How to build a Chrome Extension that will skyrocket your SaaS startup’s web traffic?
I recently published an article outlining how our startup, CrankWheel, grew from 2000 to 10.000 weekly installed users within 4 weeks, mostly in part to Chrome Web Store presence. This time I’m going into detail with the ins and outs of the CWS ecosystem, explaining what your startup can do to quickly gain traction from this wonderful marketplace.
This guide is for early stage Startup Founders who already have a Web App, user base, and want to create a Chrome Extension to get listed in a software marketplace to acquire new users.
Chrome’s market share is at a historical peak!
Chrome has 58,53% of the market (Feb 2017). Outside of Chromium, it’s not a browser that’s installed by default on PCs or Macs. It’s argued, that non-conformist, savvy users use their default Safari or IE to download Chrome and then remove from the app tray.
There is a readily available Enterprise version of Chrome that has .msi deployment capabilities.
Windows Active Directory support for Chrome is available.
Finally: Chrome is trending while IE is plummeting.
Microsoft Edge (the new Internet Explorer) is the default for Windows 10, can’t be installed on older Windows versions and is actually competing with IE as the go-to Enterprise browser. According to Lifehacker IE is still common in the Enterprise because of technological debt and lack of money (perhaps will) and manpower to upgrade.
NOTE: I couldn’t find any decent info on Chrome’s market share within Enterprises. If you know more about this, make sure to leave a comment.
What exactly is a Chrome Extension?
Chrome is Google’s browser. In my (a SaaS marketer’s) daily work it outweighs the computing demand of installed apps combined. Extensions give it even more functionality while remaining readily available in Chrome’s extension ribbon right next to the URL input. Usability level — master.
These small programs are desktop-only. Chrome Extensions are not and probably will not be available on mobile devices in the near future.
How do you make a Chrome Extension?
Given that there are entire business models revolving around Chrome Extensions, I’ll just give you a brief overview of what I think is critical in understanding this ecosystem:
A developer’s FAQ:
Google has everything well documented, so surprise surprise, read. Start with the official Getting Started document.
- Does it use Chrome’s API? YES
- Can you use WebRTC for calls and video similar to Hangouts? YES
- Is there a sandbox environment? YES
- Can you use beta Chrome to future-proof your extension? YES
- Can you host it locally until ready to publish? YES
Read the doc, it’s all there! Plus there exist boilerplates to instantly build cross-platform and develop for Firefox and IE simultaneously!
A business FAQ:
This article is written with startups and rapid growth in mind, however to avoid further questions I’ll cover a few issues that seem to be getting brought up from time to time:
- Are there payment options? One-time, subscription, in-app? YES
- Can we offer limited functionality or a trial? YES
- Can we sync it with our web app user accounts? YES — just offer users a log-in screen
- Can it be installed individually by our users via a link? YES
- Is mass and remote install by an admin, Enterprise-wide, possible? YES
An analytics FAQ:
You can and should track everything. Extensions have all you need to start.
- Can you install Google Analytics inside an extension? YES
- Is there a supporting analytical tool to measure interactions? YES
A marketing FAQ:
- Can you pay or hack your way to getting featured on CWS? NO
- Can you optimize your extension’s positioning on CWS? YES
The ecosystem is a Web Browser. Extend what it can’t do or die.
I’ve seen businesses going head first into development and then panicking due to low user retention rates. If you want to be successful please listen to your product architects, or hire someone fast if there’s nobody like that on board yet. Text United manipulates what’s displayed in a client’s browser. CrankWheel is based on Chrome so it’s a natural Extension. But can you imagine Gantt charts as an extension? Oh wait, there’s this for Trello and I’m absolutely loving it!
Here’s a mental framework of considerations, cascading from ideation to development.
1. Ideas and brainstorms
- Figure out in one sentence what your Chrome Extension is supposed to do. TeamRock’s Headhunter allows you to save interesting LinkedIN profiles for later. That’s it. Do ONE THING RIGHT.
- Ask team members to paraphrase that sentence to see if they understand what you want to build.
2. Feasibility study
Financial analysis:
- Calculate how much it will cost to build it
- Calculate the cost and time required to spend marketing the new product (and the web app, too)
- Predict annual ROI, obviously, based on the former two
Market analysis:
- Clearly define buyer personas (are they the same people who buy your web app?)
- Find a niche or demand trend that fits your idea (who is leading in CWS for this category?)
- Can your current users benefit from it, or is it just a new client acquisition idea?
Technical analysis:
- Can you actually create and maintain the extension or do you have to outsource development?
- Does the extension add value to your web app, or is it something different than the core service?
- Will there be a cause and effect relation within the extension’s functionality between it being installed and your web app users subscribing more often?
3. Business Requirements
- Specify your goal: The extension is supposed to generate new sign-ups of prospective users.
