There might be a perfectly natural market answer to my question but I'll ask anyway.
I created a game and published it on Google Play in January 2012. After that it has seen a steady increase of downloads (over 50k combined, currently 200-300 a day) and I've kept updating it a lot. About two or three weeks ago I issued an update that had a weird effect on my new downloads. They almost completely stopped. I'm having a hard time believing that an update similar to what I've issued in the past has this kind of effect on user download decisions. Downloads dropped suddenly from 200-300 a day to 1-10 a day after the update.
I know I don't understand the Google Play search routines and stuff like that very well, but I still would like to know if there's a simple answer to my problem. What are the possibilities that an app upgrade will affect the visibility of the software.
BTW: My game update did not change the SDK requirements or available devices.
EDIT: I noticed a new permission has appeared in my application: "test access to protected storage" after I changed SDK target to 17. Can this affect my downloads?
From the day the app was launched till 30 days after that, your app appears in the 'Top New Free/Paid' app section in the play store (appears at almost the top in your app category). So for the first 30 days, downloads are awesome. Playstore suddenly drops it from the 'Top New Free/Paid' section and now your app will only appear in 'Top Free/Paid' section which is much more crowded and has more established apps to fight for a place.
The update surely has to affect on the downloads.
I will go so far and say that even the change in permission requirement is not responsible for the drop. One more permission request might change the mind of 10% of your potential consumers but not more than that.
Let me try and attempt an answer.
As per my understanding, Updates do not count in the number of Downloads. Simply because, the user has already downloaded them once. The Download count represents the unique number of downloads.
Unless the Update broke something or changed something drastic enough to drive away potential down-loaders, it has no effect on the number of downloads (per day) going down or going up. It may also be due to negative feed back and / or comments for your app. And although I cannot claim or give a source, I am almost certain the Update/s has nothing to do with stats going down.
Hoping any of this will help.
UPDATE
It is quite possible that the new permission is responsible. That being said, it really is a very subjective decision for the user to decide on the installation (because of the permission). Perhaps, to possibly remedy the situation, assuming the reason is the permission, you could put up a list of permissions used by the app and state the reason for using them in your app's listing. But that is the best that can be done to mitigate a further loss of users. Plus, you may perhaps see the stats getting back to normal too. Good luck. ;-)
In my case, when I changed the default language to English in the Play developer console - Control panel, the number of downloads drops from 300-400 to 1-30, it was frustrating. Before when I looked for my app by its own name it would come in the first or second option, after changing the default language dropped to the 30 position, then I thought if I switch back to the old default language maybe return to the first position, but this was more Terrible because the last change caused it to disappear from the positions. It only appeared with complicated searches that included keywords placed in the description of my app.
My app always supported 2 languages Spanish and English, by mistake when I first uploaded the app, I placed the default version in Spanish.
Typically there is no effect if you do not change the manifest sdk, feature or permission requirements.
It could be that what you see is not related to the version, but rather something else. Most likely it is because 30 days passed since launch. On the first 30 days after a new app is published, you get some boost from Google, but after 30 days, it stops.
Related
First sorry for my bad English : I'm French and I may make a few mistakes.
I created an app and I uploaded it last month on the Google Play store. You can find it here without problems : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.malerbati.fourInAMine.
The problem is : my app is almost impossible to find with the search engine ! When I search "4 in a mine", my app name, in Google Play, it only appears at the 20th result !
Besides, the app didn't appear at the "Top news" when I uploaded it.
I remember that the last app I created counted 200 downloads 1 day after its release, obviously thanks to the "Top news" thing... whereas this app has only 65 downloads, 1 month after ! And when I look at the statistics, I see that 100% of the downloaders are French (my country), which means that ALL the persons who got my app found it with word of mouth ! That's quite inefficient...
Therefore, here are my questions : why the hell can't we see my app easily, like the others ? Did anyone else encounter the same problem ? I have some suppositions about the origin of the problem :
The last app I created was a big failure : 95% of the people uninstalled it, essentially because the game was too hard. Does Google Play search engine take this into account ?
I created my last app last year. There must be much more apps now. Is my app simply hidden by the (too) big number of other apps ?
