Libsyn Advanced statistics offers a range of different breakdowns from general download numbers to episode level social tracking, geographical data, and more. These breakdowns are available with the $20 level plan and higher.
To get started, click the Stats button on the menu on your Libsyn dashboard.
Show Statistics
The system aims to give you the most important information up front, providing totals at the show, episode, and social level.
Uniques vs. IAB
A toggle can be found in the upper right hand corner of the stats dashboard. This toggle will update all charts, graphs, and widgets below to the chosen algorithm.
Additional details on the differences between the Uniques algorithm and the IAB algorithm can be found here.
The top row displays show totals including total downloads, legacy downloads, and unique downloads.
Total Downloads
All time downloads tells you how many downloads the show has received all-time. This includes a combination of unique downloads and legacy downloads.
Legacy Downloads
In November, 2017, Libsyn migrated the stats system to a new algorithm and interface. When that happened, downloads which were processed under the new system were maintained, and were named Legacy Downloads. Any download prior to November 1, 2017 is considered a legacy download.
This widget displays how many total legacy downloads the show received.
Additional Information
Libsyn updated their stats processing algorithm as part of a move to follow the IAB standards for podcast stats processing. Additional details regarding this update can be found here and here.
Legacy downloads are downloads which occurred prior to November 1, 2017. If your show was created after November 1, 2017, your show won’t have legacy downloads.
Unique Downloads
Any download received after November 1st, 2017, is processed under Libsyn’s new stats algorithm and is calculated as a unique download. This widget displays how many total unique downloads the show has received.
Episode Totals Breakdown
The episodes totals breakdown is a table which displays all the episodes (which have received downloads), an how many downloads they received in the current month, last two months, and all time.
Social Stats
If you have connected Libsyn to Facebook and/or Twitter, you can view some insights inside the Libsyn interface.
The Twitter widget will display how many followers are associated with that Twitter handle. If you have more than one Twitter handle connected to Libsyn, each Twitter handle will display with their follower count here.
The Facebook widget will display how many likes are associated with that Facebook page. If you have more than one page connected to Libsyn, each page will display the corresponding like count here.
Additional Information
There is no correlation between views, retweets, likes, average time watched, and your download numbers.A YouTube view or a Facebook view is not included as a download in your overall download numbers as they are two separate entities. These views are streams from those services, whereas your download numbers are traditional downloads from podcasting outlets.
The Calendar
All information displayed below this point is based on a specific date range that is set using the calendar.
Using the calendar, a beginning and end date can be set. To do so, click inside the beginning date text box, and a calendar will drop down which you can select your beginning date from.
Next, click in the ending date text box, and again a calendar will drop down in which you can select the ending date.
Lastly, hit the Run button. All charts and graphs below will update to reflect the timeline specified.
Alternatively, time range presets can be launched by hitting the Defaults button.
Selecting any of the available presets will change all charts and graphs below to reflect the given time range.
Unique Downloads In Selected Date Range
To the right of the calendar settings is a Unique Downloads in Selected Date Range widget:
This number represents how many unique downloads your show has received in the time frame selected using the calendar.
Downloads Per Day - Uniques
The Downloads per Day chart displays downloads which have happened each day (based on the timeframe set in the calendar above) for the show. The upper left hand corner of the chart provides tabs for a weekly, and a monthly view as well.
Each day has a round handle that can be clicked on. If you click the handle, a list of all the episodes downloaded on that day will appear.
Clicking the Magnifying Glass in the right hand column will allow you to see stats for that specific episode (additional details found below for episode level stats).
Downloads Per Day - IAB
This chart changes a bit when loaded using the IAB metric.
This Downloads per Day chart displays the IAB download metric which have happened each day (based on the timeframe set in the calendar above) for the show. The upper left hand corner of the chart provides tabs for a weekly, and a monthly view as well.
