How to Improve Conversion Rate for Mobile Apps and Games

ASO is not only Search…

Conversion Rate is one of the most important ASO metrics for app marketers and developers, as it tells how the listing is working in terms of “performance”. We can identify 2 “types” of app stores Conversion Rate:

• Conversion Rate to Visit – The amount of people that are browsing the app stores and decide to visit your product page.
• Conversion Rate to Download – The amount of people that visit your product page and decide to download your app or game.

Our main goal is to drive as much traffic (visits) as possible, and convert them to users by installing our mobile app. However, that’s not all, as we don’t want these users to just download the app, we would like them to use it. But that’s another story… In this post we are going to see how to improve Conversion Rate to Visit and Conversion Rate to Download in the app stores.

How to Improve Conversion Rate on the app stores

Consider your audience

If we want to improve our product page’s efficiency we need to understand users’ behavior, that is, the journey they do from the moment they enter App Store or Google Play until the moment they install an app. It may be difficult to keep track of everything, but knowing their interaction patterns with our content will help us optimize the app store listing and, therefore, increase conversion rates.

Users’ behavior

Most of the users tend to decide whether to install an app or not within the first three or four seconds, so clarity and concision are key aspects for Conversion Rate.

We can define two types of visitors:

• Decisive visitors are those who decide to download, or not, based on graphics and visual assets, without engaging with the product page.
• Exploring visitors are the ones who browse and read the content in order to make an informed decision.

It goes without saying that the majority of users tend to show decisive behavior, so we should describe what is our app about and what it does on the first layout, and use the graphic elements each store has to offer in our favor: Icon + Feature Graphic + Screenshots + Video on the Google Play Store; and Icon + Screenshots + Video on the Apple App Store.

It’s also kind of rare that users tap on the “read more” button, as they hope to get all the information they need within the first and second lines of the text.

There are very few users that actually read all the description, so we have to choose our words carefully and wisely. Highlight the most important features the app has to offer by using relevant keywords that will also generate better search rankings on Google Play. Again, this isn’t proved as a 100% sure successful technique, but the higher ranks our app has, the more installs will come!

It’s also important to take into account that behavior patterns are different depending on the operating system. Google Play users usually show more decisive behavior than Apple App Store users. Moreover, each store is different so we need to plan our strategy according to that, because what works on Google Play isn’t necessarily good for App Store ASO.

Read more: ASO on App Store vs. ASO on Google Play

Improving Conversion Rate: What do we need to optimize?

First we need to get people visiting our product page… And here, the key elements are App Name / Title + Icon. So, icon is one of the most important factors to improve Conversion Rate to Visit.

Then, you should focus on optimizing the assets the user will see when they first enter the listing. This covers all ASO On-Metadata factors, such as:

• Icon and Title / App Name. They are the first factor that are taken into account while browsing the app store, so they need to stand out, as we want users to visit our our product page and interact with it.
• Average Rating. It will form a first opinion of the user, so try to keep it high by having a good product! A good average rating (and a good amount of user ratings) will also help to improve visibility on the stores.
• User Reviews. It’s one of the most popular factors when it comes to decide. Other users’ experience is almost definitive to decide whether to install an app, or not.

Visual assets

As stated before, Google Play and App Store have different layouts, so we need to optimize our product page taking into account their variations. The most significant differences are:

• On Google Play, the Feature Graphic, as it is the first thing the user views.
• On App Store, the Screenshot Gallery, as it is the main source of visual information the user has.

All videos play automatically on the App Store, so users are exposed to the video and it’s more frequent that they watch it. However, they might just see the first seconds, so explain your app’s value and why the user should download it within more or less three seconds.

On the other hand, videos on Google Play don’t auto-play, so only a minority of visitors play it. Some of the tips you should consider while producing your video are to keep it short, use a convincing message from the beginning and don’t rely on sound, as users might not listen to it.

The Screenshots Gallery is one of the most important visual features, so we should optimize and consider all the possibilities. On the one hand, layout can be displayed in several orientations: landscape, portrait or hybrid, and on the other hand, regarding style options, we can opt for a feature-oriented screenshot, a lifestyle-oriented one or a combination of both.

