Posted on April 14th, 2017
Apple’s newest software update, iOS 10.3, made waves when the company announced that developers could now respond to user reviews. While developers are making time to respond to reviews, others detect another hidden gem of iOS 10.3. Before the software update was released, developers took notice a new function in the SDK that allows for multiple app icons for one app. While iOS 10.3 is only two weeks old, one company has already implemented the new function in two of their apps. MLB at Bat and the NHL app were the first two to update to the under-the-radar option and allow users to change the app’s icon to their favorite team. While it may seem easy to customize an app’s icon, there is more that goes into the update than some realize.
Posted on April 7th, 2017
The mobile app market is growing at an exponential rate, and as it stands, more than half the world now uses smartphones, which equates to roughly 4.92 billion global mobile users. Across the globe, mobile app developers are adopting an ASO strategy to change their app’s metadata to increase discoverability in the new market. While creating an app’s visibility in the market is essential, developers looking to expand their app’s appeal on a global scale need to correctly localize their app to increase conversion.
Posted on March 31st, 2017
The number of mobile users is growing exponentially, and mobile app usage in all categories of the app stores is up from last year, especially shopping. Retail apps have given users the power to buy anything they want straight from their mobile devices, and the ecommerce market is predicted to surpass $2 trillion in the coming years. Users are no longer shopping from their desktops, and are now primarily using a mobile device at every step of a transaction. Companies like eBay and Amazon have basically cornered the ecommerce market, and their mobile apps are ranked in the top free apps on the App Store. These companies have made the effective shift to mobile, and are appealing to users that want to instantly buy anything. In Q4, eBay’s mobile platform delivered record-breaking results and crossed the $10 billion benchmark. On Black Friday in 2016, Amazon surpassed the $1.2 billion mark on their mobile platform for the first time. Mobile retail apps have taken over the way that users shop for their products, and it will not slow down. eBay and Amazon dominate ecommerce, but it is because of their mobile apps that they do so well. These companies have paid attention to what users want, and are evolving with the specific user trends. By being attentive to their customers and updating the app store listing to include specific trends while being relevant to users’ searches, it has lead for better optimization in the app stores. The best companies in the ecommerce market all have one thing in common: they’re optimizing their mobile apps using App Store Optimization (ASO).
Posted on March 25th, 2017
As people increase their time on their mobile apps, it begs the question of how well apps are retaining users? Developers continue to struggle retaining users after they have downloaded an app. According to AppsFlyer, the number of users that remain on an app after downloading is roughly 10-12 percent after seven days and drops to a dismal 4-5 percent after thirty days. AppsFlyer has the retention rates broken down into divisions for both iOS and Android that include the click-to-install rates. Retention rates are looked at from every angle, and were examined through organic and non-organic users by comprising data of users who were active on days 1, 7 and 30. While the rates have technically improved year-over-year, developers are still finding it difficult to retain users. More developers need to improve their app’s metadata by practicing App Store Optimization (ASO), which will improve app retention rates.
Posted on March 16th, 2017
As companies roll out new software, it opens new opportunities for developers to explore features that will benefit an app’s conversion rate and what it means for the future of mobile apps. When Apple released its public beta of iOS 10.3, the biggest buzz introduced was developers getting the opportunity to respond to reviews. Not only can users interact with developers, it gives the developers the chance to improve conversion rates. However, many
Posted on March 10th, 2017
As the mobile app market continues to grow, it comes as no shock that the time users spend on these apps has also grown within the past year. According to the analytics firm Flurry, US users are spending at least five hours a day on their mobile devices, and that time is mostly spent on mobile apps. Five hours a day is a 20 percent increase, which is massive compared to the usage in the fourth quarter of 2015. While year-over-year the time spent on mobile apps has increased by 69 percent, leaving mobile browser usage at a dismal 8 percent of users’ time. There must be a reason why users are spending more time on mobile apps, and it’s possible that ASO has something to do with converting more users on annual basis. As the app stores continue to grow, the amount of options in each category grows as well. Flurry broke down the percentage based on the categories of apps users spend their time on. Here are the percentages for some of the app categories and how ASO has aided in the massive increase of time spent on mobile apps.
