Growing Your Audience

Do ratings and reviews help people find your podcast?

If you’ve ever heard a podcaster say: “Leave me a review because it’ll help people find the show” you’ve probably thought “I should be saying that too!”

But, while it’s a lovely way to encourage people to review your show, it’s not exactly true.

Ratings and reviews are fantastic (if they’re positive) but they won’t help people find your podcast.

At least not in the way most people think.

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Do ratings and reviews help you get into Apple’s podcast charts?

Nope.

Back in the day, when this line started to be used a lot, Apple might have factored them into their chart algorithm but it’s not the case anymore.

These days, where you place in the charts is based on a combination of metrics that give Apple a picture of how much people like your show.

These metrics include downloads (how many people listen), completion rate (how much of your episodes they listen to) and follows (how many people like your show enough to follow it).

So, are reviews pointless?

Definitely not.

Just because they don’t get you into the charts doesn’t mean they don’t matter because they’re important for social proof.

When a new listener stumbles across your podcast, reviews help them decide whether or not they should press play.

Sometimes your rating might be the reason someone goes from thinking: “Should I try this?” to “I’ll give it a shot because it looks like people love it.”

How do the Apple Podcasts charts work?

Read

What if you get a bad reviews?

You will and there’s nothing wrong with that because not everyone will love your show.

If you’ve got a few bad reviews in a sea of positives, that’s something to note but not something to obsess over.

But if your average rating is low and the negative reviews keep coming, that’s probably a sign something’s not resonating with your audience and it’s worth digging into.

Should you ask your audience for ratings and reviews?

Of course, just don’t oversell what they do.

Instead of saying “It’ll help people find the show,” (which isn’t accurate) you could say something like “They help people decide if it’s worth checking out.”

That’s true and it still encourages action.

Plus, they’re a great way to hear from your listeners and can be the boost you need when podcasting is feeling like a slog.

Ratings and reviews might not push you up the charts but they do build trust and that’s just as powerful.