The extension is supposed to generate new sign-ups of prospective users.
- Speficy the goal’s target parameters: Retention/Churn, CAC, aLT, cLTV, ARPU etc.
4. Functional Requirements
- With Feasibility and Business Requirements in mind, start talking about things like „what is the extension supposed to do”. Have a look at your target goals each time you’re not sure if it’s a good idea to add this or that button.
- Draft a specification document with dates and names of executives marking the decisions and reasons for them. You can do this with Word or Google Docs comments. Trust me — do it.
5. From that point on you’re left with Wire-framing, Design and Development.
All of which you probably have already mastered since you do have a web app startup!
Go-to-CWS plan for your brand new Chrome Extension
What is the Chrome Web Store anyway?
It’s like the Android or Apple app store — only for Chrome.
It has a featured list of apps, categories, reviews (stars and comments), paid/free, online/offline functionality and of course a global search. The store’s UI is also localized (although…trying it in my native, Polish language is still making me cringe) and available in many languages.
Let’s break down these variables as they all, arguably, impact your chances of succeeding on CWS.
Optimizing your Extension for the Chrome Web Store
First of all — optimize for people and do not try to play the system.
- Featured apps
This is what you see on the „home page” of the Chrome Web Store. The goal if any marketing should be to get featured, however there is no officially documented mechanism for getting there.
This is what got us the most new sign-ups ever!
Side navigation: Optimizing the way people search for you extension
People browse for extensions to find things that “may exist”. Everybody assumes there’s already “an app for that”. Make sure your positioning in CWS leverages this logic and allow users to find you easily.
- Categories
You get one category for your app. Just one. Their number is quite astonishing however so make sure to try and change things up.
A curious case study for you: This extension by Text United is relevant to productivity and to blogs. It can compress any web article into bullet points, remove ads and make for a good reading experience. Sounds like productivity, however it had little installs there. We put it under blogs and instantly, with no promoting at all, got 5K users. Turns out that it became a go-to solution for business content along with, wait for it, school work. Nice!
- Reviews
These are the lifeblood of any NPS strategy and they work wonders on growing the audience, plus reviews in Google, app marketplaces and just about anywhere else seem to be a factor accounting for a front page feature. Perhaps it’s true for CWS. LiveChat, a leading SaaS chat provider recently mentioned that their entire business model revolves around NPS and at a certain scale it really does make a whole lot of sense.
Get as many 5 stars and comments as possible by simply asking users to do so.
Just ask! Go and ask your users to review it right now.
- Paid vs. Free
Any app can be featured — paid or free. This doesn’t seem to impact the chances. Paid apps will obviously have less users although that’s not a rule.
- Online and Offline functionality
You could make your app do things offline and make a whole business out of that. ISPs fail and users can’t always use a wireless hot spot. While not a huge rating factor, it’s a big usability improvement opportunity for the daily lives of people.
- Languages
This is one of the few places where localization makes a huge difference. It’s worth your while to plug in a continuous translation system into the development process for this project.
Languages are automatically aligned with Chrome’s preferences, so your users will see your extension’s descriptions in their native language. If competing for a higher listing, native language will surpass the default option.
How to translate a Chrome Extension?
- Global search
CWS does have selectors per category, however it also has a simple search button that checks your app’s listing content. A file called manifest.json is included in each Chrome Extension and contains meta-data like the app’s name, description, version and this is essentially what you want to optimize when you’re thinking about „doing SEO for my extension”.
How to promote your Chrome Web Store listing?
Leverage your current audience to get some early sign-ups:
Blog, newsletter, social media, in-app announcement, in-app functionality — this stage is yours and you get to make the most of it. Get as much adoption as possible because the more users sign up, the more will follow in their footsteps. Fetch more contacts using crowdsourcing tools, launch e-mail campaigns or pick up the phone and start calling!
Use traditional startup promotion channels — the ones you already used to promote the web app:
- Launch on Product Hunt
- Launch on Beta List
- Launch on LaunchRock
- List it in startup directories
- Get featured in top 10 sites
Here’s a comprehensive list — While these guys say it may not be worth it, it’s a low hanging fruit up for grabs.
It may actually be an extremely smart decision to validate your idea the same way you validate a startup idea — by putting together a landing page, pre-release opt-in form and doing some PPC advertising.
New opportunities from simply having a Chrome Extension
- SEO! Google can and will display your extension in search results if it outperforms competitors. Leverage G+results, too!
- Chrome-only PPC campaigns on Facebook targeted and job titles
- Find and contact „Chrome Extension Review” sites
- Partner with Android app providers or deliver desktop installations of your extension through your own Android app
Correlate with your core offer’s sales and marketing initiatives and keep up with the daily grind.
Work on your Marketing plan, consider international, localized campaigns, and leverage the new sales funnel to massively increase the chances of qualifying new leads.
Good luck!
