Everything you need
to know about the
iOS
and Android
app stores,
from
boosting
your
rank
to
optimizing
for search
and
conversions.
to get
found
and be
famous
in the
app stores
Apps are the place to be right now.
It is predicted that nearly 22 billion apps
will be downloaded in 2013. The annual revenue generated by apps worldwide
is expected to hit
$29.5 billion
for this year, and it’s thought that this will
skyrocket to around
$38 billion
by 2015.
It’s big business, but it’s also challenging and complex. Creating an app, a
business model, and deciding on features and fine details are all tricky. But the
toughest hurdle? Attracting downloads, maximizing your revenue and ensuring
that your advertising spend actually pays out. And this all comes down to your
marketing strategy.
Getting found in the app stores is as important as having a great app in the
first place. By understanding how app marketing works, you can make sure
your app is visible and stands shoulders above the rest, earning quality traffic
and downloads from your future loyal users.
Of course it’s important to
have a great app,
but it has to get found
to be famous!
Introduction to the
app stores
1. Apple’s Genius recommendations are based on the apps a user has previously downloaded, and getting seen here is a great way to increase downloads. However, the algorithm is something of a mystery so far, though it’s suggested that Apple favor their own apps and those that are Passbook-enabled. A similar feature on Google Play is “Recommended for You”, which takes into account not just a user’s previous downloads and app purchases, but also their friends’ activity.
What follows are
5
for getting found and being famous using
the app stores as your marketing tools.
best
practices
The app stores are the places where your users will browse for and download your iOS or Android app; they are your user acquisition channels. The App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android) are the two biggest app stores, and while there is only one Apple store, there are over fifty Android app stores in total, resulting in a very fragmented marketplace. Throughout this paper, we’ll mainly focus on the iOS 6 App Store and the major Android app store, Google Play.
Both of these app stores contain similar features. They each have a search function, categories, a chart ranking, and a section for recommended apps and featured apps. The most prominent ways for users to find an app inside the app stores are:
Keyword search Top Free/Paid Charts Genius/recommended apps1
Algorithms decide
Should you support iOS, Android or both? There is no simple answer, since it largely depends on your app and target market.
While Android has sold more smartphone and tablet devices overall (in Q2 2012 they had 64.1 per cent of the market share compared with Apple’s 18.8 per cent) iOS users, who are made up largely of high earners and early adopters, generally spend more on in-app purchases. Android users are mostly made up of low- to mid-earners and Apple-shunners.Apple are also (though only just) the leaders in terms of the tablet market, with 50.4 percent of the market share in terms of shipments.
A lot of app owners decide to start out on iOS because the Android market is very fragmented and iOS apps provide a greater return on investment in general. It’s also much easier to develop great looking apps for iOS for non-programmers because Apple provide more tools to work with.
Supporting Android means taking into account several different devices and app stores, which can make optimizing and marketing an app a little more challenging. Android does offer cheaper marketing costs though and in some stores the marketplace is much less competitive, for example in the Amazon Appstore and Blackberry App World, which are less populated with apps and proven to be lucrative. Going live is also a quicker process with Android as there is no app approval stage, whereas in iOS this can take a week or more. There’s no clear winner in terms of the best operating system, and every app is different! Sometimes the best strategy is to support both platforms, sometimes one or the other. Think about what your app does, who your target audience is, your marketing goals and the timescale you want to work with from development, or update, to hitting the market.
Choose the best platform and app store
for you
#1
The higher your app’s rank in the ‘Top Free’ or ‘Top Overall’ charts, the more visible it will be and the more organic (free) downloads it will achieve. In the Apple App Store, the biggest influencer by far is download volume in the preceding three days, with the last 24 hours being most important. Each country has its own chart, so as long as you achieve many downloads in your target country, you can sit at the top and maintain your rank through organic downloads. In Google Play, it’s more challenging as the ranking is worldwide and the algorithm also takes into account uninstall rate, user activity, ratings and an app’s recency (with newer apps ranking higher in general).
Boost your App Store ranking
Germany France Spain Italy UK USA
Top 10 11814 13617 6271 9898 24768 80989
Top 25 8499 9892 3997 6835 15641 58263
Average number of downloads for Top 10 and Top 25 Overall on iOS
#2
On iOS it is possible to target and achieve a high ranking in the charts. The secret is buying many downloads in a short space of time. When performing a boost campaign, accurate tracking is required to identify your user- and profit-maximizing rank. Even better, work with a partner who combines sophisticated tracking technology with experience in boosting apps to the top of the App Store charts, to avoid unnecessarily high costs.
Target the countries of your choice and plan your campaign with precision, analyzing which traffic sources will provide the required download volume. Tracking makes it possible to create a blacklist of underperforming or fraudulent publishers, and avoid traffic sources that bring cheap, low quality downloads. Invest small amounts of ad spend in a display campaign after your boost to maintain your high ranking for longer. If you perform your boost smartly, you should see, for every 100 bought installs, an average of 70 additional organic installs and a positive ROI.
When you boost, boost smartly
Good PR or a featured spot can cause a huge download spike, but a boost campaign is your best bet to achieve a high rank. This means attracting thousands of downloads in three days, via high-performing mobile ad networks and other mobile traffic sources, at the lowest possible cost, to bring your effective CPI down.
