Podcasting has its own language — and if you’re new to the space, it can feel like everyone already knows what all the terms mean. RSS feeds, hosting, CPM, downloads, distribution… it’s easy to get lost in the jargon. Blubrry breaks down some of the most common podcasting terms in plain English. Whether you’re just starting your show or looking to better understand how the podcasting ecosystem works, this episode will help make sense of the terminology that powers podcast publishing, distribution, and monetization.

The basic terms can be the hardest to understand. They seem basic, but when talking about your Podcast, clarity can make all the difference. 

An RSS feed is the distribution engine for a podcast.

It’s a file that contains the core information about your show, including:

Podcast apps like Apple Podcasts and Spotify read this feed and display the show inside their apps.

When a new episode is published, the RSS feed updates. Podcast apps check the feed and automatically pull in the new episode.

Podcast hosting is where the media files for a podcast are stored.

When an episode is uploaded to a host such as Blubrry Podcasting, the platform:

Podcast directories do not store the audio themselves. They simply read the RSS feed from the hosting platform.

Hosting is the foundation that makes podcast distribution possible.

Podcast directories are the platforms where listeners discover and play podcasts.

Examples include:

These platforms do not host the podcast files. Instead, they pull the show information from the RSS feed and display it inside their apps.

Once a podcast is submitted to a directory, new episodes appear automatically whenever the RSS feed updates.

In podcasting, the primary measurement used for analytics is downloads.

A download occurs when a podcast app requests the audio file from the host.

This means the episode was delivered to a device. It does not necessarily mean the listener played the entire episode.

Downloads are the industry standard measurement used for podcast analytics and advertising reporting.

CPM stands for Cost Per Mille, which means cost per 1,000 downloads.

It is one of the most common pricing models used in podcast advertising.

Example:

That would equal roughly $100 for that advertisement placement.

CPM helps advertisers estimate campaign costs and helps podcasters estimate potential ad revenue.

These terms describe where an advertisement appears within an episode.

Mid-roll placements are often the most valuable because listeners are already engaged with the episode.

Dynamic Ad Insertion allows advertisements to be added to episodes automatically during playback.

Instead of permanently editing ads into the audio file, the ads are inserted when the episode is streamed or downloaded.

This allows:

Episode artwork is an image attached to an individual podcast episode.

It can highlight:

Episode artwork is optional but can make episodes more visually engaging across podcast apps and websites.

A podcast landing page is a simple webpage that displays podcast episodes and listening links in one place.

These pages typically include:

They provide a shareable home for the podcast outside of podcast apps.

Publishing refers to releasing an episode inside a podcast hosting platform.

Distribution is what happens afterward — when podcast apps detect the new episode in the RSS feed and display it for listeners.

Once a podcast is approved in directories, new episodes are distributed automatically when they are published.

Podcasting terminology can feel complicated at first, but most of the concepts describe simple parts of the same system.

The basic process looks like this:

Once these fundamentals are understood, the rest of podcasting terminology becomes much easier to navigate.

For the best support, please use our Blubrry ticket system so our full team can help. Join the Blubrry Podcasting Facebook Group for general podcasting discussion.

Share your feedback at surveys.blubrry.com/podcastinsider.

Blubrry hosting customers can schedule a one-on-one tech checkup with Mike ([email protected])