ortable devices have become part of our life. According to statistics, most users prefer to search for information through smartphones. That is why digital stores offer a huge number of different games and applications. The number of products available for mobile devices is growing every day. How to make your software visible among such a variety, and how do you rate an app? How important is the app conversion rate? And what indicators should you focus on?
App Store Optimization (ASO) answers these and many other common questions. This set of techniques aims to get your product ranked high when users search for a game or app in digital stores. As practice shows, people most often download those items that are in the first positions in the search results. One of the most critical and complex components of ASO is the conversion rate, which helps determine the chosen strategy’s effectiveness. In this article, you will learn what it is, what factors affect it, and how to increase your product’s conversion rate.
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App Store Conversion Rate Definition
What is the app conversion rate? This term usually refers to the ratio of the number of product installs in relation to the total number of page views.
The higher this indicator, the better your assets are optimized. However, there is no universally good percentage that everyone should be guided by. A good rate can vary significantly for different regions, stores, and categories. Moreover, given that the market situation and user demand are changing literally every day, the average app download conversion rate can also sometimes rise and fall.
App Conversion Rate Types
Different platforms offer developers and publishers access to various conversion rate stats. Experts distinguish four types depending on the user’s activity:
- Impression to store view occurs when a person, searching for some application by keyword, in the search results pays attention to your product and opens its page.
- Store view to install. If after reviewing the personal page, a visitor is interested in your software, they download it to their device.
- Impression to install, as a rule, occurs when a client downloads your product directly from the list without opening its description page. As practice shows, it happens infrequently and mainly with large titles.
- Install to sale. It depends on the method of monetization you choose. After installation, buying a subscription or in-app purchases is implied in some applications.
Keep in mind that a lot depends on what exactly your software offers. In most cases, when it comes to the mobile app conversion rate, it is the installs of your product. Of course, for the success of your activity, these should be organic installs, that is when users download the app on their own initiative because they are interested in the proposed functionality.
However, another important indicator is the so-called retention rate. As a developer, it is essential for you not only to get a client to download your product but also to use it for a long period. There are times when users abandon software literally after the first use. It means that despite the app’s optimized description (and other elements) in the app stores, you do not offer the functionality that a user is looking for.
The difference between installs and retention rates allows you to assess how well your product meets visitors’ expectations, formed by the app page. — Asolytics Team
Calculating App Store and Google Play Conversion Rate
It is not difficult to calculate the rate for each platform on your own. Let’s say that your main figure is the number of product downloads. In this case, it will represent the percentage of persons who have installed your software on their smartphones out of the total number of page visitors. However, how do you know if it is a good enough indicator or you need to work on optimization?
You can focus on the category averages and those rates that Google Play or iTunes Connect shows for your product. If your data is much lower than statistics, you need to reconsider your ASO strategy. Each platform has its characteristics. Although there are other digital stores besides the App Store and Google Play, the vast majority of devices in the world use them.
Elements Affecting Conversion Rate
An app or game page in any digital store consists of several key elements. While the detailed list is slightly different for each platform, the basic details are the same. So there are many ways to increase conversion rates at your disposal.
Icon
It is one of those details that primarily catch users’ eyes. In increasing the conversion rate, an icon plays an important role. That is why it should clearly meet the technical requirements of a particular store and be visually attractive to visitors. While the icon should make your product stand out from the competition, that doesn’t mean leaving out “typical” details.
Name
The title is another element that users immediately notice. For optimization, you should use the most relevant keyword when writing it. As practice shows, visitors are more likely to download the app with the phrase in its name for which they were looking.
Screenshots
Screenshots can be called short graphical descriptions of your product. After watching several slides, a person should understand the focus, the main essence of the app, the available functionality, and much more. The type, number, and screenshot composition may differ depending on your software features, regions, and particular platform requirements. In our blog, you can read more about mobile game icon.
Videos
Promotional videos can significantly increase the download rate of your product, but not all apps really need such an element. However, with their help, you can tell users a little more about your software.
Description
If screenshots and videos are brief graphic information about a product, then a description is a text component, in which you can tell in more detail about the main functions and unique features. It is better to place important and attractive data for a client at the beginning since not all visitors read descriptions to the end.
Rating
The average product rating and the number of reviews can also positively or negatively impact the conversion rate. In most cases, users look at the rating of an application before downloading it. Many people trust reviews because it is assumed that they are written by real people based on their experience.
How to Improve Conversion Rate
CRO is a set of measures to improve the rate by enhancing the elements listed above. In addition to building the right semantic core, working on first impressions, and meeting the technical requirements of each platform, you can also take the following steps.
- Connect analytics
Now many services allow you to evaluate the effectiveness of a marketing campaign. You can get information about the dynamics of downloads, the ratio of the number of ad impressions to installs, download sources, and so on. This data will help you understand how productive your efforts are and show you your weaknesses, allowing you to figure out how to increase app installs. With an in-depth analysis of the campaign and the app’s productivity, you can optimize your conversion cost. - Study the target audience
Understanding your target audience is an integral part of the success of any business. Listen to your customers’ wishes and offer them the content they need. Segmentation and personalization can help you make your title truly essential for users and get into the list of best apps for iPhone and Android. - Work with reviews
As mentioned above, many people do pay attention to ratings and reviews when deciding whether to download a product. According to statistics, most visitors refuse to download an item with a rating below three stars. Thus, all your optimization actions can be canceled out due to low rankings. Read reviews, find negative reactions, and work on fixing bugs. Also, add a product rating request to your app. - Conduct A/B testing
To determine which icon or video has the best effect on visitor responsiveness, regularly conduct A/B testing app. It will help you make your product page really engaging. Creating unique content for each store is advisable since the target audience is somewhat different. - Improve the user experience
It is important to make the app convenient and understandable for everyone to get visitors to download your software and make them stay with you for a long time. All basic steps like installation, registration, shopping, and so on should be implemented as simply as possible. Also, always keep your users informed about updates, promotions, and other news to keep them engaged.
Increase App Conversion Rate
Conversion rate is an essential indicator of the effectiveness of your ASO strategy. Since finding and retaining new users is a lengthy and costly process, you need to be clear about how productive your efforts are and what weaknesses are in your work.
Although the metrics may differ depending on the characteristics of your app, category, region, platform, and other factors, there are still some criteria that show how well you work. For example, if you have a high search-to-install conversion rate, that means your visuals are well optimized. At the same time, a low conversion rate from page views to installs shows that you need to pay more attention to optimizing your content (working with the ratings, rewriting the description, and so on).
Knowing all the nuances of ASO and the specifics of each store is not easy. That is why specialized platforms offer services for optimizing apps and games. Thanks to convenient tools, you can analyze the results of your work in detail daily, make effective decisions, and get the most out of your efforts.