This trend line also includes a Distinct Listeners count. This tracks the audience size based on the IP address and the user agent used. For example, if a listener downloads 10 episodes off your show in a day, that is 10 downloads, but a single distinct listener.
Downloads Per Episode
The next widget is the Downloads per Episode table. This table will list all the episodes on the show, ordered by the date the media was first available, and showing the total unique download count for that episode (based on the timeframe set in the calendar above).
Hitting the Magnifying Glass will display the stats for that specific episode (continue reading for additional information on episode stats).
Additional Information
The release date listed in stats is not always the release date shown in your RSS feed.
If you schedule an episode for release, you are given the option for the media file to be made available immediately, or to not be available until released to the first destination scheduled. By default, the media file is available immediately.
That means the media file is available for download by you, anyone you give the URL to, etc. For that reason, the true release date is the date the media file is first available, it is not the date you see in Apple Podcasts or on your RSS feed.
Downloads Per Destination
A destination is anywhere you send your episode to using Libsyn. Some examples of destinations include your RSS feed, media player, or podcast page.
The Downloads per Destination breakdown will show how many downloads the show has received to the different destinations (based on the time frame set in the calendar above). Each destination in this chart can be clicked on, allowing you to see even more details about those downloads.
The daily line graph at the top shows downloads to the show using that destination (based on the time frame set in the calendar).
The bar graph shows a monthly breakdown of downloads to the show using that destination (based on the time frame set in the calendar).
The table underneath displays a user agents breakdown. These are the user agents that were used to download content from the show using that destination (more on user agents below).
Geographic Stats
The geographic map highlights countries based on how many downloads to your show, in the timeline selected in the calendar above, have occurred. The more downloads that have occurred from that country, the darker the color.
Hovering over a country will highlight that particular country and show you how many downloads have occurred from that country. Click on the country for further breakdowns.
User Agents
A user agent is a program that is used to access something on the internet, be it a web page or a media file. If you have a website and have ever looked at your web site statistics, you likely will have seen a user agent associated; however, for websites a user agent is usually a web browser such as Firefox or Safari or Internet Explorer.
For podcasts and media files, user agents can expand on that list to include Apple Podcasts, iOS/iPhone apps, Android apps, Stitcher, and so on. These aren’t web browsers, but they are programs that are used to subscribe to, download, and/or listen to your content.
Additional Information
It is important to keep in mind, when looking at user agents, that not every user agent is backed by a human. If your user agent is Apple Podcasts, it is a sure bet that there is a listener using Apple Podcasts to download and listen to your podcast.
However, there are some user agents that are bots, programs written to scan the internet for content. Some bots are legitimate, usually stemming from search engines such as Google or Bing to find content on the internet and make it searchable. Other bots are benign, meaning they don’t serve a largely known purpose, but also don’t hurt anything – they just are. Occasionally, there is a bad bot that causes high amounts of traffic and serve no good purpose. The latter appears rarely, and often gets caught by filters, but reviewing your user agents can help you analyze your numbers further.
Episode Statistics
Stats can be viewed at the episode level as well, allowing you to see geographic, destination, and user agent data. To select a specific episode to view, use the Magnifying Glass on any episode table, or by clicking Episodes on your main menu on the left hand side.
The system aims to give you the most important information up front, providing totals at the episode, media file, and social level.
The top row displays episode totals including total downloads, legacy downloads, and unique downloads.
Total Downloads
All time downloads tells you how many downloads the episode has received all-time. This includes a combination of unique downloads and legacy downloads.
Legacy Downloads
As explained above, Libsyn migrated the stats system to a new algorithm and interface in November, 2017. Any download prior to November 1, 2017 is considered a legacy download. Anything after November 1, 2017 is processed by the new algorithm and is called a Unique Download.
This widget displays how many total legacy downloads the episode received.
Additional Information
This above example shows 0 downloads because this episode was released after November, 2017. Therefore, it has no legacy downloads.
