Boost Your Mobile App Downloads with These 10 Powerful Strategies
You’ve finally built your own app.
You love your design, your app icon, and it works flawlessly on every device you tested it on. The niche you found is unexplored and competition-free.
There’s only one problem (and it’s a big one):
No one is downloading your app.
If that’s the case, you’ve run into the same problem many developers encounter after they publish their apps. But don’t be discouraged – if you have an app you want the whole world to use, you can make it happen.
Key Takeaways
- App Store Optimization (ASO): Crucial for increasing app visibility and downloads.
- App Icon Design: A simple, eye-catching icon can significantly impact user interest.
- Social Media Strategy: Consistent engagement on platforms like Facebook and Twitter boosts app awareness.
- App Naming: A unique and memorable name enhances brand recognition.
- Marketing Budget: Concentrated spending can lead to a sharp increase in downloads.
Once you get downloads you’ll be able to make some real money.
All it takes is a little effort and the right know-how to bring your app to the attention of the masses. So, to learn the best ways to boost your mobile app downloads, let’s first understand how apps are downloaded in the first place.
How App Store Optimization Works
The first thing you need to grasp to generate more app downloads is how the app stores you publish your app to actually work. Your mobile app marketing strategy will vary slightly when you’re dealing with the Apple App Store vs. the Google Play Store.
Let’s go over some basic app developer language.
You may have heard of SEO – Search Engine Optimization. But have you heard of ASO – App Store Optimization?
The two are very similar in relation to your app’s success, but ASO has even greater impact on its listing than SEO does for Google search results. ASO is specifically what increases the visibility of your app in the marketplace. The higher its rank, the more users will find your app when they search.
And once a user finds your app, ASO also helps determine whether they actually download it. There are quite a few factors that affect your ASO:
- Positive reviews: The more positive reviews an app has, the higher its rating will be. When users rank an app highly, it will also be ranked highly, which naturally improves downloads.
- App downloads: The more downloads you have, the more downloads you’ll get. App publishers should aim for a steady amount of downloads to rank highly.
- Keyword relevance: Apps with popular keywords in their title and description may see more downloads.
- Revenue: Apps with a good record of revenue generation will get more visibility from the app store.
- Country: Regional success can influence your ranking in that region. Boosting your ranking in multiple regions can have a snowball effect.
- Backlinks: If you can include backlinks to many relevant pages, you can improve your app ranking.
- Social proof: Your app’s popularity across social media platforms can affect its app store ranking – especially on Android. Shares and +1’s on Google+ can determine whether users notice your app or ignore it.
- App starts: The number of times users actually open your app also has a significant impact on ranking.
- Retention: The number of people who uninstall your app vs. the amount who keep it within 30 days also affects rankings. To ensure retention, cater heavily toward your target audience in the app description.
Taking all of these into account can dramatically alter the way your app is perceived by the general public, and how it’s treated by the app store algorithm.
For more information on App Store Optimization, check out this blog post.
Now that you have a better understanding of where your app lives once its published, let’s look in more detail at the 10 best ways to boost your app’s downloads.
1. Create an Enticing App Icon
Your app icon is the first thing someone sees in the app store, so the design you choose is critical to your success. As users scroll through the app store, yours should pop out as eye-catching and recognizable.
Make sure you use a design that serves as a clear representation of your app. It should provide as much of a clue as possible to what users will find after they install it.
With that said, you should keep the app icon as straightforward as possible, and not too flashy. Simplicity is best – you don’t want it cluttered and confusing to the eye.
Tip: For more information on designing a perfect app icon, check out this blog post.
2. Social Media Outreach
App developers must expand their online presence. Before you decide on which social networks to use to build your app’s public persona, you have to decide what angle to start from. This means your social media voice must match your app’s personality.
Who is your app? If it were a person, what would it sound and act like?
