Even though you have created a great app with a unique idea and loads of useful features until and unless it is published and downloaded by users, the whole effort and merit behind the app remains questionable. Publicity and downloads are the primary objective your app development aim at. Naturally, all mobile app developers want their app to be downloaded by millions. Retention of your users is also important to maintain growth but unless you have a steady number of users talking of retention is pointless.
An app is just the very first step followed by a series of actions leading to downloads and finding a user base. So, once your app is published it is time to drive more downloads. Let us offer below some effective tips that can be helpful to boost downloads.
1. Boost discoverability of your app
Organic downloads entirely depends on how you help the users find your app on app store and app search. The recent focus of Spotlight Search by both Apple and Google is an indication that by only apps with discoverable aspects like deep linking, cloud listing of contents and in-app behavioral analytic will help indexing your app better and enjoy higher discoverability.
- Targeting the right keyword for addressing the right audience is the key.
- The App description that highlights the offering and keyword is also crucial.
- Using deep links is a great way to get organic traffic and download number.
2. Relevant and useful content
Developers often aim for making their viral but just a wishful thinking does not produce a viral app. Virality is far from a feature that you can include. It is actually synonymous to rapid popularity. It is not a trick that makes some apps so hugely popular and viral, but it is the relevant and useful content that make users refer the app to others to make it viral. So, unique and relevant content remains to be the key to making people share good words about the app.
3. Screenshots, cover image, and video
Screenshots just offer an idea of how the app is going to look like and so they should clear, crisp and thoroughly focused on the app content and usefulness than anything else. Ideal screenshots are clutter free and offers a look and feel of the app at a glance.
Secondly, your app should have a simple cover image depicting the useful aspects of the app. It can tell a story, relate to your products or tell about the usefulness in simple intuitive manner. Often cover image transmits the message better than few lines of text.
Lastly, finding video content in the app can be a more attractive attribute to grab the attention of potential users. A video on the app itself or any way aspect-related to the app can quickly draw attention and push downloads.
4. Boost App reviews and ratings
Fake reviews are a reality but only in part. Another saying that satisfied users just ignore rating and posting reviews is also not true in all cases. Even though genuine user reviews and rating is smaller in number, they are powerful than many other tricks to influence potential users. To incorporate the power of user rating and review to boost download number for your app, here are some simple tips.
- Add to your app a plugin for rating. Such a plugin would make it extremely easier for any user to rate it with just a click. Similarly, always push users to leave a comment.
- Offer incentives for reviewing your app. You must give some reasons to the users to spend their valuable 5 minutes for a review.
5. Boost personalized experience on board
Well, if we are discussing about increasing downloads, how do on-board users come into the picture here? You are right in pointing out that on-board users have already downloaded the app. But these users play an important role in pushing the new download numbers. At least latest, the statistics reveal that. According to a study, in the last 6 months 77% of users downloaded an app thanks to the recommendation of someone among friends, family or colleagues. This clearly shows why existing users are so important for even increasing new downloads.
Now, the best way to engage users and garner positive response from them is to ensure a personalized experience. It is all about addressing their preference, requirements and typical habits and behavioral patterns. Besides deep links passing information to app store, in-app behavioral analytics can play a bigger role in this.
6. Providing a viral loop
When we talk of making an app viral we often insist on influencing people to share the good words about the app. But actually, in most cases apps that go viral are not talked of just because of this. Still an app can go viral simply because most users found it great and shared with others. But such open chances of going viral are low as everyone is targeting the same thing and it became already common.
So there is viral loop as a great technique to drive viral opinions about your app. When users see that by sharing the good word about your app the user experience can be improved, it can be said as a viral loop. Say, for example, by sharing the app with five people a user can upgrade to premium app version. This is a viral loop.
7. Convert mobile web users through smart banners
Mobile web continued to become stronger and richer. Often they are preferred over native apps for ease of accessing diverse resources simultaneously. Responsive design and mobile browsers diminished all constraints for mobile web. In such a scenario, having a strong web presence with indexed content is so crucial for apps. Smart banner is a great way to offer users the links to get into the mobile app. Around 15.5% of clicks on smart banner are converted into app download, as latest statistics say.