Spotify Podcast Conversion Rate Benchmarks
Spotify’s podcast discovery dashboard is a powerful tool to diagnose and fix potential issues with your show’s packaging and improve your show’s visibility and listener acquisition. Here’s how to make sense of their data.
Awareness → Interest
Conversion Rate
8.0%
This is the median percentage of unique people who see a podcast and go on to visit the podcast page or episode page, add an episode of the show to playlists, follow the show, or play any episode on Spotify for 0 seconds or more.
Interest → Stream
Conversion Rate
64.2%
This is the median percentage of people who show interest in a show, and then go on to play any episode in the show’s catalog on Spotify for at least 60 seconds.
Help Improve Our Benchmark Accuracy
We rely on podcaster-submitted data to establish our benchmarks. The more podcasters like you submit their data, the more accurate (and useful) the benchmarks become.
How To Use Spotify’s Discovery Dashboard to Grow Your Podcast
Additional Spotify Podcast Listener Acquisition Benchmarks
Awareness → Interest Conversion Rate
8.0%
High: 39.8%
Low: 1.6%
Average: 9.3%
The median percentage of people who see a show that engage with it in any way.
Interest → Stream Conversion Rate
64.2%
High: 89.2%
Low: 17.3%
Average: 62.9%
The median percentage of people who show interest in a show that go on to stream it.
Overall Awareness → Stream Conversion Rate
4.8%
High: 32.0%
Low: 1.4%
Average: 6.0%
The overall median percentage of people who see a show that go on to stream it.
Spotify Podcast Impression Benchmarks
30 Day Impressions/Show
16,298
High: 5,055,191
Low: 844
Average: 340,779
The median number of times Spotify showed each show to Spotify users in the previous 30 days.
30 Day Impressions Per Person Per Show
6.1
High: 24.8
Low: 2.5
Median: 6.1
The average number of times a typical Spotify user was shown a given show.
Spotify Impression Breakdown
Spotify recommends podcasts in various in-app locations. Here’s the breakdown of where Spotify users are most likely to be presented with podcasts.
Spotify Home
60.2%
High: 2,979,559
Median: 7,735
Low: 161
Search
29.5%
High: 1,301,256
Median: 4,703
Low: 268
Library
10.3%
High: 773,698
Median: 1,288
Low: 26
Other
0.0%
High: 678
Median: 2
Low: 0
What The Spotify Algorithm Likes To Promotes
Of the shows that submitted Spotify discovery data, 18 had more than 100k impressions in the previous 30 days. Here’s a closer look at what these shows are doing.
High Impression Podcast Benchmarks
Median benchmarks for shows in our data set with more than 100k impressions in the past 30 days.
Awareness → Interest Conversion rate
8.0%
0.0% Higher than Average
Interest → Stream Conversion Rate
70.1%
5.8% Higher than Average
Overall Awareness → Stream Conversion rate
5.3%
0.5% Higher than Average
30-Day
Impressions
866,212
5,215% Higher than Average
30-Day
Streams
4,844
3,241% Higher than Average
30-Day
Impressions/Person
8.6
41% Higher than Average
General Show Trends Among High Impression Podcasts
Audience
66.7%
23.4% Higher than Average
Of high impression shows we categorised as targeting either a broad audience within a specific category (38.9%) — ie. general Business shows — or mass market audiences (27.8%).
Of the remaining shows 16.7% targetted niche audiences with another 16.7% targeting hyper-narrow niche audiences.
Show Purpose
55.6%
27.2% Higher than Average
Of high-impression shows we categorized as pleasure-givers — ie. shows designed to entertain, relax, etc listeners.
The second most popular show type was problem-solvers (38.9%) — ie. shows designed to help listeners learn something or improve their lives in a structured, tangible way.
The remaining shows (5.6%) were designated as thought-piece style shows.
Format
50.0%
13.5% Higher than Average
Of high impression show titles were solo-hosted shows.
Interview (16.7%) and Co-Hosted (16.7%) shows were second most common.
The remaining shows were split between Narrative (11.1%) a single daily news style show 5.5%).
Show Packaging Trends Among High Impression Podcasts
Title Clarity
72.2%
6.4% Higher than Average
Of high impression show titles made it immediately clear what the show was about.
Of the remaining shows, all of them strongly evoked or hinted at the title.
Not a single show had a title that was completely unclear as to what the show was about.
Artwork Legitimacy
66.7%
5.8% Higher than Average
Of high impression shows featured artwork we deemed to convey a high degree of immediate legitimacy to the show with professionally designed, tasteful artwork.
Of the remaining shows 22.2% conveyed a medium level of legitimacy, with 11.1% featuring cover art with a low-degree of legitimacy.
Artwork Legibility
94.4%
12.2% Higher than Average
Of high-impression shows featured artwork where the title was easily readable even at small sizes.
