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Tracking URLs allow you to monitor downloads of your audio, video, and media files by routing them through third-party analytics services. This is a standard practice in the podcast industry.

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How Tracking URLs Work

microfeed automatically prepends your configured tracking URLs to media file URLs in your RSS and JSON feeds. When a podcast app or browser requests the media file, the request passes through the tracking service first, allowing it to log the download before redirecting to your actual file.

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URL Transformation

Your configuration (Settings > Tracking URLs): 
https://op3.dev/e/
https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/
Original media URL: 
https://media-cdn.microfeed.org/audio/episode-001.mp3
Final URL in your RSS feed: 
https://op3.dev/e/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/media-cdn.microfeed.org/audio/episode-001.mp3
Order matters! Tracking URLs are prepended in the order you list them. The first URL in your list becomes the outermost prefix.

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Supported Services

You can use any tracking service that supports prefix-based URL tracking.

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OP3 (Open Podcast Prefix Project)

URL: https://op3.dev/e/ Features:
  • Free and open source
  • Privacy-focused
  • No signup required
  • Real-time stats
  • Public download counts
Setup:
  1. Add https://op3.dev/e/ to your tracking URLs
  2. Update your settings
  3. View stats at https://op3.dev/show/{your-rss-url}
If your RSS feed is at:
https://mypodcast.pages.dev/rss/
View stats at:
https://op3.dev/show/https://mypodcast.pages.dev/rss/

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Podtrac

URL: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/ (for audio) Features:
  • Industry standard analytics
  • Detailed listener demographics
  • Episode performance tracking
  • IAB certified measurement
Setup:
  1. Sign up at analytics.podtrac.com
  2. Add https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/ to tracking URLs
  3. Access dashboard at analytics.podtrac.com
  • Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/
  • Video: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp4/
If you have both audio and video, add both URLs to track different media types.

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Chartable

URL: https://chtbl.com/track/{TRACKER_ID}/ Features:
  • Owned by Spotify
  • Advanced analytics
  • SmartPromos for cross-promotion
  • Attribution tracking
Setup:
  1. Sign up at chartable.com
  2. Get your tracker ID from dashboard
  3. Add https://chtbl.com/track/{TRACKER_ID}/ to tracking URLs

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Blubrry

URL: Provided after signup Features:
  • Comprehensive podcast statistics
  • IAB certified
  • Detailed reporting
Setup:
  1. Sign up at blubrry.com
  2. Generate your tracking URL
  3. Add to your microfeed tracking URLs

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Custom Tracking Services

You can use any service that:
  • Accepts URLs in prefix format
  • Redirects to the original media file
  • Provides download statistics
Simply add the service’s prefix URL to your tracking URLs list.

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Configuration Steps

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1. Access Tracking Settings

Navigate to your admin dashboard: 
https://your-site.pages.dev/admin/settings/
Scroll to the Tracking URLs section.

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2. Add Tracking URLs

Enter one tracking URL per line in the textarea: 
https://op3.dev/e/
https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/
https://chtbl.com/track/ABC123/

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3. Save Configuration

Click the Update button. You’ll see a success message when saved.

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4. Verify in RSS Feed

Check your RSS feed at /rss/ to confirm tracking URLs are prepended: 
<enclosure 
  url="https://op3.dev/e/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/example.com/audio.mp3"
  length="15360000"
  type="audio/mpeg"/>

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Best Practices

Combine services for redundancy and cross-verification:
  • Use OP3 for real-time public stats
  • Use Podtrac or Chartable for detailed analytics
  • Compare numbers between services to verify accuracy
If using OP3, place it first in your list:
https://op3.dev/e/
https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/
This makes OP3’s public stats the outermost tracking layer.
Each prefix adds:
  • Extra DNS lookup
  • Additional HTTP redirect
  • Slight download delay
Limit to 2-3 tracking services to maintain good user experience.
After configuring tracking:
  1. Submit your RSS feed to a podcast app
  2. Download an episode
  3. Verify the download appears in your tracking service dashboards
If a tracking service goes down, it can break media downloads. Monitor your services and remove any that are consistently unavailable.

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Troubleshooting

Check:
  1. Verify tracking URLs are correctly formatted in Settings
  2. Ensure URLs end with / if required by the service
  3. Check RSS feed source to confirm URLs are prepended
  4. Allow 24-48 hours for some services to process data
  5. Verify you’re logged into the correct tracking service account
Common causes:
  • Incorrect tracking URL format (missing / or protocol)
  • Tracking service is down
  • Too many tracking prefixes causing timeout
Fix:
  1. Test your media URL directly in a browser
  2. Test with tracking URL prepended
  3. Remove tracking URLs temporarily to isolate the issue
  4. Check tracking service status pages
This is normal! Different services count downloads differently:
  • Some filter bot traffic
  • Some use different time windows for de-duplication
  • Some count partial downloads differently
Use the service with IAB certification (like Podtrac) as your source of truth.
Tracking URLs are prepended in the order listed in Settings:
Line 1: https://first.com/
Line 2: https://second.com/
Results in:
https://first.com/second.com/example.com/audio.mp3
Re-order lines in Settings to change the prefix order.

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Why This Matters

Tracking download statistics helps you:
  • Understand your audience - See which episodes perform best
  • Prove value to sponsors - Provide accurate download numbers
  • Track growth - Monitor listener trends over time
  • Optimize content - Learn what topics resonate
  • Verify distribution - Confirm your RSS feed is working
This is a standard practice in the podcast industry, used by major podcasters and networks.

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Privacy Considerations

When using tracking services:
  • OP3 - Privacy-focused, minimal data collection, public stats
  • Podtrac, Chartable - May collect listener IP addresses and user agents
  • Your responsibility - Disclose tracking in your privacy policy
Consider informing your listeners that you use download tracking in your podcast’s privacy policy or show notes.

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Example Configurations

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Minimal Setup (Free)

For basic stats without signup: 
https://op3.dev/e/

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Standard Podcast Setup

For serious podcasters: 
https://op3.dev/e/
https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/

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Professional Setup

For podcast networks or sponsored content: 
https://op3.dev/e/
https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/
https://chtbl.com/track/YOUR_ID/

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Multi-format Setup

For podcasts with both audio and video: 
https://op3.dev/e/
https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/
https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp4/
Only add video tracking URLs if you actually publish video content. Podcast apps may get confused by video-specific prefixes on audio files.

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