How Do You Measure Podcast Advertising Performance?
How Do You Measure Podcast Advertising Performance?
Measuring podcast advertising performance is notoriously difficult because podcast consumption happens off-platform and often without clicks or direct attribution paths. To measure podcast ads effectively, marketers rely on a combination of survey data, promo code tracking, brand lift studies, and triangulation with modeled attribution.
Why Podcast Attribution Is Hard
Podcast ads live in a “dark funnel.” Listeners hear the ad, but they’re usually multitasking—driving, walking, working out. They don’t click anything. They may not take action until days later. And when they do, the path is rarely trackable by traditional attribution tools.
This creates major blind spots in your media mix. Even high-performing podcast channels might look like they’re under-delivering when judged by last-click or platform-based ROAS.
Common Ways to Measure Podcast Ads
Method | Description | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
Promo Codes / Vanity URLs | Unique code or link mentioned in podcast ads | Easy to implement, ties back to podcast | Under-reports due to poor usage or delayed actions |
Post-Purchase Surveys | Ask “How did you hear about us?” after checkout | Captures intent directly from customers | Relies on recall; best with moderate volume |
Brand Lift Studies | Third-party studies measuring awareness or intent | Provides strategic insights | Costly, slow, not actionable daily |
MMM / MTA | Modeled attribution using statistical methods | Scalable, data-driven | Lags in real-time; misses short-term shifts |
Why Post-Purchase Surveys Work
Post-purchase surveys are often the only way to attribute podcast performance accurately. They capture the untrackable, straight from the source—your customer.
Fairing’s Post Purchase Survey integrates directly with e-commerce platforms and lets you:
Capture “Podcast” as a response instantly at checkout
Break it down by show, network, or campaign
Compare survey data to platform-reported conversions
Validate (or challenge) podcast agency performance
Unlike promo codes, survey data doesn’t rely on customer behavior. It reveals what influenced the purchase, not just what was clicked.
How to Measure Podcast Performance with Fairing
Add "Podcast" as a survey option in your post-purchase survey
Include an auto-suggest follow-up question like “Which podcast?” to get more detail
Compare Fairing data to platform reports monthly
Use insights to adjust spend and creative
Real-World Example
A DTC wellness brand was scaling podcast spend but saw low ROAS in their attribution platform. After installing Fairing, they found 22% of new customers cited podcasts as their discovery source. Armed with this insight, they doubled down on top-performing shows and reduced CAC by 19%.
Final Thoughts
Podcast ads work—but only if you can measure them. Without survey data, you’re flying blind. Fairing’s post-purchase surveys give you visibility into one of the most valuable, but least trackable, channels in your media mix.
Ready to see what podcast ads are really driving? Start measuring with Fairing.
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