It is never easy to develop an app and after all the time and resources that must have been put into its designing and development, it can be quite disheartening to not get enough downloads as expected. That alone is enough to make you give up. However, don’t do it just yet.
There are several reasons why your app may not be getting enough downloads as you want and getting to the root of the problem can take a while. There might be the case that there’s not actually one reason but several: from poor app store optimization to online presence. It might even be that the app stores chosen are not the right ones for your target audience. Anyway, we’ll try to cover these here and provide you with solutions.
- App Store Optimization (ASO): one fundamental problem that your app might be having for not getting enough downloads might be not getting picked by search engines, which leads to users not finding it.
According to reports, there are over 5 million apps today, so making sure search engines pick your app for the right users is a cornerstone to get downloads.
Just like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), ASO uses some algorithms to rank applications and suggest to the target audience. Understanding how these algorithms work will help you a lot to give your app more visibility in the app stores.
Therefore, pay special attention to the keywords you use for your app name and category and provide all information and promotional content required by the app store, such as screenshots, featured graphic and even videos.
Have you seen that the name of Skype in most stores is not just Skype but Skype – free IM & video calls? There is a reason for that. - Take your online presence seriously: it is not uncommon to have app developers complain a lot about low downloads yet their online presence is poor. It is extremely difficult to get your app download to increase if you don’t invest in its online awareness.
Start by creating a website that showcases what your app does and how it solves your audience problem. It should have enticing designs that your audience will appreciate. Alongside the website, you can also create a blog. This gives your visitors something to get hooked to your website.
Social media interaction is also important if you are serious about having an engaging online presence so create social media accounts for your app and engage your followers. Build a community, ask for referrals, solve questions, and respond as human as possible.
The amazing part is that you don’t have to do all these yourself if you are not comfortable with it. Simply employee, either full time or temporary to help you. And the returns will be worth it. - Choose the right channels to target the right audience. Every audience has certain specifications, and study about them can give us great hints.
Have you already realized that youngsters don’t use Facebook anymore? Do you know the main app stores in Asia? The social media channels you choose to inform the audience about your creation can be decisive on your success. Third-party app stores are also a great help since they are bigger than you may think in many regions of the world, such as China, Brazil, and other emerging markets. - Is your app always crashing? It might sound quite a basic advice, but making sure your app is as crash-free as possible and working as expected in the devices of your target audience is extremely important.
Poor download rates will chase you for a long time if one of your releases didn’t suffer an intense QA process. Not only will your app downloads not increase, but it will also decrease, so before applying any of the other measures, make sure your app is ready to go live!
Get your developers to check all loopholes before deploying to production. And if a crash occurs, rectify it as fast as possible. Also, be sure to calm down your users during and after the downtime. - Measure and improve: the truth is that the business of getting more downloads for your app never ends. This mindset will let you understand that you are in for the long term. So, find out and measure what is working in your process and what is not, then improve.
How many users get to your app page, how many of those get to download the app? Am I targeting the right audience? Find out why some did not download your app. Always invest in new versions, update your content and app screenshots and so much more.
App download increase can be a hurdle too high to cross. However, increasing your app download is a long-term process and you must view it as such.
After increasing your app downloads, next steps may include how to make your app profitable.
Published by:
