How to tame the AppStore search
Top-5 for any query and $0.19 installs
As a product manager of the Prince dating app I always try to find a way to acquire good and cheap traffic. One of the best traffic sources is relevant search queries in the App Store.
Spoiler: I had 4,000 installs for $0.19 each and moved the app from 60th to 4th place in search results.
Let’s start from the beginning. Search in the AppStore looks like this:
How apps ranked in search results is a secret. Update date, rating, reviews count and other factors affect the App’s position. But the most important factor is how many times users install your app from the search.
To cheat the App’s position we paid users to install the App by downloading it by the search query (search incent traffic) (It such a pain to download it from 60th place :)
1200 installs was enough to move the app from 60th place to 4th place via the search box in the Russian App Store. After that we bought 100–150 installs per day in order to maintain this position.
The first search push was impressive. We got 4086 installs for just $0.19 per install. I made a few mistakes in that campaign. If it had been performed perfectly, Prince would have stayed in the top-3 for a month. I decided to do it again, but while we prepared the new version, Apple’s search ranking algorithm changed :(
Now you need to buy 500 search installs for four days at least. Take a look for our second push data:
The second campaign was a waste of money. A $1.68 per install (I can buy installs in the Russian ad network for $0.5). And I was almost out of incent search traffic available. The algorithm changes made search campaigns useless for us.
In September 2015 it was enough to boost your app in the search for medium-traffic query with 1000–2000 of incent-search installs. Now you need to buy 1000–2000 installs for four days in a row (multiply this number by 10–50 for the US AppStore).
However, search incent push can still be useful for your app. If you fine-tune your AppStore search snippet to high-conversion to installs (60%+), then your app will remain in the top.
Instruction: how to cheat the AppStore search result
- Choose a relevant and popular search phrase
For example I took ’dating’ in US AppStore.
2. Optimize your AppStore search snippet
Make sure that your app-search-snippet is relevant to the promoted query. Don’t promote a dating app for ‘chat’ term.
The App’s name should contain the search-term. Even better if it the first word. It was a bad idea to promote Prince with name ‘Prince — we fulfil desires’ for a ‘dating’ search. The title ‘Dating with you wish fullfiled’ performs much better.
Be sure to have a rating (you need at least five reviews) and the rating should be 4.5+ stars.
Have colourful and eye catching screenshots.
Search snipped should convert at least 60% of views to installs. You can measure that by AppStore Analytics or A/B testing.
3. Get at least 500 users install you app from the search each day, four days in a row.
4. If you have an great AppStore snippet and App Idea you will remain in top-5
5. Beware, you have only two chances to push you App in top. Double check your snipper.
