top 10 tips for app store success

James Kaye, director, dimoso

blimey! that’s a lot of apps

• Apple’s App Store hit 900k apps in June 2013 (375k of which are for iPad), Android is also around that number

• 50 billion apps have been downloaded so far on iOS and 48 billion on Android

• Juniper Research projects a sharp rise in app downloads from 80 billion on 2013 to 160 billion in 2017- due to developing countries moving to smartphones & more freemium apps. 40% of downloads expected to be games

how many downloads do I need?

a free iPhone app in the US needs 70k+ downloads a day to reach the top 10. Paid-for app needs 4k downloads (distimo)

how many downloads do I need?

app marketing – where’s the love? • AppFlood’s June 2013 survey of over 1000 small, medium

and large developers found that over 78% had allocated $5,000 or less for marketing

• only 9% of small developers had used a specialist PR agency versus 18% of medium/large developers

what are the main challenges?

• the odds are against you

• marketing still an afterthought

• the barrier to entry continually rising

• consumers are fickle

• small developers lacking core skills

• lack of app marketing expertise

• large companies need internal facilitators

• huge amount of apps appearing all the time

• no magic bullet

“Hope is not a strategy” Rudolph Giuliani

tip 1 - quality & more quality • the number 1 rule of app

success

• benchmark!

• be unique/different

• test and get feedback

• stand out to secure reviews

• customers can smell a rat

• Apple and Google love quality and polish

tip 2 – have a strategy

What

formats will

I launch

on ?

What

formats will

I launch

on ?

What’s my

marketing

plan?

What’s my

marketing

plan?

What’s my launch strategy?

What’s my launch strategy?

What is my app for ?

What is my app for ?

Is my app any good ? Will it create buzz?

Is my app any good ? Will it create buzz? How will I position my app?

How will I position my app?

Why is my

app better

than the

competition?

Why is my

app better

than the

competition?

What does my app do? What does my app do?

What ‘s my testing and user feedback plan?

What ‘s my testing and user feedback plan?

What’s my post-launch plan?

What’s my post-launch plan?

What’s my

business

model?

What’s my

business

model?

Self publish or publisher?

Self publish or publisher?

tip 3 – the app store funnel

tip 4 – first impressions count

• consumers make snap decisions

• select good screenshots and video

• the icon should be eye catching

• the name should be clear and relate to what the app does. Think about embedding a keyword in the name

“It’s unfortunate, but I don’t have time to download and test every app that comes out…. A video takes just seconds to watch and can be the difference in whether an app gets a longer look.” Barbara Holbrook, Editor in Chief, at Appcraver. “The bottom line: imperfect app names force shoppers to work harder, and that will mean fewer downloads. For all of the time you put into developing the app, isn’t the name worth the added effort?” Interbrand

tip 5 – understanding the app store owners

• each has different motivations

• Apple sells hardware

• Apple are kingmakers

• Apple likes accessibility

• Google don’t want to see lazy iOS ports

• Google are more measured

• Amazon is new and emerging but their devices are not as powerful

• don’t forget Samsung!

tip 6 - get to grips with ASO • ASO- App Store

Optimisation

• discovery is largely through browsing the app stores

• invest in an ASO tools

for iOS – Searchman, Appcodes

• factor in language variants

• use someone who knows

what they are doing !

tip 7 - spread the word • have a media plan

• get your timing right

• be clear, concise and to the point

• build a comprehensive list of your target media verticals

• understand the media

• zero guarantees with the media

• post news on key forums such as Touch Arcade

• brands – utilise available touchpoints

• app store editorial support is the holy grail but few people can get it or promise it

tip 7 - spread the word • websites still matter! Great for SEO

• integrate with video, social media and links to reviews

• video is essential and YouTube is the 2nd biggest search engine in the world!

• build hype on Facebook and Twitter. Use it for feedback and build community. engage passionate advocates on a deeper level

tip 8- get to grips with mobile advertising • there’s a myriad of networks and acquisition methods –

CPA, CPD, RTB, social, blind, premium, install exchanges etc

• it only really works for freemium apps of you want an ROI

• don’t try this at home – specialist planning agencies are the best route

• your product needs to be good!

• Prepare to spend…BIG

• be in it for the long game – testing, tweaking and testing are key

• understand your numbers – in-app analytics and customer insight/metrics are key. knowing your ARPU, ARPPU, LTV is key to effective CPA’s…

tip 9 – get cross promoting • cross promote across all your apps

• use updates as a cross promotion tool (iOS7 may remove this)

tip 10 – knowledge is power • tracking your app performance and how it is being used is

crucial for insight and driving later versions

• undertake deeper insight into your app and how people engage with it

• use free tools such as Flurry Analytics

• track your app store performance with sites such as App Annie. Distimo and App Figures

• set up free Google Alerts to track media coverage

so what does all this mean? • It all boils down to quality - customers know good

from bad

• the bar is rising

• app promotion is an ever evolving art

• first impressions count

• brands have the advantage of existing channels that should be utilised

• be in it for the long haul

• work with experts – PR, media buying, ASO

• there is no one solution for success

if you’re hungry for more…..

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get in touch

dimoso

+44 20 7033 2660

www.dimoso.com

@dimosoagency