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On July 10, Google unveiled new marketing tools designed to help marketers create more effective ads. This will provide marketers with machine learning technology, so that they can create more responsive search ads, maximize performance and better reach their revenue goals. Google’s announcement includes four new products:
While the app ecosystem is a competitive one, there are many apps that manage to thrive and become hit successes. However, just because an app ranks well doesn’t there’s no room to improve, as even the most successful of apps can still benefit from ASO. In our App Store Spotlight series, we’ll look at hit apps and see where their App Store Optimization strategy succeeds or fails. Gamers that are into chatting and social networking have probably heard of an app called Discord, which they can use to easily communicate among their friends. While its primary audience is gamers, it is seeing use beyond gaming alone and is used as a communication tool for all sorts of needs. While it is seeing success with multiple audiences, is its ASO strategy optimized? iOS On the Apple App Store, Discord ranks as the #11 app in Social Networking. With over 232,000 ratings at 4.8 stars out of 5, it has achieved remarkable success. However, it can still stand to improve its ASO in a few areas. The screenshots it features do a good job at demonstrating the app’s features and highlighting them with callout text that includes relevant keywords. While the dark colors used throughout the screenshots match, they do tend to make the in-app images difficult to comprehend, although the white text does stand out. Additionally, Discord opts not to include a preview video. This is a missed opportunity, as videos are key for showing off an app’s features while it’s in action. A well-made preview video can increase an app’s conversion rate up to 25%, although a poorly-made video can be equally detrimental. A preview video can demonstrate a chat in action as players coordinate on their games or show how Discord supports gifs and videos. Without one, it’s missing out on converting more users and highlighting its app’s core features. The description, furthermore, is flawed from an ASO standpoint. The introduction is a single paragraph of multiple lines, creating a large block of text for anyone viewing it on their mobile devices. The list of features is properly bulleted, but it’s all put into a single lengthy list, where it could instead call out its features and their benefits individually. With that said, it does include important keywords and features throughout its description, so the content is solid even though the formatting needs improvement.
Apple Search Ads has proven itself indispensable to app developers, helping them find greater visibility and relevancy for their ads. It’s a success for both Apple and developers, with conversion rates holding at around 50 percent and a cost per acquisition that’s below $1.50. Additionally, the tech company recently added creative sets to help developers target more niche audiences and keywords. With Apple adding new features to the Search Ads platform, it’s a wonder why it’s limited to only a handful of storefronts. Recently, Apple announced that the Search Ads advertising service will be expanded to encompass more countries, further extending its reach to worldwide app markets.
There’s more to launching an app than just finishing the build and deploying it on the app store. The key to success lies in preparation – what should you know and do pre-launch, before your app goes live? For starters, App Store Optimization is essential, but you should start optimizing and marketing your app before it hits the store. Before you launch your app, here are the steps you should take to ensure a successful launch.
Say what you will about millennials, but no one can deny that they are making waves in the offices of digital marketers around the globe, forever shifting the landscape of online advertising. As they continue to be the largest generational group on social media, companies are finding new and innovative ways to advertise to them. In light of this, influencer marketing has become increasingly more popular year after year, dating back to the mere conception of social media. In fact, 71% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase based on a social media promotion, and apps are no exception to this strategy. Looking at App Store Optimization (ASO), paid search, and email marketing, is it worth allocating those extra marketing dollars into yet another user acquisition channel for your app? Research has shown that influencer marketing is rated as one of the fastest growing online customer-acquisition channels. This success rate isn’t unwarranted - there’s a reason why the popularity of this strategy only continues to grow. So why is social influencer marketing so effective and how can it impact your app’s visibility? User Trust While social media ads can be wildly effective and drive in visibility and downloads, influencer marketing is perceived as a more organic approach. Users tend to trust promotions by social influencers more than paid advertisements, because:
Ever since the App Store has supported iPhone X screenshots, developers have been quick to update their creatives to be up to speed with the latest technology. In fact, the iPhone X was the best-selling smartphone in Q1 2018, so it would only seem natural to want to make adjustments as soon as possible. However, they should proceed with caution and consider the implications of updating screenshots to the device's measurements to avoid unintentional mishaps. The iPhone X’s screen is taller and thinner than previous iPhones, which causes screenshots to shrink when viewed on other devices. Additionally, the different sized screen makes callout texts less visible to those who do not have one. To avoid less screenshot visibility and the potential loss of conversion, developers must first understand screenshot sizing differences.
If you look across a crowd, you’re sure to see nearly every single person in possession of a mobile device. The number of phones, tablets and other smart devices is gradually increasing due to the simple fact that technology is constantly evolving. As the landscape changes and grows, it will, in turn, lead to new advances that can benefit users, but can also come with the unfortunate downside of possible data and privacy scares. As of 2017, there are roughly 4.77 billion mobile device users, with nearly 50% of the global population having access to the internet. With this number continually growing, it’s not uncommon that some may be worried about their privacy, especially when using various apps. Users’ fears have come to fruition as leaders in tech have gone on the record to apologize for data-mining and privacy breaches. These app developers, CEOs and companies need to rectify these mistakes and earn users’ trust back before they lose it for good.
Among the announcements from Apple at WWDC 2018 was that Siri, its virtual assistant, would be receiving an upgrade to allow greater interactivity with apps. With SiriKit, iOS and watchOS apps can work with Siri, providing developers new possibilities to increase user retention, discovery and usage.
Apps
Apple’s WWDC 2018 has come to a close after a week full of announcements, events and seminars. The tech company announced several upcoming products and updates to iOS and Mac, which may impact the app ecosystem in the coming future. Let’s break down all the important announcements from WWDC 2018: iOS 12 It was no shock when Apple announced that iOS 12 will be coming to Apple devices later this year. In true Apple fashion, the company made the statement early on in their keynote presentation and claimed that iOS 12 will include enhancements to speed and performance even for older devices. The update also includes new features, such as:
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Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2018 (WWDC) is steadily approaching and will be held June 4th-8th in San Jose, CA. This massive event will feature hundreds of sessions, labs, speakers and events, along with highly anticipated announcements on the latest products and software. While WWDC 2017 shook up the app world by redesigning the entire App Store, WWDC 2018 surely won’t disappoint, based off rumors of new hardware, software and more. Here’s what to expect from WWDC 2018: Product & Software Rumors Rumors have been circulating about what Apple will announce at WWDC, leaving many to speculate what else the tech giant has to offer. In the past, WWDC has been the perfect platform to introduce the latest OS. WWDC 2017 introduced macOS High Sierra and the highly anticipated iOS 11 that came with a full App Store redesign, and even the 2016 show introduced macOS Sierra and iOS 10. In true Apple fashion, we can expect to see announcements for the next macOS release and possibly the reveal of iOS 12, as well as watchOS 5 and tvOS 12. App developers should keep a close eye on the new iOS announcements, as they will need to prepare to update their apps accordingly. In addition to software announcements, there is a chance that new hardware will be revealed as well. As previous events have unveiled iPhones 3G, 3GS and 4, the expectation is that Apple will announce a new iPhone SE or iPad Pro, perhaps even a new MacBook. While we do not know the specifics of what will be revealed, there is no doubt that WWDC will include big announcements for upcoming Apple products and software.