Just one show from this category featured artwork where the title wasn’t highly legible… but this show was a highly niche show with strong visual imagery that evoked the show’s topic.
Host Photo In Artwork
16.7%
17.1% Lower than Average
Of high impression show titles featured the host’s photo in the show artwork.
Design-Y Elements
50.0%
16.2% Higher than Average
Of high impression shows had artwork that prominently featured professional quality, highly-designed elements such as illustrations, custom typeface treatments, and more.
Text As Primary Element
27.8%
16.8% Lower than Average
Of high-impression shows featured the show title text as the primary graphical element on the artwork.
How To Diagnose Your Spotify Conversion Rate Analytics
If your show’s conversion rates are lower than the benchmarks listed above, it’s a sign that you’re missing out on potential listeners who are seeing your show… but deciding not to listen. Here are some potential reasons why.
Reasons For a Low Awareness → Interest Conversion Rate
- Cover art that is doesn’t clearly communicate what the show is about
- Cover art that doesn’t look legitimate — ie. instill a high degree of confidence that the show will be worth their time
- Show title that doesn’t clearly communicate what the show is about
- Highly competitive space with lots of similar shows
- Show about an ultra-niche topic within a larger, more popular space
Reasons For a Low Interest → Stream Conversion Rate
- Your description doesn’t align with what potential listeners were looking for
- Your episode content doesn’t align with what people were expecting when they clicked into the show
- Your episode titles don’t grab listeners
- Your audio quality isn’t great, causing listeners to stop listening before the 60-second mark
- Inconsistent publish schedule or inactive show
Diagnosing 4 Common Conversion Rate Scenarios
How to Improve Your Spotify Podcast Conversion Rates
Now that you know why your conversion rates might be low, here’s how to go about fixing them.
Improve Your Show Packaging
Case Study: How a Podcast Cover Art Redesign Helped Growth Mindset Psychology Grow 45% in One Month (+2,000 Downloads/Episode)
Podcast Packaging Teardowns
In every episode, we deconstruct the new listener experience of a different podcast to show you how to improve your show’s discovery and listener acquisition.
Read Our In Depth Guides
The 4 Phases of Podcast Growth
If your marketing isn’t working, there’s a good chance it’s because you’re using the wrong tactics for the phase of growth you’re in. Here’s how to use the right marketing strategy at the right time
How to Become A Better Podcast Interviewer
A practical guide to improving your interviews, episodes, and guest relationships using the hidden skills, traits & practices behind truly great guest interviews.
The Definitive Guide to Podcast Hooks
The dark art & curious science of crafting a podcast that worms its way into your listeners’ minds and refuses to leave.
Subscribe To Our Free Content
Daily Podcast Marketing Micro Lessons
A daily newsletter breaking down the mechanics and the magic of making and marketing podcasts that grow, sell, and resonate.
Data-Driven Podcast Marketing Insights
Exploring the data behind the biggest and fastest growing shows to help you make better, smarter, more effective marketing decisions for your show.
Podcast Marketing Tear Downs
In every episode, we dissect one podcast to uncover tips, tactics, and strategies you can implement to grow your show.
Find Out Why Your Show Isn’t Growing & Converting
Take our free two-minute assessment to identify the gaps in your marketing that are keeping you from growth.
Plus receive a personalized roadmap of what to do to fix them.
Work With Us
A Step-by-Step Playbook to Your First 500 Podcast Subscribers
First500 is a self-paced video course and playbook walking you through the single hardest phase of podcast marketing: Gaining initial traction.
First500 Is Designed For:
- Established shows that have hit a plateau at fewer than 500 downloads per episode
- New shows that are looking to develop their ongoing post-launch marketing strategy
- Hosts who are new to—or intimidated by—marketing and looking for a straightforward, easy-to-follow playbook to get started
- Business owners, creators, and podcast managers looking for the 80/20 solution to gaining traction without spending hours consuming content.
Personalized, On-Demand Podcast Strategy For Businesses & Pro Creators
The PMA Membership gives you on-demand access to everything you need to grow your show, including personalized strategy & feedback, 100+ hours of podcast marketing training, dozens of step-by-step marketing playbooks, weekly coaching calls, a community of growth-oriented podcasters, and more.
The PMA Membership Is Designed For:
- Experienced business owners, professional creators, marketers, and podcast professionals looking for ongoing personalized marketing support
- Established shows that have been podcasting for at least a year and are looking to accelerate growth
- Brands & business owners looking to increase client acquisition and podcast-driven revenue
- Hosts looking to build (or grow) a robust cross-channel marketing strategy around podcasting, email, video, social, and more
Or, if you’re feeling especially saucy, you can apply to work with us directly via a personalized podcast audit, custom growth plan, and ongoing 1:1 marketing support.