Revenue per download
against
cost per download
during App Store
boost campaigns
While the cost rises exponentially with each App Store rank gained, the revenue does not. Therefore a Top 25 position might be more profitable than reaching the Top 5. Track your boost campaign to find your app’s ideal rank.
Get a ‘Featured’ spot in the app stores
#3
A position in the ‘Featured’ area of the app stores is a highly coveted achievement. This is a prominent page in the app stores which users check when looking for great apps, so it can drive a lot of downloads.
For either Apple or Android to feature your app, you’ll require a large amount of luck, but is there anything you can do to increase the likelihood of getting into the spotlight?
iOS 6 App Store
Make a great-looking, perfectly-functioning app and ensure your App Store page looks perfect too. Prepare your visuals and screenshots so that the developers at Apple have little work to do in order to feature your app.
Google Play
Make sure your app offers a faultless user experience and is reliable, localized in several languages, and able to support a high screen resolution. Of course, a defi-nite no-no is bribing people to rate your app highly. It won’t wash well with Google and if you’re found out, you can say goodbye to your chances of being featured. PR is another way you can make the decision makers at Apple and Android aware of your app. Just like with advertising campaigns and App Store ranking boost campaigns, think about timing.
There are certain days when you’ve got a greater chance of being featured; the best time to release your app is around mid-week, on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
Implement app store optimization
techniques
2: The State of Mobile Apps by The Nielsen Company 2010
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/NielsenMobileAppsWhitepaper.pdf
iOS 6 App Store
Name:
Keywords:
#4
• Check which keywords your competitors choose
• Steer clear of generalized (too competitive) and very unique keywords (no searches)
• Separate each word with commas, use singular forms, omit words like “the” and “to”
• In iOS 6, your category (Games, Lifestyle, Free, etc.) is a keyword automatically so no need to repeat this
• Avoid offensive terms or trademarks
• Consider keywords in different languages to localize your app
According to Nielsen2, 63 per cent of users were using search to discover new apps in 2010. This figure has
probably increased now due to the emphasis on search in the new iOS 6 App Store, so it’s vital to crack app store optimization (ASO) techniques.
Your app’s name will become part of the URL for your app and this impacts your ASO, so make sure there are no special characters and include a keyword or term. When you publish an app in the App Store, you can have a 100-character keyword list, so make the most of it.
Google Play
Name:
Description:
As with iOS, experiment with putting your main keyword alongside the name of your app in your app’s title. It can help you rank more highly for that word and make it obvious to users what your app does.
Unlike iOS, in Google Play your app description does influence ASO. You should repeat your main keywords around five times in your app description. Make sure the text still reads well and avoid over-repetition of keywords. Otherwise, it’ll be awkward to read for users and the algorithm may flag it as suspicious of keyword-cramming, which Google frowns upon.
Top tips for
keywords:
Optimize your app’s page for
click-to-download conversions
#5
Name:
Icon:
Users judge an app by its icon
Making your visuals resonate with your potential users is vital. Your app store page will be one of the first things potential users see and they’ll use it to form their first impressions and decide whether or not to download your app. It’s therefore essential to optimize it for maximum download conversions. Wow your users with an appealing page, designed to sell your app and make a quick impact. Follow these guidelines:
Ebay:
Distinctive brand logo, simple and recognizable.
Paint for Friends:
Fun and playful, paint effect is fitting with app.
Wooga:
Bold, colorful, attention-grabbing and memorable.
Fab:
Striking icon showing logo in smart, chic monochrome.
Your name should accurately represent your app and appeal to your target users. Being descriptive and transparent will positively affect click-through rates from the search page to your app’s page.
Both Google Play and the new iOS 6 App Store put a great deal of emphasis on visual elements. Your icon should be eye-catching and attractive, making it obvious what your app is about.
Screenshots:
Description:
Ratings:
Date of last
update:
The new iOS 6 App Store displays search results as swipeable cards, displaying your first screenshot. Use your best one to encourage users to download. In Google Play, your screenshots sit at the top of your app store page, so make sure you show your app in the best possible light.
Take your time to really sell your app with your text, in a succinct way. Put the important information at the start, demonstrating what your app does and why users should download it. Include proof of your app’s quality and success: awards, accolades, press mentions and review quotes. Then list and explain all of your app’s relevant features, new updates and improvements. Consider promoting your app in a different language to attract users from non-English speaking countries.
Your app’s ratings could go a long way to persuade users to install it; they’ll see your average score early on and use it to decide whether your app is worth downloading. Encourage your users to give their feedback and provide ratings for you – even if their feedback is sometimes less than positive, it gives you the opportunity to listen and act on it.
Apps that were updated recently attract more downloads, so time a marketing campaign in time with your next update. Not all users like products which are updated all the time though, so avoid updating too often.
Shown examples include Trademob clients’ apps and non-Trademob clients’ apps.
for your app store
marketing
5 action points
Support the appropriate platforms and
app stores for your business model
Boost your chart ranking smartly
Aim for the coveted Featured,
Recommended and Genius placements
Research your most relevant keywords
and optimize for them
Dazzle your users with your app store
appearance
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