Tracking your podcast metrics is no easy task, but learning how to benchmark your show against them is even harder.
We often see podcasters attempt to benchmark their podcasts externally but unfortunately, there’s not a lot of benchmark data about fellow creators available to the public. Therefore, we always recommend that if you want to benchmark your show, benchmark against yourself.
It can be confusing with all of the different metrics to measure when it comes to your podcast, but there are a few key data points that will give you a meaningful picture of your podcast's success over time.
Without further ado, let’s dive into the 7 essential podcast performance metrics that will give you powerful insights to benchmark your show:
1. Listeners per episode
One metric a podcast creator should keep an eye on is the number of listeners they have for each episode.
For example, the first episode of a new podcast might receive 50 listeners. However, if the second episode has 150 listeners, this could indicate:
- Marketing and promotion are effective
- The content is resonating with audiences
- Your guests are bringing listeners
Either way, you know that the second episode is working on either the marketing, content, or guest front compared to your first episode. From here, you can continue releasing episodes that are similar in content or guest strategies and use that first successful episode as a benchmark for performance.
Remember when setting benchmarks, you don’t want to use an episode that vastly outperformed others as a benchmark. While it’s great to try to emulate what you did in that episode, you shouldn’t be setting benchmarks based on outliers.
2. Downloads and unique listeners
Now onto the most popular podcast metric: downloads.
Downloads are every play you’ve received on your podcast for 60 seconds or more. While downloads give a good baseline of your show's popularity, unique listener numbers will give a much more accurate representation of your show's actual reach.
Unique listeners are the number of individual devices (iPhone, computer, etc.) that have played your show. For example, if I played a podcast episode four times, it would be counted as four downloads but only one unique listener.
Over time, you’ll be able to create an average number of downloads and unique listeners you receive per episode. This number turns into your show's downloads benchmark. We suggest tracking both downloads and unique listeners over time to see how your show has been growing since its conception.
CoHost Tip: Typically speaking, networks and advertisers are looking to work with shows that average around 10,000 downloads a month.
3. Average consumption rate
The average consumption rate for an episode will help you understand a number of things when it comes to your audience:
- The ideal show length to keep audiences engaged
- If you need to change areas of your show due to a high drop-off rate in certain sections (i.e., intro, bridge music, ad placement, long-form answers)
- Where you should place your CTAs to ensure the optimal number of listeners hear it
We typically say that anything above 70% of your consumption rate is good. But whether you're above or below 70%, compare each episode’s consumption to get a better idea of what type of content, format, and guests your audience enjoys.
With platforms like CoHost, you can get your show and episode consumption rates to get the bigger picture of your content's overall performance and episode-level insights.
CoHost Tip: As people in podcasting, we understand that podcast jargon can get a bit confusing. Check out our ultimate podcast analytics dictionary to keep on top of the numbers and feel confident making data-driven decisions.
4. Website Traffic
Having a podcast website is a must in 2024. It serves as a central hub for listeners to find anything related to your podcast. This includes newsletter sign-ups, social media links, your latest episodes, links to buy merch - that list goes on.
Including transcripts and optimized metadata on your podcast website is a great way to improve your discoverability and increase your reach. Measuring traffic is a great benchmark since it tells you which episodes are interesting to your audience and what you should focus on.
Website performance will also examine content that supports your podcast such as blogs, transcriptions, embedded videos, etc. These are all additional mediums to leverage when benchmarking performance such as the number of readers a blog had or how many audiences engaged with your video.
So next time there’s a spike in traffic after an episode launch, explore how that episode is resonating!
CoHost Tip: If you're looking to boost your podcast SEO, check out our blog which details 9 tips for finding the best podcast keywords for your series.
5. Social media
You're probably using social media to promote your podcast – everything from Instagram and Facebook to LinkedIn and TikTok (depending on who your audience is) is a great way to build a community around your podcast and reach new audiences.
Keep an eye on what people say about your podcast, the number of likes and shares your posts receive, and the number of clicks on your podcast links. Social media assists in boosting podcast awareness, building a more connected audience, and driving new listeners to your podcast.
If you’re testing different promotion tactics whether it’s the type of copy, creative, or channel you’re using, ensure that you use those findings as benchmarks for future performance and insights.
CoHost Tip: Make sure you’re using trackable links when promoting your podcast so you can measure clicks to downloads. In order to set benchmarks for channel performance, you need to measure attribution.
6. Reviews and rankings
It’s important to track reviews and rankings to see what people are saying about your show. Feedback is helpful in improving future content and gives you a sense of what your show is doing well.
You can use reviews as part of your marketing strategy when it comes to promoting your podcast. Good reviews over time will help build your podcast’s credibility and reputation and it means more people who stumble upon your show might choose to download and tune in.
CoHost Tip: Remember, positive reviews are like free advertising. When someone leaves your first positive review, it’s a great opportunity to share it with potential guests, partners, or advertisers.
7. Press and invitations
If you’ve been podcasting for some time, you’ve likely carved a niche for yourself in your industry and are seen as a thought leader. Pay attention to key things such as:
- Are you frequently invited to guest speak on other podcasts in your industry?
- Have you been invited to contribute to blogs or included in cross-promotions?
- Do sponsors actively reach out to you?
- Do many listicles, like "Best Podcasts in [Your Niche]" feature you?
If so, your podcast is resonating with audiences and successfully positioning you as an expert in your space. Over time, keep your pulse on how quickly your growth is happening and the positive changes you’re making that contribute (and do more of that!).
We suggest tracking these things in a spreadsheet. You can separate it out by year or by quarter to see how your podcast's reach is growing over time.
Bonus tip: Benchmarking against other podcasts
As we mentioned above, it’s challenging to effectively benchmark podcast performance between different shows. But if your company is still interested in using a competitor show as a benchmark or inspiration for performance, you can focus on aspects like:
- Guests: What kind of guests does the podcast feature? Are they high-profile (celebrities/influencers) who bring in their own audience?
- Content: What kind of topics do they cover? What types of titles and descriptions do they use?
- Format: Is the show interview-based? If so, what kind of questions do they ask? Does their show's format fit the content they cover?
- Audience size on social media: How many followers do they have on major platforms? Do their posts get a lot of engagement? Which kinds of posts perform best?
- Website performance: With the help of tools like Moz and Semrush you can look to see how many monthly visitors your competitor's podcast website receives. You can also see their top-performing keywords to inspire your own SEO strategy.
Additionally, you can use tools like Rephonic or Podchaser to get an estimated benchmark of podcast performance.
However, make sure when comparing your show to another, there are similarities:
- Your shows are in the same niche
- They have a similar target audience
- They launched in a similar timeframe or are of similar sizes
How to set benchmarks to measure your podcast performance
Setting benchmarks to measure podcast performance is essential to grow your audience and create high-quality content that resonates. By tracking metrics like listeners per episode, downloads, and engagement, you can gain valuable insights into your audience, optimize your marketing strategy, and improve the overall performance of your podcast.
However, it's important to remember that metrics alone are not enough. To truly improve your podcast performance, you need to develop a holistic strategy that focuses on creating engaging and informative content, promoting your show on multiple platforms, collaborating with other creators, and continuously improving your content based on listener feedback.
If you’re curious to learn more or want to set up your podcast for success by tracking and setting the right benchmarks, feel free to get in touch with our team.
