Google Play and the Apple App Store share over 2 million apps. While this is great for consumers, the competition for app developers is steep. It’s easy to feel defeated when you’ve poured your heart and soul into developing a great app, only to find that it results in low downloads and low ROI. Imagine if you were to set up a physical store and had very little foot traffic; a low performing app is similar.
In this post, we’re going to detail five strategies that we’ve learned from the top performing apps. Use them to increase your chances of success!
1. Optimize Your App for the App Store
It’s estimated that 40% of app discovery happens in the app stores. Help your audience find your app by using specific keywords in your title and description. These keywords should be the words and phrases that your audience uses when searching for a related app. Organic reviews and ratings also make a difference, so encourage users to share their feedback with you.
2. Use Search Engine Optimization
Aside from the app stores, customers can find your app through search engines. Therefore, it’s important to optimize your app for Google, Yahoo, and Bing. One of the best ways to do this is by creating a landing page that draws in traffic and encourages people to download your app. In order to get traffic to the landing page, you will need to develop quality content, earn backlinks from authoritative websites, and use good SEO.
3. Rely on Your Influencers
Your influencers can make a huge difference in how well your app performs. If your influencers enjoy using your app, others will be compelled to use it too. Where do you find these key individuals? They can be bloggers, social media followers, or loyal fans of your brand/app. Once you identify these individuals, ask them to promote your app to drive more engagement.
4. Use Social Media
Social media is a great place to share news of your app. Use this channel to get your newly developed app in front of the right audience and encourage ratings and organic traffic. Also, you can promote your app in a variety of ways (e.g. infographics, animations, short videos, or pictures) to continually attract new customers.
5. Participate in App Rewards
If you have a great product, participating in an app contest can help you earn positive praise. There are strict standards for joining these types of award contests, so make sure that your app fits the bill. Usually, these standards focus on user experience and quality. App awards demonstrate to others that you take app development seriously. Check out Appsters Awards, The Webby Awards and Appy Awards.
Conclusion
Developing an app is a highly rewarding, but competitive, experience. If you know you have a great product to share with others, following the above five strategies will help you get further. The key is getting your app in front of the right audience and having influencers to share their experiences. Listen to your audience, too, as improvements will need to be made through updates to keep users engaged.
