Marketing Your Apps on Big App Stores

Once you have developed your app, it would do nothing for your marketing or business if people do not know anything about it.  This is why getting onto app stores is very important to make your app succeed.

But with Apple’s App Store, the Android Market, Nokia’s Ovi Store, and Blackberry’s App World each having hundreds and thousands of apps, you should know that it is not going to be easy to succeed.

Temper your expectations.  Not all apps are going to be named the Most Downloaded or the Most Popular.  You should know your target market and estimate just how many of these have smartphones  and how many of them use apps.  It is a fair to say that out of all people, only 40% download apps for their phones out of half who do own a smartphone.

Know the market.  Each app store has their own strengths and weaknesses, but if you have an app that you want to succeed, you really have no choice but to get onto the corresponding platform.  For example, if you have an Apple iOS app, then you really have to get on Apple’s iStore.  You should know the inclusion policies, and other rules.

Categorize wisely.  Make sure that you categorize your app correctly.  Most people look for apps to download by browsing categories, so if you are in the wrong category, chances are you would not be seen by your target market.  For example, if you have a personal finance app and you put it in, for instance, fun and games, not too many people who are looking for gaming apps would download your app.  Plus, miscategorizing your app might hinder its inclusion.

Do some SEO.  Another way to find apps on most app markets is to conduct a search for it.  This means that you should apply some search engine optimization strategies for your app page.  Insert some keywords into your app copy and be found when people search for these!