Stay Competitive in an Increasingly Growing App Market

Over the span of just a few years, the concept of app usage has transformed from a novelty to an essential part of the mobile user experience. With millions of apps now available and more being rolled out every day, there is an app for everyone, regardless of age, race or interest.

Like anything else on the internet, your app will bury under the 2 million others available on the App Store.

To contextualise, there are clear parallels between the App Store and the web; between SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and ASO (App Store Optimization). Just like when people or app development company search for your website on search engines, there's funnel aspect to your app being discovered:

Number of people who you can potentially serve (market) > app store views > app store downloads > signups > users > referrals. This cycle repeats, hopefully resulting in revenue.

Here's how to stay competitive:

1. Target a specific market that has size and demand. Growing a market is harder than serving the need of one that's already established. Aim for high popularity, low competition markets or niches. Start with those people, if you serve their needs, they'll tell their friends.

2. Optimize, optimize, optimize. Optimizing your app's iTunes Connect metadata. This is probably the most overlooked area of app publishing. It's not easy to do, but it's worth the time investment. This is both parts art and science.

3. Have a good app. This one should be self explanatory. People are smart, impatient, and judgmental. You can't grow a low-quality app. Design and function should be prioritized, and try to limit your feature set to features that only deliver upon your core value proposition.

4. You have 1 minute to display value, if you can't do that after the initial download— you've lost. Be clear about the value you bring to your users, don't forget to communicate this value to your users in your UI, Metadata, website, etc.

5. Measure & manage. Split test and measure growth attributed to your of metadata changes and app changes to see what drives the most growth. Test often with your product, and test your metadata assets every 2–4 weeks.