Download analytics
Podlink reads your download data from OP3, the open podcast prefix — not from a counter we run ourselves. You get downloads and unique listeners per episode, a breakdown by listening app and country, and a trend line across the whole show. When a sponsor asks how you measure, you have an answer that stands up.
- Downloads and unique listeners, per episode and across the show
- Which apps your audience listens in, and which countries they are in
- Episode-over-episode comparison, so topic and title patterns show up
- An open measurement source a sponsor could check without you
Measurement that isn't ours to spin
Most podcast tools count your downloads with their own counter and ask you to trust the output. Podlink doesn't. Your numbers come from OP3 — an open source, independently operated analytics prefix that anyone can inspect. We read what OP3 recorded and show it to you. That means we cannot flatter your show, which is the entire point of using it.
- OP3 is open source and independently run, not a Podlink product
- The prefix sits in front of your audio file at https://op3.dev/e/
- The same source is available to anyone you are asking for money
Add the prefix once, then forget about it
You paste one prefix into your podcast host's settings. From that moment every episode you publish reports its downloads, and Podlink charts them against the episodes either side. There is nothing to install, no script on a website, and no change to how you record or upload.
- One setting in the host you already use — Buzzsprout, Transistor, Libsyn, Captivate, Acast and anything else with a standard RSS feed
- Applies to every new episode automatically
- Only episodes published behind the prefix are measured, so your numbers start the day you add it
Numbers you can send to a sponsor
A sponsor conversation stalls on one question: how do you know? Downloads per episode, listener countries and the trend over your last ten episodes answer it — and because the measurement is public and independent, you are handing over evidence rather than a screenshot of your own dashboard.
- Per-episode downloads for the window a sponsor cares about
- Country and app splits, so a regional advertiser can size the fit
- A measurement method you can name in one sentence
Download analytics questions
Where do the download numbers come from?
From OP3, an open, independently operated podcast analytics prefix. You add the prefix once in your host, OP3 measures the downloads, and Podlink reads them back and charts them. It is not our own counter, which is exactly why it is worth having.
Do I have to add the prefix?
Only if you want download charts. Everything else in Podlink — transcripts, show notes, clips, the newsletter, your podlink.fm page — works from your RSS feed whether or not you add it.
Will these numbers match my host's stats?
Close, but not to the exact download. Your host and OP3 both filter bots and duplicate requests, and they do it slightly differently. Two honest counters of the same audience will never agree perfectly; anyone who tells you otherwise is rounding something.
What happens to episodes I published before I added the prefix?
They stay exactly where they are and keep playing normally. They just aren't measured by OP3, because the prefix wasn't in front of them at the time. Your host's own historical stats are unaffected.
Your next episode could publish itself
Connect your feed, publish as normal, and find the show notes, clips, newsletter and social copy already waiting for you.
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