The key for success: A/B testing

You are probably thinking something like “OK, that’s nice, but how do I know if my product is optimized?”, and the answer is very simple: A/B testing! (uh?) A/B testing is an approach that let us experiment between two (or more) options to choose the one that gives better results in terms of performance (visit / download). It consists on splitting our audience into equal groups and present them different variants of one element. Each group represents the whole audience, and we can measure how an average user behaves. By changing just one element, we can determine whether we should change to that variant or to stick to the original plan.

There are a few steps to follow when doing an A/B test:

1. Brainstorming: define what should we test and what are our goals (formulate a hypothesis).
2. Variants: Once we have the hypothesis, we think about the elements we will be testing.
3. Test: Now it’s time to split our audience and show them two variations of one page.
4. Analyze and review the results we obtained and determine which option had a better performance according to what we expected.
5. Apply (or not!) the variant.
6. Keep testing! Remember that’s an ongoing process and we have to run tests continuously.

The best for us would be to get significant results on the first try, but it may be difficult to nail it so we have to consider everything: minimal changes, a bad research or bad goals…

Also, when it comes to tools to do that, you can go with Google Play Store Listing Experiments. However, it’s only for Google Play developers, so it’s not possible to measure iOS users’ behavioral patterns. Another inconvenience of that tool is that you can only run one test at a time and only with apps that have already been released. In contrast, SplitMetrics and other related tools represents an alternative that lets us test both operating systems, run several tests at the same time and experiment before launching the app.

In our opinion, the elements that should be A/B tested are Icon, Feature Graphic, Short Description (Google Play), Promo Text (App Store), Screenshots and Video.

Did you know that TheTool users can track conversion rate per day per country? Check it out!

What can we A/B test?

Almost every single element of our product page can be tested, but here you’ll find the ones that will have a significant impact on Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO).

Icon

Icon is the first element people see when they browse the app stores or when they compare our product with others. Therefore, we need icon to stand out and connect with users.

Feature Graphic (Google Play)

This is the first image users see when they visit an app store listing on Google Play, so it has a lot of impact in terms of Conversion Rate to Download. Do you have a good amount of traffic in your Google Play app or game but a low Conversion Rate to Download? A/B test the feature graphic!

Screenshots

Screenshots are (mostly on the App Store) the visual asset we have to optimize the most, as in most cases they are the only source of information people use to decide whether to install an app or not. Thus, it becomes a key aspect for search, search ads and the app page.

Previously we wrote about how to optimize them, but keep in mind that they have to reflect the product and engage with users. Try several combinations: changing the order of the screenshots, a mix of actual captions and experiences…Even the orientation can affect on users’ behavior!

Short Description (Google Play) and Promo Text (App Store)

Short Description on Google Play and Promo Text on App Store are textual fields that help improve Conversion Rate to Download. In the case of Short Description, it also helps the app rank better on Search. What are you waiting for start A/B testing Short Description?

It may be interesting: How to Optimize Title, Short Description & Long Description for ASO in Google Play Store

Video

This is the first thing users see after the icon, and regarding in the App Store it plays automatically, so it’s very important to find the one that improves Conversion Rate. The “poster frame” that acts as a first screenshot before the video plays is also another factor to consider.

Test different options to make an attractive video that connects with your audience and get more downloads!

To sum up – How to improve Conversion Rate for Mobile Apps and Games

As we have seen, Conversion Rate Optimization might not be a science, but we have methods that let us measure if we are doing OK or if a determinate change would be good or bad for our mobile business.

Remember that the key for a good conversion rate is to empathize with your audience so as to connect with them. Learn what they like and what they dislike will help you optimize your product page and, therefore, boost downloads. Moreover, test every aspect that you think it needs to improve in order to see if people like it better or if it was already ok. And last but not least, keep trying! Optimizing is not a process to do once and forget about it, you need to keep experimenting, as there’s always room for improvement!

And as knowledge doesn’t take place, you can also read this post about tips to make an app successful!

We hope these tips and techniques helped you improving your product page Conversion Rates! Let us know how it goes, and if you have more tips share it with us! 🙂

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