My app is very smaller than the last one (only 300 ko, against 3 Mo). Is that taken in account too ?
Thank you in anticipation. I really want to know where the problem is.
Here are a few resources to help:
How Android Developers Can Thrive with Google Play
Maximize search potential in your app title: identify your most successful keywords and make sure to include them in your app title. In fact, this is so critical to success (potentially 80 to 100 places in your search ranking), that you should seriously consider removing your app name from your title and focus your description on the best keywords. Include the app name in the body of the app description – users will still be able to find it by name. Unlike iOS, the body description is searched under Google Play.
Use, but don’t overuse, keywords: try to use the best keywords at five times the body of your app description. This can affect search ranking from 10 to 20 places. Anything over five times has no additional benefit, so don’t overdo it.
Test your search parameters: the above recommendations are guidelines based on accumulated experience, but search results can vary based on many factors.
Steady efforts work best: Google Play’s ranking algorithm is tilted towards long term user acquisition – apps that acquire and retain satisfied users are rewarded with higher ranks. Advertising campaigns should be run over a longer term and sustained over two to three months, as opposed to the short bursts of activity often seen in the iOS market.
Use closed loop attribution and target long term users: since retained users have an important impact in ranking, use closed loop marketing to ensure you are identifying and utilizing ad sources that bring loyal users.
Don’t be afraid to experiment and test market your strategy with Android. You can apply these learnings to your iOS versions and reduce your costs and risks.
Google Play Optimization Secrets - 5 Helpful Tips
The second link contains more information that leans more towards marketing and sales strategy than practical steps.
Your application contains a number of very common words. Some of the most common, smallest little auxiliary words are probably discarded because they return a hit on everything.
If you put quotes around it, then Google Play will search for the whole sequence. When I search 4 in a mine then I basically don't see your app. When I search "4 in a mine", then your app is the only result.
I understand that this information doesn't really help you because, while it answers your question, you cannot control users' behavior. You would do better to make your title unique. That of course also makes it less descriptive and harder for users to remember. It's an unavoidable tradeoff.
Responding to your other questions:
I would be surprised if the success or failure of your other game had anything to do with the search relevance of this one. I could believe the uninstall rate affects the search relevance of the uninstalled title.
The huge number of new apps being published does mean that you want to get onto the virtuous cycle of installs quickly. So, the same day that you upload the app, get onto your social networks and tell all your friends and followers that you have a new game to try out. Make sure it works on most of the devices they are using. :-)
A listing page that describes your app well helps you get some collateral benefit from the "Users also viewed" lists for searches that lead to similar games. You gain a little more collateral benefit by publishing additional apps that appear under "More from developer". It may not be a big boost, but it is a feedback path -- probably the only one that you directly control.
I would be surprised if app size made any difference at all.
To sum up:
I think your problem is your title is composed entirely of either tiny words that get discarded, or common words that match lots of other games. You can easily locate your app by searching for the phrase all in one piece, but users won't do that. So work on combining unique terms that only you use, with descriptive terms that help the search engine determine your relevance in searches. And follow it up with some marketing.
What are the best practices on updating the apk files in the Android Market ? Is it ok to publish a new version as soon as i fix a minor glitch or should i consolidate a few bugs (if those or minor) and post it in a regular interval. Just released a game and got a extremely corner case crash issue and another minor glitch so i'm not sure if i release the fix right away.
Also are there any restrictions on the number of updates per time period ?
Even if there is no best practices as such could you (android developers) share how frequently you update your APK files for minor and major issues and what's your positive and negative experiences ?
Thanks!
Once a week is pretty optimal for generating new downloads and visibility. Based on my experiences and what I have read. Also weekends and holidays seem to generate more traffic.
I usually pack more changes into one update and release once in 1-2 weeks. Don't make updates if you have no real content. That may annoy users.
Read story #1: http://blog.edward-kim.com/an-android-success-story-13000month-sales-0
Read story #2: http://makingmoneywithandroid.com/2011/05/first-month-on-the-android-market/
People's experiences: Android Market - Time to wait between two updates
Market's "just in": http://www.google.bg/support/forum/p/Android+Market/thread?tid=5b8adbb9052fc55c&hl=en
Analysis when during day is most downloads: http://nhenze.net/?p=735
Discussion about time of day: Best time/day to publish to Android Market?
