Why You Shouldn't Use Apple Plays and Spotify Starts as Podcast Analytics Metrics

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I'm Danny Brown,

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and you're listening to One Minute Podcast Tips,

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the show that helps you be a better podcaster

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in just a minute a week.

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at oneminutepodcasttips.com/support.

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And now, this week's episode.

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When it comes to your podcast analytics,

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usually the best place to look

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is your podcast hosting company.

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This is because they pull data from all apps and platforms to give you a full overview of how your podcast is performing.

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However, you can also get more data on your audience via the likes of Podcasts Connect from Apple and Spotify for Podcasters.

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But there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind when you're looking at that data.

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And that's to make sure you're listening to the analytics that matter.

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So what I mean by this is on Podcasts Connect, you've got a few different data points.

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You've got Followers, Listeners, Engaged Listeners, and Plays.

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Now it can be tempting to look at plays and think you're getting a lot of engagement on Apple, but that's typically not the case.

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A play on Apple is when someone presses play on Apple Podcasts and the play duration is greater than 0 seconds.

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The problem with that is I could turn off after 1 second, not listen to anything of your episode, but I'll still be tracked on Apple.

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So it's not really an effective data point.

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Instead, you want to be looking at Engaged Listeners.

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Engaged Listeners on Apple Podcasts is when someone's played at least 20 minutes of your episode or 40%, whichever is longest, within a single session.

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So that's a more accurate data point on Apple Podcasts.

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Spotify for Podcasters is similar.

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They have a data point called Starts.

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Now Starts, much like Plays on Apple Podcasts,

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is when your episode has been played

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for zero seconds or more.

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Again, it's not really an effective metric.

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Instead, you want to be looking at Streams.

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A stream is where your episode has been played

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for at least 60 seconds.

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Now this is more like the IAB Certification.

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The IAB is the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

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It's pretty much the default for measurement

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and tracking in the podcasting industry.

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If you look at podcast hosts,

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many of them are IAB Certified,

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and it makes for more accurate data.

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So again, if you're looking at data on Podcasts Connect for Apple

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or the Spotify for Podcasters dashboard,

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just make sure you're looking at the right analytics

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and the one that gives you a much more accurate overview

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of how your podcast is performing on that platform.

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Until the next time, happy podcasting.

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Thanks for listening.

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Until the next time, happy podcasting.

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