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Blubrry Podcast Statistics Compared to Other Statistics

Updated

Blubrry Statistics Compared to Other Services

How Blubrry Statistics Are Calculated

Blubrry Podcast Statistics are designed for accuracy and compliance with industry standards. Here’s how we calculate downloads:

  • Unique IP filtering: Each listener is identified by IP address.
  • User agent & location checks: We confirm valid podcast apps, browsers, and locations.
  • Bot & crawler filtering: Automated traffic is excluded.
  • Network adjustments: Special handling for large networks (universities, businesses) where many listeners share one IP.
Note: This method ensures your statistics reflect real listeners, not inflated request counts.

How Other Systems Compare

FeedBurner / Feedly

  • What they measure: Feed subscriptions (how many devices checked the feed in the last 24–48 hours).
  • Limitations: Cloud services like Feedly collapse many users into a single request, leading to underreporting.
Warning: FeedBurner and Feedly stats do not track downloads. Blubrry does not recommend using these services for podcast measurement.

Web Server Statistics (Webalizer, AWStats)

  • What they measure: All file requests from your server logs.
  • Limitations: Count bots, spiders, and repeated requests as “downloads,” leading to inflated numbers.
  • Good for: Bandwidth usage tracking, not podcast downloads.

JavaScript Web Statistics (Google Analytics, Jetpack)

  • What they measure: Activity on web pages (via JavaScript).
  • Limitations: Podcast apps (like Apple Podcasts) never load web pages or JavaScript, so those plays are invisible.
  • Good for: Website engagement, not podcast downloads.

Shortened URL Counters (Bitly, TinyURL, goo.gl)

  • What they measure: Browser “hits” on shortened links.
  • Limitations: Do not account for multiple hits per download; often inflated.
  • Problem: Shortened links strip file extensions (required for Apple Podcasts and most apps) and attract unnecessary crawler traffic.
Warning: Never use shortened URLs for podcast media files. They break podcast app compatibility and inflate stats.

Learn more: Podcast Statistics vs. Web Statistics in the Blubrry Podcasting Manual.

Need help? Contact Blubrry Support: https://blubrry.com/support