My other thread reminded me of another question to ask the group:

How are you tracking your downloads? I'm having a hard time tracking all downloads of individual shows, i.e. downloads via feeds, from my site, and via directories. I use several systems but they all have downsides.

Feedburner only tracks downloads via the feed, while Podpress picks up only downloads that come through the links it provides. Webstat does great for page views, but doesn't pick up downloads at all. Google analytics requires you to put a script on each file, and I don't think that would work with Podpress. The best stat I can do is via the stats provided by my web host. They offer a "file access" stat, which is how many times different file types are accessed. They break out mp3 files. The problem is that this doesn't break out by individual files and I'm not certain of their definition of an "access".

I've always gotten episode stats from my host. Of course, my host used to be Libsyn and now is Podshow, so I've always been with hosts who understood stats tracking and what was needed.

I just use PodPress and run everything through that. I host my files from my site and I use the feed provided by WordPress/PodPress. Therefore, my setup is very simple and straightforward. With my setup (I think) I am getting all the stats that I can reasonably have.

The only thing I may be missing is if a site caches my files and serves from their host. I don't know who might be doing that, but those would be the only numbers I miss with my setup.

Since I am not trying to monetize my main podcast, these numbers are solely for my benefit. They are at least encouraging enough to keep me going. If I needed more specific numbers, then this might not be the best arrangement, but it works for me right now.

If you change all the individual episode links on your web page to match the enclosure URLs that Feedburner generates in order to track the downloads, then Feedburner will cover everything. Rob from Podcast411 did a test of this about a year ago and he said that doing it that way matched his Libsyn stats almost exactly. And directories shouldn't be an issue because they're all pulling the individual episode URLs from your RSS feed, which Feedburner's already rewritten.

Some great information. Thank you.

The way I'm doing it right now is actually a bit convoluted. I write a post on my podcast and use podpress there to put up the flash mp3 player and download link. Then, I use Rapidfeeds to create a separate feed with an enclosure. That Rapidfeeds feed is served via Feedburner. The reason I have the second feed is that my episode blog posts tend to be rather long and I think when people are reading descriptions on directory sites (that use RSS feeds to populate descriptions) they want something shorter.

So ... probably the thing to do, since I'm not relying on podpress to create my enclosures, is to use podpress ONLY to create the flash player. Since I want to use a flash player in addition to the download option, that way I can get stats from the player. Then, I can put a link to the Feedburner file enclosure link below the player, so Feedburner will grab all stats.

Make sense?

I've written several perl scripts that grep my apache logs and save each day's mp3 download statistics into a simple database. Another script builds a hidden web page that presents those statistics to me. You can see a little of how that works on my "About..." page.

I use FeedBurner for subscribers and live hits and PodTrac for downloads. I love PodTrac.

Yeah, Podtrac is the shiznit. Go podtrac. It's super easy to set up, and while some days it doesn't update, it always keeps track. You can see your "complete" downloads, and not just the partials. It tracks by country, source, and episode both daily and monthly. Give it a shot.

I signed up for podtrac last night and was starting to put the codes in my downloadable files, but then the site went down, to be replaced by a GoDaddy placeholder. It made me a touch nervous and I removed the codes. If you guys think it's that good, though, I'll go back tonight and set it up again.

Podtrac being down. That was my exclusive. I blogged on it, and nobody else caught it anywhere. But apparently, since it went back up like an hour after I posted, the story only got a few diggs, and Slashdot ignored it.

But yeah, I guarantee it'll never happen again to them, and Podtrac is VERY reliable, so use them.

Aye aye!

Okay ... Podtrac is frustrating the hell out of me. I like their podcast player and I'm using that. However, the tracking ... well, I don't get it. I put the prefixes in three days ago, and it still says my podcast isn't being tracked. I sent a tech support email yesterday and haven't heard anything. Any ideas? It's a shame too ... I like what they described as their stat service.

Give it a little time. I remember it taking a week to be working and accurate. It does work.

I actually called them today, since they didn't respond to my two emails. The woman I talked with checked my site and feed and said I was set up correctly. She said the measurement will likely start tomorrow. She listened to bit of my promo to make sure the feed was working, and said she liked it. Playing to my ego is one of the surest ways to diffuse irritation with me

I've moved away from Podtrac's player to use an embedded one instead. Check out the one on my site--I think it says, "Sample me" much more than Podtrac's button, IMO.

I think it's just a matter of what you want. I like that the Podtrac one is a popup. People can surf around and listen at the same time. Yours is cool, though.

And, no, my measurement hasn't started yet. Argh!

Of course, downloading is one thing. Listening to it is another thing. To track if people are listening to your podcast would require tracking software on the listener's computer or mobile device. There are some initiatives for tracking listening on the computer (last.fm), but I've seen none for mobile devices (iPod, cellphone, etc.). Nielsen Wireless is planning to do something like this on mobile phones "later this year" (see this recent article on podcastingnews.com).

Just a thought when reading the responses in this thread.

There was a recent survey (I'd have to look it up) that said 2/3 of podcast listnerers listened to at least PART of every podcast they download. Obviously that's not the same as Neilsen verification, but it's something.

That is sobering, and perhaps depressing if you have put hours of work in your podcasting episode.

That reminds me of a story a chief editor of a local newspaper told me. Once a year they had a meeting with some of the readers they invited for that occasion. Reporters and editors mingled with the readers and talked about what they found interesting about the newspaper. That brought on humility to the reporters and editors, because what they deemed to be important and what the readers thought was important were two completely different things.

I guess as a podcaster, you have somewhat more insight into what listeners think of your production, but only from those who feel the need to respond. I think most listeners will not respond at all, because they are trained by all those years of passive listening and watching to broadcast media and reading one-to-many print media.

I really should change my behavior, because I'm guilty of consuming myself as well. Bad habits are hard to break, it seems.

Sorry for going a bit off topic here. I thought it was relevant for the discussion about metrics. In podcasting traditional metrics and cpm are overrated and based on old principles, if you'd ask me. I think user engagement and finding a niche is more important than having a large listener base.

Problem is, it's hard to prove you've found a niche. It's easy to prove downloads.

And I'm STILL waiting for my podtrac measurement to kick in.

...sigh...

Can you believe I'm just now getting this fixed? After three calls to Podtrac they finally let me know that when you turn on stats in the Podpress plugin for Wordpress, it interferes with the Podtrac system.

I fixed the issue on my end and I'm told I'll see stats tomorrow.

I hope Podtrac's stats system is really "all that". It's been a massive headache getting it to work. Their documentation leaves a lot to be desired in a number of ways.

So you cannot use PodPress' stats at the same time you are getting PodTrac stats? I don't mind adding a new stat system, but I would hate to walk away from something that I know is working for me into unknown territory.

I would be very curious to see your thoughts on the PodTrac stat system.

Yup. Apparently Podpress creates a redirect that screws with Podtrac's redirect.

I got my first batch of stats from Podtrac today. I'm fairly happy with them. Their site design is god awful, though. The stats page is blue and grey lettering on a blue background. My eyes are bleeding from trying to read it.