Glossary of Podcasting Terminology

ART19 Helpdesk
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Publishing (Series)

Advertising (Ad Ops)

Third Party Analytics Tracking

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Publishing (series)

RSS feed

The RSS feed contains all of the information listening apps need to deliver your series to listeners and subscribers. More information here.

Hosting platform

ART19 is a hosting platform. It is what's used to upload content, distribute to listening platforms and track performance. Some hosts, like ART19, also allow dynamic ad insertion.

Listening platform / app

This is where listeners find your content. These include Amazon Music Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts, but there are many many more.

Subscribers vs Listeners

Listeners subscribe on individual listening apps, not ART19 directly. Our database does track and report your series downloads, but we are unable to track subscribers/followers. Subscriber stats, as well as listen-through stats, will need to be accessed in each listening app (e.g. Spotify for Podcasters, and Apple Podcasts Connect).

301 redirect

When switching from one hosting platform to another your RSS feed will need to be redirected from your old feed to your new feed. This is known as a 301 redirect. Once set, all listening platforms will switch to follow your new feed.

Incremental download (streaming)

When a listener 'streams' a podcast they are actually using a method called incremental download. This means the audio is downloaded in small chunks at a time, rather than continuously.

Completion/listen-through rate

How far through an episode a listener gets before switching off. These stats are not sent to ART19 from the listening platforms but can sometimes be found within their own dashboards (e.g. Spotify for Podcasters, and Apple Podcasts Connect).

Downloads vs Impressions

Downloads show how many times your podcast/episode has been downloaded. Impressions show how many times a campaign/ad has been inserted into an episode. In short - downloads for episodes, impressions for campaigns.

 

Advertising (Ad Ops)

Ad Campaign

One or more ads targeting a series or group of series.

Ad Break (Ad Markers, Ad Insertion Points or AIPs)

A place in your episode where ads can play, usually broken down into three types:

  • Pre-roll ad - towards the start of your episode, but does not have to be at the very beginning.
  • Mid-roll ad - mid-way through your episode
  • Post-roll ad - towards the end, or at the very end

Ad targeting

There are numerous ways to make sure your campaigns reach the right audience. Within ART19 you can target different locations (geo-targeting), feeds and devices.

Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI)

The ability to insert ads at the time of download, ensuring listeners hear the most up to date and relevant campaigns.

Baked-in Ad

Ads that sit within the episode's audio. These ads stay the same no matter when the episode is downloaded.

Host-Read Ad

Ads that are read by the host of the show

Programmatic advertising

Dynamic and automatic ad selection, often via a 3rd party ad server. Sometimes referred to as VAST.

Cost per Thousand/CPM

This metrics refers to the cost of an ad per 1,000 listens, which is typically a set feet which varies based on the popularity of the show.

Cost Per Acquisition/CPA

The cost for every customer/listener you acquire.

 

Third Party Analytics Tracking

Pixels

A tracking pixel comes from third party ad management system to monitor the delivery of a campaign. It can be added to an entire campaign or at the ad level. For more information on how to use these within ART19 see our help centre articles here.

Prefixes

Adding a prefix to your series RSS URL will allow more advanced data to be tracked on your series whenever there is a listen/download. This essentially allows you to have your podcast statistics collected on a third party tool dashboard.

For example, here are Podtracs key audience metrics (however this may vary by tool): 

  • Unique Downloads by Episode
  • Unique Downloads by Source
  • Unique Downloads by Country
  • Unique Monthly Audience

Podcast Ecosystem

  • Ad Seller: Companies who sell podcast ads across content to which they have the sales rights.

  • Ad Tech Platform: Platforms who provide the ad technology to aggregate content and monetize podcasts at scale.

  • Measurement Vendor: Vendors who help with analytics and measure ad effectiveness.

More Resources:

Sounds Profitable: https://soundsprofitable.com/guide-and-article/podcast-industry-glossary/

 

 

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