Just how difficult is it to create a successful mobile application? This is one of our clients’ most frequently asked questions, and the truth is that there is no easy way to respond to the question. The word “app” covers a whole lot of ground, from unbelievably simple and straightforward gadgets to complicated achievements of technological wizardry.
Take, the mobilne kasyno application we designed for Polska Kasyno a while ago. The app’s role is to provide iGaming mobile solutions for legal online casinos in Poland. That’s it. It sounds pretty straightforward, and to say that it was wildly successful would be an understatement.
On the other end of the spectrum are apps that act as front ends of powerful back-end systems and databases. Such apps are usually designed for years and sometimes even decades to ensure they can solve some of the most complex problems in security, business, science, and math.
As an app owner, you won’t need to worry about an application’s creation, though (unless you’re planning on doing the development yourself.) You have the option to hire a mobile app developer (such as our team here at Colorado-chess.com) whose primary responsibilities will be to create, test, and program the application.
Once your app has been sufficiently developed, it’s time to tackle your next hurdle: increasing your app’s download.
More often than not, the role of ensuring your application is successful on Apple Store will land squarely on your shoulder. That’s what inspired us to create this guide, touching on how you can help your app stand out in the midst of 1.96 million other apps on the Apple App Store.
1. App Store Optimization
Before you delve deeper into the tips and tricks that can help you boost downloads, you’ll need to tick the “App Store Optimization” box.
Basically, App store optimization is what you do to optimize your application so it can rank as high as possible on the app store. It is just like SEO, but instead of optimizing the product or service for search engines (like Google), you optimize it for the apple app store.
After all, the higher your mobile application ranks on the app store, the likelier it is to get downloaded. Also, note that most people who discover new apps in the app store do so using the search option. As Forester reported, the search option is responsible for 63 percent of all app discoveries for iOS.
After coming up with an App Store Optimization strategy, also feel free to A/B test the different parts of the strategy to see the ones that work best.
If all that doesn’t prove that App Store Optimization is worth the effort, I don’t know what will.
2. Put Your App Out there
After ensuring App Store Optimization is done perfectly, it’s time to get other platforms to talk about your app or at least mention it. This should help reinforce your reputation and brand awareness, which will, in turn, bring you more app downloads.
One of my favorite techniques to help drive attention is going to the media. To do this, start by building a complete press kit, including written and visual materials (such as PDF presentation, boilerplate, screenshots, app icon, download URL, etc.) Make everything look as engaging and attractive as you possibly can.
Subsequently, send your great press release to all tech influencers and journalists you can find. Try reaching out to them by email and make your subject UNIQUE, to say the least.
3. Ask Your Users to Review and Rate Your App
A sure-fire way of getting even more app downloads is securing lots of glowing reviews. This will work in your favor in a couple of ways. Not only will users feel more compelled to download your mobile app if it boasts great reviews, but the App Store algorithm will also automatically award you with a better ranking.
If your App rakes in lots of bad reviews, then you should certainly expect to see a significant drop in conversion rate.
4. Make Your Mobile App Free at Launch
Making your app free at launching is a strategy proven to drastically increase an app’s chances of raking in more downloads straight out of the gate. If you have already launched the app as a paid-for app in the store, you can also make it free for a specific period and advertise it as a special promotion.
This should inevitably stir curiosity in anyone who comes across the application, which can, in turn, drive more downloads.
In case your app is free to download but has in-app purchases, you can make those free for a short while as well.
