advice, make sure you hit follow or sign up for my emails at Podmastery Co.

The Podmaster is a Podnos production.

Find out more about us@podnos.co.uk.