How To Drive More Mobile App Downloads

Yesterday Google shared with us a few recommendations on how to increase mobile app downloads.

Google is constantly telling us, and they certainly have a point, that once you have finished building your great app you shouldn’t stop there and wait for users to find it. You should rather help them find it. You should by all means promote and market your app to help users discover how great it is.

We have been at a number of events organised by Google, including the Google Mobile Bootcamp that took place last month in Google’s London office, and in all these events they usually point out the importance of mobile.

When it comes to apps, Google tells us, we should be running advertising campaigns to make people aware that our app exists. They always highlight how important it is to advertise our app to the right users. This is all absolutely fine and it is indeed correct, however we have noticed that at all these events Google is intentionally omitting an essential part of the app promotion strategy, obviously in order to encourage marketers and app builders to invest their budgets into paid advertising campaigns. But let’s get there after reviewing Google’s recommendations in regards to app promotion…

Google tells us this is how you should be using Google AdWords to get as many of the right people to discover and download your app:

1. Estimate the value of an app download: estimate how much an app user is worth to your business. Why should you do this? Understand how much you should invest to acquire a user for your app. Tips and an example here.

2. Create compelling ads and an app store page: Develop ads and an app store page that clearly describe your app’s value. Why should you do this? Attract qualified users who will download and engage with your mobile app. Tips and an example here.

3. Promote your app to all potential users across Google: Get started with universal app campaigns. Why should you do this? Save time by setting up a single, automated campaign that gives you access to all of Google’s ad inventory to drive as many mobile app downloads within your target CPI and budget. Tips and an example here.

4. Promote your mobile app on the Google Display Network: Create a Display Network app installs campaign. Why should you do this? Reach people as they’re engaging with other mobile apps and browsing mobile websites across the Google Display Network. Tips and an example here.

5. Promote your mobile app on the Google Search Network: Create a Search Network app installs campaign. Why should you do this? Reach potential users who’ve expressed intent for what you offer on Google Search and Google Play. Tips and an example here.

6. Promote your app with video ads on YouTube: Promote your app with video ads on YouTube. Why should you do this? Reach potential users with the power of sight, sound and motion as they’re engaging with content on YouTube. Tips and an example here.

These are the app promotion recommendations that they provides us, but as I was saying earlier Google is missing a vital part of an app marketing strategy: ASO or App Store Optimisation.

App store optimisation is the equivalent of SEO (search engine optimisation) when it comes to app promotion. ASO consists on optimising all the aspects of an app in order to improve rankings on app store platforms such as Google Play or Apple’s App Store, while SEO optimises websites in order to improve rankings on search engines such as Google or Bing.

Visit our page about app store optimisation if you want to learn more about this app marketing technique.

Source: Google: Drive Mobile App Downloads – Best Practices

Iñigo Etxebeste, January 28, 2020