Is Your App Not Getting Traffic? Here are 6 Ways to Jumpstart Growth

The short answer to this question is to understand your customers’ needs and persist in working to fulfill them. But for more details about how to quickly increase downloads and usage, read ahead to learn six of the most effective strategies and tactics.

1. App store optimization can bring in high-value clients

More than two-thirds of app downloads happen after a visit to either the iOS App Store or Google Play. Take advantage of this opportunity to grab interested customers by optimizing your keywords.

Potential users search the app stores with relevant keywords, so you’ll need to research which keywords your target customers are typing in the search bar to find apps similar to yours.

To find the most effective keywords to use in your app title and description, you’ll need to do keyword research. Here are some areas to investigate:

• Understand which words best describe your app
• Get a good read on your app’s current performance
• Read as much as you can about how users of competitive apps describe them. Which specific words do they use?
• Study your competitors and look for good examples to find out which keywords they’re using
• See if you can take advantage of strong keywords your competitors aren’t using so you can stand apart from them

Keep in mind that app store optimization (ASO) isn’t something you do just one time. Your target customers’ needs will evolve and the keywords they use to search for an app like yours will change as well. Periodically monitor your performance and that of your competitors and make keyword changes as needed. However, try not to make a change to your app’s title if at all possible. Word-of-mouth can be an effective means of increasing awareness, so if you change the name of your app, you may cut off that valuable source of incremental downloads.

2. A/B testing will guide your path to success

Whether you wish to find out which ad creative will work best to increase downloads or which features lead to continued usage, test a small segment of your target audience before you make a big financial or time investment.

A/B testing begins with a question and identifies two different ways to answer it. But prior to moving forward with your testing, make sure you know how you’ll evaluate the data once it comes in. Which metric will you use to inform your decision? With a plan of action in place, grab a big enough sample to produce reliable results and segment that audience sample into two groups. After a predetermined length of time for testing, analyze the data to determine which marketing tactic or feature change you’ll implement for all users.

A/B testing is a safe way to evaluate a proposed change to your marketing and product plans since it safeguards against making unwise decisions that could impact your marketing budget or damage your ratings.

3. Reach out to your customers

When you begin a dialogue with your customers, you’ll learn more about their needs and what they’re looking for in an app like yours. Whether they’re simply asking questions or letting you know what they don’t like about your app, reaching out to customers can result in increased conversions.

Probably the best place to start a conversation is in your app listing, where customers will post ratings and reviews. Their feedback offers a wealth of information about what is and isn’t working for them. You must address negative feedback immediately because it shows current and potential users that you care about their in-app experience and will take action to fix the problems they encounter. Your response may persuade an unhappy user to improve the rating, and it shows on-the-fence users that you’re the type of developer who’s attentive to customer needs.

Other places where you can reach out to customers include sites like Quora or forums like Reddit or Facebook Groups (not your own page). Showing up in these spaces allow you to deliver useful information which can lead to interest in your app. Just make sure your appearance in these groups don’t come off as promotional ploy. You can include your app information in your user profile or signature, but don’t use posts as sales pitches. That typically backfires in these kinds of groups and could even cause you to be banned from them.

4. Find opportunities to show your industry expertise

With so many millions of apps available for download, it’s often difficult to know which ones to trust. Apps developed by industry thought leaders have the benefit of looking more credible and trustworthy and may be a reason why someone chooses to download one app versus a similar one.

While in-person speaking engagements aren’t a possibility right now, there are opportunities for online webinars and live streams that may be just as effective. You could decide to host your own event or you can campaign to participate in a larger one that includes thought leaders from within your industry.

Other places where you can demonstrate your expertise include guest blog posts on popular industry websites. Also consider pitching an interview with journalists who cover your industry. Your participation will be beneficial to you, but also to the journalist who’s likely looking for quality content to write about.

Once you’ve lined up interviews or speaking engagements, don’t forget to promote them on your social media pages, where they’re likely to be shared. You’ll want as much exposure as possible to increase awareness of your company and your app.

5. Use incentives for app sharing

Why not use your loyal customers to bring in new users? One of the best free tactics for encouraging shares is to post to your social media pages. But to encourage sharing, your posts should make a strong pitch for why a new user would want to download your app and include a referral incentive for current users to share the post with their friends.

Referral programs offer rewards for current users if they sign up one or more of their friends. It’s a built-in incentive to share. But don’t expect your current users to do all of the work. Your post should include the sales tools and talking points you want your customers to communicate. They’ll be able to share your dynamic creative and sales pitch and simply endorse it.

6. Jumpstart growth by staying on top of your performance

Once your app launches, you must be vigilant in tracking its performance and making adjustments if it looks like you’re losing steam. Optimize, test, listen to and respond to your customers and continue to build credibility in your industry. There’s little time to rest in this competitive environment.