As an indie developer, with no money to advertise my app, it was hard to get my app more downloads. Apart from a few people that I know, no one else used my app. It didn’t get enough downloads. Most of the users , stumbled upon my app through PlayStore search.
What should I do to get my app noticed? What should I do to get my app above in the search results of PlayStore?
As a beginner and an indie developer, it was hard to get my app noticed in the playstore. It still is; but over the years, I have learned a lot about how to get my app better store ranking.
Here are the things you need to focus on :
Name of the app :
Here are some of the most effective ways to get a better PlayStore ranking:
Once you have created the application, one of the most difficult task is to name your application. There’s two way to go about it. Either you can give it a trendy name such as Snap, Twitter or Trello etc.
The other way is to make it descriptive, ie. the name gives away what the app does, for example, “Truecaller: Caller ID, SMS spam blocking & Dialer“. It’s your call. However, if your application is not targeted towards internet-savvy young users (for ex : 18-24 years) then the best would be to go with a descriptive name.
Description :
There are two types of descriptions that you have to provide while publishing your app in PlayStore. First one is short description and other one is full description. The short description of your application has to be in such a way in few words, it should tell the user’s easily what your application does and how it can serve the user. It should be able to catch user’s attention, so make it interesting. Try to write the short description in a way that it grabs the user’s attention. Keep it short and concise. The user will only see the full description, if they are interested in your app. You have got the user’s attention now.
That’s why in the full description of the app, the first few lines should tell the user how your app will help them. Everything that your app can do should be added in the later part of the description.
Keep this in mind while writing the full description : A good description = One more download.
One of the best description I have seen is of JotterPad. Go ahead and read it now, if you have want to have an idea of a better description.
Logo And Feature Graphic :
One of the most important aspects of attracting the users towards your app. Even before the name of the app or the description, the first thing the user is : app’s logo. It is really hard to come up with a logo. If you have ever tried it, you know what I’m saying.
As an indie developer, you have two options : one would be to hire a designer and get a logo done, second would be to design the logo yourself. As most indie developers don’t have enough money to invest in design then the second option is most viable.
While designing a logo the only thing to keep in mind is that it should catch the user’s attention. It should be in alignment with what the app does.
For example, a gaming app shouldn’t have plain logo whereas an app for productivity shouldn’t a have a messy logo. A logo is what sets user’s expectation about your app. So a good logo might get you more installs but it will get you bad ratings from the users if the app doesn’t delivers.
Screenshots And Feature Graphic/Video:
Screenshots for your app should showcase the best of it. But not something which is not in the app. Don’t mislead the users. That goes for feature graphic and video too. Show the user what your app can do in the most amazing and interesting way possible but don’t try to fool them. If you do, be prepared for bad ratings/reviews.
Keyword Integration :
The app’s description should contain the words which your targeted users might search for. For example if your app is a chat app, then you want to target users who search for “an app for chatting with friends“; make sure you include few of the words from the above search query in your description, in this example the keywords can be “chatting“,”friends” etc. Include these in your description and your app will show up in search results to the right users. This is one of the key (get it?) aspect of getting a good playstore ranking.
Here’s one of the best description of one of the most famous (well, it use to be!) social networking app on PlayStore : Facebook :
After giving your app a good name, logo and description. Make sure you share it at appropriate online spaces (I’ll put An article on this too). That will bring out the initial users. Do get their feedback and improve accordingly.
Your work is not done here. Once your app gets published, there are many additional things you can do bring in more installs.
One thing which I want you to think about is : how you can put your own twist to your PlayStore listing.
Give it your own flavor! Experiment and see what works for you.
And most importantly, don’t forget to pat yourself on the back. You finally, have a working app on the PlayStore. Wohoo!
A whole new journey is about to start for you.
Keep moving forward, keep creating! 🙂
Bew Technologies 