Why Your Podcast Rankings Don’t Matter (And What Actually Does)

Your podcast is invisible, and no one cares. That’s the brutal reality. While you’re obsessing over rankings on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, you’re missing the bigger picture. You think cracking the top charts is your ticket to success? Think again. Rankings are just a symptom of something far deeper—something that determines whether you’re just another show lost in the noise or a podcast that truly connects with its audience.

In this post, we're not just talking about rankings. We’re diving into what actually moves the needle, sharing insights that will not only elevate your show but also change how you think about podcasting altogether.

The Real Reason Your Podcast Isn’t Growing

Everyone’s obsessed with rankings, but here's the ugly truth: They mean nothing if your content doesn’t resonate. Rankings can be manipulated, gamed, and faked. What truly matters is relevance—are you making something that’s indispensable to your audience? That’s where the focus should be.

Stop chasing numbers. Instead, start chasing impact. Understand the one thing that separates successful podcasts from the rest: They aren’t just consumed—they’re experienced.

The Metrics That Actually Matter (And Why Rankings Are Overrated)

Forget downloads, streams, or the chart position everyone’s obsessed with. If you really want to gauge your podcast's success, pay attention to these:

1. Engagement Over Downloads: What’s more important than how many people hit play? How many of them actually finish the episode. Focus on keeping your listeners to the end—those are the people who will come back and spread the word.
2. Subscriber Stickiness: It’s not about getting subscribers; it’s about keeping them. If you have subscribers who stick around for more than five episodes, you’re doing something right. That’s the real metric to track—not the inflated subscriber count.
3. Shareability: Are people talking about your podcast? Are they sharing it with their friends, colleagues, or on social media? If not, you’ve got a problem. Stop obsessing over chart positions and start asking why your listeners aren’t telling others about your show.

The Hidden Secrets Behind Effective Tools (And What They Don’t Tell You)

You’ve probably heard of Apple Podcasts Connect, Spotify for Podcasters, Chartable, and Podcharts. But let’s cut through the fluff—here’s what they won’t tell you:

• Apple Podcasts Connect: It’s great for basic analytics, but it’s not going to give you the full picture. Instead, use it to track which parts of your episodes are losing listeners. This will tell you more about what’s not working than any download number ever will.
• Spotify for Podcasters: Everyone talks about its demographic insights, but here’s the dirty secret: Most of that data is useless if you don’t know how to leverage it. Focus on engagement patterns instead. What time are people listening? Which episodes are being replayed? Use that to tailor your future content.
• Chartable: It’s not just about tracking rankings across platforms. Dig into where your downloads are coming from, and then double down on those sources. Find out which websites, social posts, or referral links are driving traffic and milk them for all they’re worth.

Stop the BS: Strategies That Actually Work

Here’s where I’m going to be blunt—stop wasting time with generic advice and focus on what really matters:

1. SEO Is NOT Your Savior (But It’s a Start)

Yes, keywords are important, but if you’re relying on SEO alone, you’re already lost. Instead, create episodes that answer questions your listeners are desperate to have answered. And I’m not talking about obvious stuff—get into the nitty-gritty. Solve problems your listeners didn’t even know they had.

Actionable Tip: Make your episode descriptions read like a search engine query. Instead of generic terms, think, “What would my listener type into Google when they’re at their breaking point?”

2. Stop Posting Generic Social Media Content

Your listeners don’t care about your episode announcement posts. They care about the story behind the episode, the guest’s most jaw-dropping insight, or the moment you broke down in laughter. Get vulnerable. Share moments from your episodes that made you feel something.

Pro Move: Create audiograms, but make them unpredictable. Instead of just a highlight, create mini-stories with them. Make them impossible to scroll past.

3. Collaboration Is King, But Most Are Doing It Wrong

Stop chasing big-name guests who won’t promote your episode. Instead, partner with podcasters in your niche who have a dedicated audience and swap episodes. Cross-promotion only works if the person’s audience is already inclined to care about what you have to say.

Unconventional Idea: Do a “Podcast Swap,” where you and another host review each other’s episodes live. Promote the hell out of it, and make it a monthly feature.

4. Your Listeners Are Your Marketing Team (If You Let Them Be)

Engage with your audience like your podcast depends on it—because it does. Create episodes around their questions, feature their stories, or invite them to leave voicemails that you can play on your show.

Real Engagement Strategy: Launch a mini-challenge tied to your podcast topic. For example, if your podcast is about productivity, create a “7-Day Productivity Challenge” and feature stories from participants on your show. Now you’ve got listeners invested in your content and sharing it with others.

Real-World Example: How One Podcast Nailed It (And How You Can Too)

Take "The Side Hustle School" podcast by Chris Guillebeau. It started out slow, like most podcasts, but then something shifted. They noticed a spike in engagement every time they featured real-life success stories from their listeners. So, they doubled down on that, featuring more case studies, actionable insights, and listener contributions.

The result? A 300% increase in downloads in just six months. They weren’t chasing rankings—they were chasing relevance. And that’s the key difference.

The Truth About Consistency (Hint: You’re Probably Doing It Wrong)

Everyone preaches consistency, but most podcasters are consistent with their mediocrity. It’s not just about releasing episodes regularly; it’s about consistently delivering value. If you can’t commit to making every episode better than the last, don’t bother showing up.

Brutal Reality: The podcast graveyard is full of shows that released every Tuesday at 8 AM but never once gave a damn about their audience’s needs. Don’t be one of them.

Your Final Wake-Up Call

If you’re still focusing on rankings, you’re already losing. What you need to care about is creating something so compelling, so irresistible, that your listeners can’t help but share it. That’s the only metric that matters.

So, here’s the question you need to ask yourself: Are you just another podcaster chasing vanity metrics, or are you ready to create something that genuinely matters?

The choice is yours.