Unique Downloads
Any download received after November 1st, 2017, is processed under Libsyn’s new stats algorithm and is calculated as a unique download. This widget displays how many total unique downloads the episode has received.
Media File Totals Breakdown
At the episode level, a table will appear displaying how many downloads in the last 2 months plus the current month have been received for any media file associated with the episode.
Additional Information
Most episodes only have one media file associated. However, in some advanced cases, a producer may have more than one media file associated with the episode. This table breaks down downloads based on the media files associated with the episode.
Social Stats
If you have connected Libsyn to Facebook and/or Twitter, you can view some insights inside the Libsyn interface.
The Twitter widget will display how many likes and how many retweets your Libsyn generated post received.
The Facebook widget will display how many views, comments, shares, and reactions your Libsyn generated post received.
If you click on Reactions, the number of each reaction type will be displayed.
Additional Information
The insights displayed for Facebook and Twitter are only for posts that Libsyn creates for you using either the Facebook or the Twitter destination. Any posts you create on those networks (even when using a Libsyn URL) will not be reflected in the social stats widgets.
The Calendar
All information displayed below this point is based on a specific date range that is set using the calendar.
Using the calendar, a beginning and end date can be set. To do so, click inside the beginning date text box, and a calendar will drop down which you can select your beginning date from.
Next, click in the ending date text box, and again a calendar will drop down in which you can select the ending date.
Lastly, hit the Run button. All charts and graphs below will update to reflect the timeline specified.
Alternatively, time range presets can be launched by hitting the Defaults button.
Selecting any of the available presets will change all charts and graphs below to reflect the given time range.
Unique Downloads In Selected Date Range
To the right of the calendar settings is a Unique Downloads in Selected Date Range widget:
This number represents how many unique downloads your episode has received in the time frame selected using the calendar.
Downloads Per Day
The downloads per day chart presents a line graph showing how many downloads were received to the episode per day, based on the time range set in the calendar above.
The upper left hand corner of the chart allows the view to switch between daily, weekly, and monthly views as well.
Downloads Per Media File
Any media files attached to how many downloads in the last 2 months plus the current month have been received for any media file associated with the episode.
Downloads per Destination
The Downloads per Destination breakdown will show how many downloads the episode has received to the different destinations (based on the time frame set in the calendar above). Each destination in this chart can be clicked on, allowing you to see even more details about those downloads.
The above two charts show the daily and monthly downloads to that destination for that episode based on the time frame set in the calendar above.
Geographic Stats
The geographic map highlights countries based on how many downloads to your episode, based on the time frame set in the calendar above, have occurred. The more downloads that have occurred from that country, the darker the color.
Hovering over a country will highlight that particular country and show you how many downloads have occurred from that country. Click on the country for further breakdowns.
User Agents
User agents are provided at the episode level based on the time frame set in the calendar above. These are the programs that were used to access the episode during that time frame.
Additional Features
There are additional features throughout the stats system that can assist you in evaluating and recording your numbers.
Chart Exports
For every chart (graphical representation, such as the geographic map for example), there is a down arrow which can be hovered over to expose a menu:
Download As
Download As allows you to download the chart exactly as you see it in image an image or PDF format.
Save As
Save As allows you to download the data in the chart as a CSV, XLSX, or JSON file.
Annotate
Annotate allows you to draw on top of the chart, and then save out those changes as an image or PDF.
Print allows you to print the chart.
Table Exports
For every table (such as the user agents table), there are two buttons in the upper right hand corner for CSV and PDF. Hitting either button will allow you to export the data in the table as shown in either a CSV or a PDF format.
Switching Between Chart and Table View
When looking at a chart, a button in the upper right hand corner will be available allowing you to switch to a table view. For example, switching to table view on the Geographic Map will give you a table that looks like this:
The button in the upper right hand corner will change, allowing you to switch back to chart view (or in this example, map view).
Getting Additional Help
Have questions? Contact our support staff at support@libsyn.com.