When posting, use that voice consistently. If your app is edgy and “cool,” don’t bore your fans with bland business language. But if your app is geared towards young professionals, that business speak might suit your audience well.
The social media platforms where apps tend to get the most attention are:
- Youtube
- FourSquare
But don’t just post information and promotions concerning your app to these platforms. Create conversations and engage with your fans. Reply to comments in your app’s voice to increase engagement. Such a relationship will increase word-of-mouth praise of your commitment to users, and increase downloads as a result.
One word of caution: each social media platform has its own terms of service regarding contests, giveaways, and advertising. Be sure you’re never in violation of them while you draw attention to and build loyalty for your app.
3. Name and Describe Your App Appropriately
A good title means the difference between people knowing your product by name and referring to it as “This thing on my phone.” Having a great name on the app page can really encourage users to download your app.
So, if you want your app title to stick in people’s heads, the name needs to be unique and appropriate. And while no one can give you the perfect name, here are some evergreen tactics for coming up with your app name:
- Don’t use names that are already in use – Search extensively before you settle on a name and click Publish, or else you might end up face-to-face with a lawyer.
- Keep your app name short and sweet, easy to spell, and memorable.
- Do your best to choose a name that reflects what your app Users should not scroll past your app when looking for something to fit their needs.
And while app stores give you a 225 character limit, you should only use around 25 of them. That’s all that shows up in a search result, so be sure those characters are used wisely.
Your description, on the other hand, is where you need to be most strategic about ASO. It works similarly to the meta description tag for a website but isn’t searchable on the app store.
So, while you don’t need to pack it with keywords, you do need to be strategic with it. By listing important information, benefits and features, social proof, and a call-to-action, you can greatly affect your ASO.
4. Market Your App Effectively
If you’re fortunate enough to have a marketing budget, don’t be too conservative with it.
Typical marketing is structured over a few weeks or months. But if you want to get a sharp spike in downloads for your app in a very short time, concentrate all your marketing spending into a small time frame.
It takes some courage and dedication to roll out a full marketing campaign all at once, but if done successfully, you can see some awesome returns.
Depending on your total budget, you should spend the money within a few days or a week at most. Spread your advertising across the channels that are most popular with your target audience, which could include:
- Social media channels
- Sites like Reddit and Digg
- Email Marketing
- SMS marketing
- Content Marketing
- App directory sites
- Relevant blogs/magazines
- Influencer marketing
Comparison of Analytics Tools
| Feature | Google Analytics 4 | Flurry Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Usage | Connects multiple devices, provides user count, and session analysis | Active users, sessions, session lengths, frequency, retention |
| Audience | Analyze signed-in user experience | Users’ interest, personas, demographic breakdown |
| Technical | Access to a huge amount of helpful data | Device information, carrier data, firmware versions, bugs, and errors |
| Events | Facilitates A/B testing | Define events, see user paths, create funnels |
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Any of these are great options to know how your app is used and what you can do to improve the user experience. The data you’ll get along with your download tracking will help you adjust your app marketing and improve your tactics for boosting those downloads.
Final Thoughts
Increasing app downloads for your app is not always the easiest thing to accomplish.
But, if you make use of these tips and best practices for app promotion, you’ll see a considerable boost in downloads and app store rankings.
| Aspect | General Consumers | Your Audience |
|---|---|---|
| Strategy Effectiveness | May work well | Might not work as well |
Always remember to keep your target audience’s preferences in mind when trying out these strategies. What works best for general consumers might not work as well for your audience – so use these tips while keeping their best interests at heart.
And here’s one last tip: the iTunes App Store and Google Play sometimes change what they consider most important for apps to feature. So, always stay on top of on industry trends and update whatever elements of your app are necessary to deliver exactly what your users need. That way, you’ll always stay high in app store rankings.
If you do all of this successfully, you can feel pretty confident knowing you’ll be able to drive some serious app sales.
Which of these methods for boosting mobile app downloads are you most excited to try? Share below in the comments section!
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