Personally, I think it depends on the type of application. If you are coding a type of tool that obtains more and more functionality with each update, users probably won't mind the frequent updating. Same goes for an application that has too many major bugs.
If you're coding a game though, I think updates relating to style of gameplay should be few and far-between. Users get used to playing a certain way and could get annoyed if they have to keep adapting to what essentially is a different game every time they update. Level pack updates are of course a different story though (I think those don't come fast enough sometimes).
Remember though, even if an update goes out for an app, it doesn't mean the user will download it. I've seen too many friends with 22 updates available... < drop down clear >
As far as I know you can update as often as you like. You pretty much have to decide what the balance is between annoying your users with frequent updates vs. making them happy by getting frequent bug fixes. For a while I was updating my own apps pretty much weekly and I never had any negative responses to that.
i've got a problem with an app that i published 2 days ago.
The app still doesn't appear in the market within the new entries
(appear only with direct link)
About 1 month ago, I've uploaded a previous version of that app..with
the same name and a different package name.
It was a beta so i disabled it in the console and i uploaded a NEW app
with the same name but different package name...This can be related
with the problems mentioned before?
Anybody had similar problems?
In my experience it won't last near the top for very long at all. after 2 days you'd probably have to scroll down pretty far to find yours. I have noticed that sometimes my apps show up in the new list within a few minutes of uploading, and sometimes not for an hour or so. But I've never witnessed it happen any longer.
As for whether or not changing your package name could result in your problem. Perhaps, but I wouldn't think so. In general though you should strive to never change your package name. This will result in users having to un-install before they are able to install new versions.
Seems that is the new Google design. You don't get your app listed in the new
category (or any other) unless it's already a high-ranking app before
it's launched, or, you are one of the top-rated developers.
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I'm just about ready to publish my first app to the Android market, and I'd like to know if any of you have any tips about any experiences you may have encountered in regard to publishing an app that goes beyond the obvious and already documented.
Any hidden caveats and/or ideas about what to do before publishing an app to the market? For instance, a buddy of mine recommended that I remove any and all comments in my code just in case someone gets to the source code, thus making it more difficult for the would-be "code jacker" to decipher the code. I thought that was a sensible suggestion.
What are all the things to do before posting their app to the Android market?
Hope it's not too late, here is some advice:
Launch your app at the end of the week (Thursday afternoon is usually a good time). Why so? Well, no companies would like to publish an app only 1.5 day before the week end -> too dangerous (in case there is a problem that needs a quick reaction time).
Use proguard on your app (usually, you just have to add this line: proguard.config=proguard.cfg in the default.properties file). This will optimize, shrink and obfuscate your code, very useful for preventing from code thieves. You don't have to delete any comments, they are automatically deleted at compile time.
Optimize your images (using Paint.NET, PNGCrush or OptiPNG).
Optimize your layouts for most of screen sizes. You can do this by simply changing the screen size while editing a layout in AndroidStudio or Eclipse.
Try/catch all exceptions on the UI and display a simple toast which indicate to the user that something wrong happened. In the meantime, retrieve the error with Crashlytics or something similar.
Don't use too much .jar libraries, prefer library projects (optimize the code size) and add them using gradle.
Prefer using vector images since it will reduce APK size and fit correctly on all devices.
Don't use the Android preferences windows -> that's not really beautiful, even if it's in the Android guidelines, prefer making your own settings page. But if you keep Android preferences: consider adding icons and colors.
Don't show the title of your app on the main screen (this.requestWindowFeature(Window.FEATURE_NO_TITLE);): good brands don't need to take so much space on a screen to be recognized (show some icon or title in the menu or somewhere that is not always visible), and consider using the fullscreen mode (this.getWindow().setFlags(WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_FULLSCREEN, WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_FULLSCREEN);) when dealing with games and very immersive content.
