Podcast Metrics Guide
Understanding your show's analytics
A basic guide
Podcasting analytics can be confusing, even for the most experienced creators. Whether you need a refresher or are producing a show for the first time, below are the key metrics you need to focus on to understand how your show is performing.
Downloads
What it is:
- The number of times an episode in your show is played by a listener. This metric counts multiple downloads by one user. Example: If a user downloads your show two times, it will count as two downloads.
Why it’s important:
- Downloads are the most common metric to measure your show’s success. They are important for overall benchmarking and when compared to unique listeners, can serve as a metric of retention.
Unique listeners
What it is:
- The number of single devices that have played an episode. Downloads include total plays by a single user, unique listeners only count one play to get an accurate understanding of audience size.
Why it’s important:
- Unique listeners show you how many people your podcast is reaching, aka total audience size.
Consumption rate
What it is:
- A percentage value of the average consumption (play time) of an episode. For episodes that get played more than once often by a listener, Apple will record the consumption rate as over 100%
Why it’s important:
- Consumption rate tells you how engaged your audience is with your content. Use consumption rate to compare your highest and lowest performing episodes to determine what content engages your audience and what length holds their attention.
Time of day
What it is:
- The time of the day that your listeners are tuning into your show.
Why it’s important:
- Monitor time of day to better understand when you should publish your episodes. For example, if the most popular time of day that your listeners are tuning in is Wednesdays at 3pm, consider publishing your show on Wednesdays at 8am. That way your audience can always find your content when they want it.