App development is a tiresome process. With so many developers all around the world, competition is extremely tough. That is why user acquisition gets more and more difficult. Additionally, development and marketing costs can easily overwhelm publishers if they are not careful.
User acquisition is one of the main goals of app development. However, marketing has certain challenges that make the process difficult. Developing an effective app marketing strategy requires both experience and the right toolbox.
Two main ways to acquire users is through App Store Optimization and paid marketing strategies. ASO will help you to improve your organic rankings in the stores by increasing your app’s visibility. It is critical for your user acquisition strategy as the organic downloads tend to come from users who are interested in your app. In a way, ASO can help you appear in relevant keywords that are actually related to your app.
A comprehensive user acquisition strategy also includes paid advertising. While ASO helps to bring in relatively interested users (although in small numbers), paid marketing efforts can reach much larger audiences. By creating ads and publishing them on different platforms you can try to acquire new users. However creative strategy is a complex process as well.
Clearly, app promotion requires attention to detail. We have gathered 4 challenges that you might encounter during your app marketing campaign. After reading this article you will have some clues about how to overcome these problems.
App Store Visibility
Potential users need to be able to see your app before they can download it.
To ensure that you are visible to potential customers, you have to increase the ASO health of your app. This can be done through thorough research and optimization. It is highly recommended to use ASO Intelligence tools for this process as they will make your life a lot easier.
MobileAction’s ASO Intelligence tool will provide you with everything you need to adjust your app in a way that will increase your visibility. Your competitors will provide critical information for every step of the app growth process. ASO is one of the areas that you will highly benefit from competitors. You can target specific keywords that your competitors are using to increase your chances of bringing in downloads. People might search for a specific app, but they can also search for a category. If you can target keywords that are used for these searches, you can acquire new users who are interested in the category of your app. Additionally, our Keyword Research tool can help you find related keywords for any seed word you have.
Setting up your ASO is just the first step. In addition to research, you also need to monitor your performance in order to make adjustments. This is where ASO tools come in. MobileAction’s ASO Report can reveal critical information such as estimated visibility, keyword rankings, and keyword distribution. This way you can continuously optimize your app in order to achieve maximum results.
Diversified Audience
Paid growth strategies are central to most user acquisition efforts. By publishing your ads in different apps and ad networks, you can significantly increase the number of people that come into contact with your app. Compared to ASO, it can greatly increase your revenue by bringing in larger numbers of users.
The app stores allow you to reach people all around the world. However, it is most likely that your ads will have to be tailored in order to increase efficiency. Different cultures and different languages necessitate different approaches. Even age and sex can be important when reaching out to your audience.
First of all, you can translate your ads into different languages and publish them in selected regions. This way users who do not know your native language can also understand the promise of your app. To increase the localization of your app even more, you can also change the content of your ads according to cultures.
You can also target your audience by manipulating your app visuals. Screenshots, previews, and even the logo of your app can be helpful to capture users’ attention. We have an entire post dedicated to optimizing your creatives for maximum growth.
For example, let’s say that we have a traveling app. It allows users to book flights, hotels and it also includes guides about touristic cities. On one of your screenshots, you can use the words “Book your flights” and show the UI. In another screenshot, you can display the guides your app includes. Thus by diversifying your efforts you can eliminate the disadvantage of reaching different kinds of people. Mobile Ad Intelligence tools like the one we provide in MobileAction allow you to draw insights from different strategies. By making data-driven decisions, you can optimize your marketing strategy.
Measuring Expenses
Apps are developed to earn revenue. Like any other business, profit is the main goal of app development. If you do not measure your expenses correctly, your budget can take a hit and you can end up losing money. Unfortunately, there is no clear cut way to measure your advertising costs. It is very hard to estimate precisely where your users are coming from or how many of them you have due to data discrepancies. You can check out our post on how to overcome data discrepancies.
Especially if you are using Apple Search Ads, you might get confused due to differences in data provided by Apple and your MMP. SearchAds.com can provide advanced metrics so you can analyze your financials better. By integrating MMP and Apple Search Ads data on a single dashboard, you can improve the accuracy of your estimations greatly, which can help you make better decisions. Also by using our Automation Tools, you can reduce the amount of work needed for performance tracking. This way you can focus on developing your strategies rather than micro-managing.
Changing Trends
In order to succeed in the app market, you have to keep up with trends. Because user behavior can change very rapidly, you need to continuously optimize your strategy.
For example, the types of creatives used in different categories can change. Especially UA managers with aggressive campaigns experiment frequently with their creatives. If they find higher-performing creatives, they will immediately put those into circulation to increase installs. By keeping track of these changes you can also increase your efficiency. MobileAction’s Ad Intelligence tool allows you to conduct creative analysis’. This way you can stay updated on your competitors actions. If they are onto something that you are not aware of, their creatives might give you insights.
Even your app logo can be optimized. For example, many apps create seasonal variations of their logos. Such small details can prove to be effective for user acquisition efforts.
Other than creatives, the search terms also change rapidly. Thus ASO also requires constant attention. You need to keep optimizing your indexed keywords so you do not miss trends. Our Keyword Trends tab can reveal the currently popular keywords so you can target them. This way you can increase your visibility considerably.
Main Considerations
A user acquisition strategy for apps can have many different forms. Two fundamental elements of growth are ASO and paid advertising. App marketers should take both aspects into consideration when developing their strategies. Your efforts in one area can go to waste if you do not pay attention to the other.
There are many variables that you can play with to boost your app growth. Therefore A/B testing is critical for optimization. You can conduct these tests for many aspects of your apps. You can compare logos or creatives to see which of them are performing better.
Keywords that are used in your listing can also be subject to testing. Perhaps in certain locations, some creatives are more effective than others. Or when you use some keywords in your title, you might be getting more installs. Using the right tools can help you in every step of the process.
App growth is surely a process with many intricacies. If you want to see how our tools can help your growth, schedule a demo with us now!
