Podcast Clean-Up: Don’t Use That Link!

Do you want to make your downloads count?

Are you making sure that you are using all the proper links in as many channels as you can so that they do count?

Do you know the proper link to use, when you are sharing your links on your site, Twitter, Facebook, or any other sharing platform so that your downloads are counted and you don’t get any 404 errors?

This is THE link to use when you are sharing your links on line:

http://traffic.libysn.com/accountname/filename

That link is the permalink to your file. That link will not change. Wherever you share that link, your audience will be able to go to your file and download or stream your content.

Here’s something to note that might confuse you…

Have you noticed that when you click onto that link (http://traffic.libsyn.com/accountname/filename) you are redirected to another link that looks something along these lines:

http://hw.libsyn.com/p/3/9/1/391271669968b057/yourfilename+othernumbersandlettersandsymbols

If you write or paste your traffic.libsyn.com link onto your browser it will redirect to a link that looks like that as well.

*That link is A TEMPORARY LINK! It can change!*

This information is very important, because if you use the http://hw.libysn.com link directly (meaning you copy the link from your browser’s address bar) and use that link to share on your site, or Facebook, Twitter or anywhere else, anyone that downloads or streams your media directly from those links will not be counted in your stats.

Did you get that?

If you use any link that is NOT your http://traffic.libsyn.com/youraccountname/yourfilename it will not be counted in your stats. 

Another less than stellar thing that can happen if you link directly to the http://hw.libsyn.com link is that it can lead to a 404 error message. As stated before, the hw link is TEMPORARY and it can change.

To clarify:

  • The http://traffic.libysn.com link IS THE PERMANENT LINK AND DOES NOT CHANGE
  • The http://hw.libsyn.com link IS NOT PERMANENT AND IT CAN CHANGE.

Where do you find your traffic.libsyn.com link?

Once in you are in the your Libsyn dashboard, go to the Content Tab. From the drop down, select Previously Published

using libsyn

You will then see a list of your episodes. Click on the  ∞ <> (Link/Embed) button. 

using libsyn

A pop-up window will appear which will give you access to that coveted URL! It is called Direct Download URL…so you can’t miss it 😀

using libsyn

Copy and paste wherever you desire. That’s it!

Wrapping it up

As a way to make sure that all of your stats count and you don’t get 404 messages from your files, please make sure that the links that you use to share your files in any online platform are the links formatted: http://traffic.libsyn.com/accountname/filename

I hope that was helpful!

Please share your thoughts regarding this issue, especially if it doesn’t make sense. 🙂

Hope you hear from you guys soon!

Elsie Escobar

Extraordinary Podcasting For All

Use code “creator” for up to 2 months free when you start podcasting or move to Libsyn.

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