Do you want to have a top App on the App Store? Do you want people to download your App and in turn you make a lot of money off of your App? It is all about technique and knowledge. Whether you’re just starting out or already have an App that you want to improve, we give you some advice to have a top App and offer some other great App optimization tips to make money on the App store.
Become a Top 50 App on The Apple App Store
Based on the results of App Annie, a mobile App analytics company, in order to achieve this, you’ll need to have at least 23,000 daily downloads for a free App and at least 950 daily downloads for a paid App in order to crack the top 50 rank on the Apple App Store.
If you want to be in the top 50 on grossing charts you have to make at least $12,000 daily. These numbers are for the Apple store in the U.S. These numbers do vary slightly with other platform App stores and other countries, but this gives a great idea of how to break through into to the top spots.
To make money on the App Store, you have to rank as high as possible. The higher you can rank, the more money you will make in the App Store.
To rank higher, you must do some optimization that we will share with you below.
Optimize For The App Store – App Store Optimization
Keywords/App Name
Research the best keywords for what your App is about and use these keywords in your App. To find the best keywords that fit your App, think about what will a user search (called a Search Query) in the App Store to find your App. That search query is your keyword.
To increase your chance of your App being shown to a user when a keyword is searched, try to use that keyword in your App Name, title, description and the keyword field of your App.
Some keywords are searched more than others and some are more difficult to rank for in the App Store. To find out how many times a keyword is searched and if it’s a competitive keyword to rank for, here are two good mobile apps analytics firms to help you: Sensor Tower and App Annie.
A word on App rating and reviews: We didn’t want to make a whole paragraph about rating and reviews because it’s pretty obvious that the better they are, the better your chances are to rank high in the App Store. So make sure that your users remain satisfied and give a good rating or review (These, although not always controllable, are important when looking to rank high and make money on the App Store).
Colours
Colours are also important when trying to attract customers to download your App on the App Store. This is known as colour psychology.
Certain colours create specific feelings in customers so you want to use colours that give the feeling you want your App to portray.
A few examples are yellow, which is cheerful and playful. The color blue conveys peace, trust and productivity. The black color is used to show strength, power and dominance.
Colours draw people in if you are using the right ones. This great article on Shopify will help you understand more on colour psychology in eCommerce.
Photos/Screenshots
Your App photos and/or screenshots are very important so never go with random photos. Always make sure that they are relevant. App stores generally allow up to 5 photos and/or screenshots. Your photos should show clearly what your App is about and be distinctive and unique.
There are multiple Apps for almost everything out there. Having an App for something no one else does is extremely rare, so you want to make sure that you are standing out in multiple ways.
Also, make sure that you put your photos and/or screenshots in order of importance. You want the most important one(s) to be seen first.
The best way to order your photos and screenshots is to make sure that the first photo or screenshot represents what you App is about. Then, for the following, you can put photos or screenshots of your menu navigation to display the special features of your App.
App description
When writing your app description, include important keywords but don’t cram it with them. Users won’t understand or take your App seriously if there are too many keywords because it will impact the readability of your description. So use keywords, but make sure that it makes sense to a user.
You want users to get the point without extra words added. A good trick is to ask a friend or family to read your App description and ask them if they understand what is your App about.
Finally, most users will see the first three to five lines of your App description so make sure that these first three to five lines not only describe what your app is about in simple words, but shows the benefits and features of your App.
App Name
Your App name should be clever, easily remembered and informative on what the App is about. You want it to be relevant and interesting. Short and direct is key.
App Icon
You want to make sure that your App icon shows what type of App you are offering so relevance is important as well.
Don’t use words in your App icon and make sure that it will stand out on any background by adding borders to the App Icon.
The best way is to optimize your App Icon by testing different icons to see which one users interact better with. In order to do these tests, you want to go with a mobile advertising platforms. We suggest starting with AdMob and iAd.
Category
The category you place your App in plays a large part in how successful your app may become on the App Store. You want to make sure it is in the category most relevant to your App.
Some platforms like Apple also have subcategories. This helps App developers rank higher because the categories become more specific.
Price
There are many free Apps so the competition is stiff. Try freemiums, specials, paid upgrades and/or free trials. Research which ones work best and also learn how to make money with an App.
App success takes creativity, time and patience, but keep in mind that hard work always pays off. Remember that placing an App on the App Store also has to be accepted by the platform’s Apps Store so always read the terms and conditions and follow all the rules of the App Store.
Once you have been accepted and are on the App Store, like we said, don’t forget to continuously optimize and update your App for best results. This will help immensely.