Posted on March 7th, 2017
The Game Developers Conference wrapped up last week in in San Francisco, CA, where masses of developers presented their new strategies for gaming in 2017. GDC is one of the major conferences for the year that game developers in all fields can showcase their new games, bring visibility to indie games and set precedents for the gaming industry. This year, GDC had everything from the latest in VR technology to new game engines that will improve the graphics for mobile gaming. Console, PC and mobile users will be happy with what this year’s GDC provided for the future of the game industry in 2017. Here are some of the highlights from last week.
Posted on March 3rd, 2017
The annual Game Developers Conference started in San Francisco, CA this week and developers are getting ready to debut their new games. This conference is no longer just for console game developers, but has included iOS and Android platforms as well. Mobile developers from around the world are trying to steer the focus toward their new games and bringing their popular mobile games to other parts of the world. They are also there to not only improve visibility of the app, but show what the gaming industry looks like from around the world. GDC invites game developers across the world to bring new games, which means that there will be more mobile games for end users to expect coming to the App Store and Google Play in the coming year. The Chinese and UK game industries are just two of the many developers in mobile games, but they should be watched as they bring games from around the world to the US.
Posted on February 24th, 2017
After the wild year Pokémon GO had in 2016, from its release to eventual fall from grace, it’s back once again trying reclaim its place on the Top Charts of the App Store. The hit game that took players of all generations and the world by storm last June suffered a major drop, most likely because it’s original release and most current updates do not utilize common ASO standards. Despite Pokémon GO’s quick success, the initial fall came as no surprise due to poor marketing strategies, weak keyword rankings and Niantic (publisher) relying solely on the long-standing brand name. The app launched at number one in the Top Free Downloads chart and the Top Grossing chart, but it’s lack of ASO standards lead to the app’s eventual fall in the rankings. While Pokémon GO is currently ranked at number fifteen on the Top Grossing chart in the App Store, it suffers from not utilizing ASO strategies. Apple gives developers 50 characters for titles. Including high volume keywords in the title. The app’s title acts as an additional keyword field, lending itself to build additional phrases with the terms used in the app’s keyword bank. With this additional reach, Pokémon
Posted on February 20th, 2017
It is the worst feeling when a new app crashes and there is no way to solve the issue. Many iOS users want to converse directly with app developers, but could not do so until now. Apple has been making many improvements recently, including App Store Search Ads that target popular terms that developers can now bid on, similar to Google’s Ad Words platform. The biggest news, however, is the recent announcement of Apple’s newest software update iOS 10.3, which finally allows app developers to respond to user reviews. To create more interactive storefronts, developers can now reply to any posted app review, making the response visible for all other users in the App Store to see. Users will get an alert when their review receives a response and can update the review if they choose. Moreover, with the addition of the SKStoreReviewController API, users will be able to review an app without sending them back to the App Store. iOS users can look forward to getting fast responses and feeling more support when there is an issue. Developers replying to reviews will create a better user experience and improve their app’s rating. By delivering great responses that assist users, developers will be able to fix issues faster, improve user engagement and see increases in conversion rates. While iOS users will get the satisfaction of hearing back from developers, Android users have first-hand experience in receiving responses from app developers. Replying to reviews has effectively solved confusion or issues and has led to higher conversion rates. Google Play is the first to create a dialogue that in turn brought more popularity to apps. It has also been incredibly informative to users on what to look forward to next in upcoming app updates. iOS developers need to learn from what Android developers have done to effectively respond to app reviews. Thankfully, Apple strongly encourages developers to take advantage of the new update and start responding to all reviews, regardless of star-rating. There are some tips on how Google Play developers should respond and what kinds of reviews to reply to. Apple, however, has a list as well to help developers get a good handle on how to reply to app reviews.
Posted on February 16th, 2017
The annual Game Developers Conference has become the premiere hub of knowledge for experienced and up-and-coming game developers. The expansion of the conference into the mainstream has coincided with the massive growth of mobile gaming on iOS and Android, making GDC the perfect place to top-up on mobile knowledge. Last year’s GDC focused heavily on VR, with the announcement of the PlayStation VR device dominating the show. Even so, many impactful announcements were made for mobile, including the Indie Corner for Google Play, updates and figures for the Unity engine, and marketing insights from major figures at Spry Fox and EA. GDC 2017
Posted on January 30th, 2017
Apple’s new Search Ads initiative has opened up a whole new route to the top of search results. Bidding on a Search Ad is easy, but don’t think that just because you paid the highest amount you’ll suddenly see a huge increase in downloads. To fully take advantage of App Store Search Ads, your app needs to be optimized. Here are the top five strategies for creating a successful App Store Search Ad.
