Designing, developing, and building an app can be quite an achievement. Standard build times can take up to 12 months once all the stages are complete and prelaunch is reached.
However, designing an app doesn’t guarantee success, and the marketplace is extremely crowded, and even if your app is downloaded, it may not stay installed for long.
In quarter one of 2022, there were 36.9 billion apps downloaded. This represented a 1.4% increase against the same quarter from the previous year. Out of the top 10 most popular apps, social media dominated with TikTok being the most downloaded.
It is unlikely that any app you develop will become as popular as the social media giants, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t have a successful app in the Play Store.
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How can you make your Android app more popular?
Anyone involved in developing and building an app will be hoping that it is popular and gets used by as many people as possible. While the competition is fierce, there are a number of steps you can take to make sure your app has the best possible chance.
Use Beta testing
When a product is created whether that is an app or some other commercial entity, the creator is not always the best person to judge the quality. Beta testers are vital for apps to ensure the quality is high, and the product works as it should.
Beta testers will provide genuine feedback that can help to improve a game or app and elevate it to something that could see thousands of downloads.
Increase visibility on the Play Store
Making the app more visible on the Play Store is key to achieving increased downloads. Ironically, one way to do this is to have a certain amount of downloads and installations in place.
Once you have 2,000 installs in place your app will start to be more visible. Once 10,000 installs have happened your app will receive higher levels of promotion on the Play Store. Due to this, many app developers purchase install packages.
You can buy Android installs in bulk to increase how popular your app appears to be, and this will make the Play Store promote your product more often. However, only quality installs will work.
The Play Store doesn’t just monitor downloads, it also requires apps to be installed for a certain amount of time. So, if you wish to use this tactic you need a service that has real users who will download your app and keep it installed to increase organic traffic.
Optimize the app’s details
There are other ways to help with your app’s visibility on the Play Store than just through installs.
You should optimize your app so that it can be found on any app store you upload it to, and on Google. Understanding SEO and SEM terminology could help in this regard, and keywords are essential.
Around 65% of downloads are made after a search has been conducted. Your app needs to be searchable. Make your title unique and descriptive, and use a tool to help fill out the keyword field effectively.
Use influencers to promote the app
There are plenty of highly influential gamers on YouTube, Twitch, and other social media now. While these may be out of your budget, micro-influencers are worth considering.
You can reach out to bloggers, vloggers, gaming journalists, and influencers for reviews and collaborations. Building awareness of your product will see more downloads.
Advertise your Android app
Advertising is something that can infuriate gamers and app users when it is done wrong. If you are to include advertising in your app try to limit it to one per session instead of constant ads as this could see your app being uninstalled frequently.
However, advertising your own app could be highly beneficial. You can use in-app advertising to increase downloads by placing your ads in other relevant games. It is worth taking some time to understand how to improve conversions with Google Ads and app advertising.
Consider compatibility
While there are more Android devices in the world than Apple, it would seem to make sense to have the widest audience possible. There are 2.5 billion Android and 1.8 billion iOS devices in the world now. That is a huge potential audience.
But, it isn’t just the operating systems that need to be considered. Screen size, memory, and processor speed are factors too. The Apple iPhone 5 is the smallest screen currently still in active use, and this should be your marker.
UXPickle recommends designing for 320 pixels which is the smallest screen size. This should be the first design that is made before looking at other devices.
Summary
There are 3.48 million apps in the Play Store today, and one other thing to consider if you want yours to be successful is originality. You can balance the advertising, get the keywords right, and remove all the bugs. But, if you produce yet another cloned zombie shooter you may fail.
Nevertheless, with the right research, development, and idea, you could make a successful app that gets downloaded and installed by thousands of people.