Use Google Analytics, Fabric Answers or Flurry for future analytics -> try to get as much information as possible, but don't grab anything that violates the anonymous identity of the customer. Don't forget to retrieve exceptions (errors and stack traces) that happens on the user side.
Ask your friends to do monkey tests, learning from users usually brings many good things (such as priorities and new ideas).
Consider publishing your app before having finished all features (most important feature only), you don't already know what your users will want or need besides your main feature .
Add a section "More apps", or "More from developer" in your app, that's free ads.
Add a section "Send feedback" to give the user the possibility to ask for a new feature or report some bug.
Ask your users to translate your app by providing the strings.xml somewhere on the web like Crowdin.
Try your app on each Android version with the emulator -> many bugs or design issues will be detected this way. For this, you can use the provided emulator, or use Genymotion instead (Genymotion has a lot of very useful features).
Think about the name of the app -> what keywords would you use to search for your app? These keywords should be the name of your app (Google will help you get discovered this way).
Consider including keywords in the app description, but in a descriptive way (make understandable sentences using your keywords). Never add a keyword list as is in the description.
Be the first to rate your app with 5 stars, and ask your family and friends to do the same -> this will likely influence the future users ratings.
Consider using Google to translate your app either for the description, either for the strings.xml or both.
Consider displaying ads in your apps and use mediation to improve your revenues AdMob.
Instead of providing a paid version, consider doing in-app billing -> users are more likely to pay in-app rather than paying for a paid version.
Add a change log in the app -> users usually like to know what changed since the last version.
Add a "Thanks" section for the users that helped you -> this will engage users to your product.
Add a "If you like this app, please rate it" link (to your Google Play description) in your app -> you will get more 5 stars (usually a popup on startup, or after a feature action).
Consider explaining your product via a "Tips" or "Instructions" section in your app.
Save your keystore and credentials information somewhere safe. You won't be able to publish an update for your app if you lose your keystore.
Make your icon really simple and clear. The icon is the first and also mainly the last thing that will make the user download your app.
Unless it's not possible, prefer external installation (android:installLocation="preferExternal" in the AndroidManifest.xml).
Read AppAnnie tips and blog posts, it will give you hints on how to improve ASO and help your better understand your users.
Really, don't bother removing code comments. Your source code doesn't make it to the user's phone - only the compiled code gets there, and that doesn't contain any reference to your comments whatsoever.
Android users tend to appreciate apps being as small as possible, so double-check you're only including resources (images, etc.) that are still being used in your app. Use OptiPNG/ PNGCrush on any .png images you have in your app - that can reduce the image file sizes by about 10%, which can be a significant part of your overall app size.
Also, use an audio editor such as Audacity to reduce the size of any audio as much as possible. Going for mono OGG Vorbis files is often best, and sounds plenty good enough on a phone.
Don't worry about comments. If you are concerned about malicious dissection of your app, though, DO run it through an obfuscator like ProGuard.
Other tips I would offer:
Have all your graphics and promotional materials ready to go ahead of time.
Time your release strategically for when you don't have a lot else going on in your life (like right before a weekend) so that you'll have time to respond FAST if the first handful of users start having problems. Low ratings early on can kill you, but fast e-mail response and fixes can totally redeem a customer's opinion of your app.
I'll agree with earlier comments on reducing image sizes as much as possible.
Get your code into source control if it's not already. You're sure to need to issue updates and fixes at some point, and source control can play a big role in that.
Not sure if you've seen this before, but you should excercise your UI with the monkey - my app has only had one crash, but it wouldn't have had any of those if I'd tested it with Monkey first.
Some points that I tend to forget:
double check your minSdkVersion in the manifest
test your app on an emulator with your minSdkVersion
let your friends test your app to see if it is self-explanatory
If you are going to provide updates in your app:
you might want to add some kind of 'Whats new in this version'-dialog
backup your old version!
don't forget to increase versionCode and versionName in your manifest
I'll add an obvious, but important one: save your signing key somewhere safe, and make a backup. If you're letting Eclipse manage this for you, pay attention to where it creates your keystore, and save a backup copy of it. And don't forget the passwords for the keystore or individual signing keys.
Why: you need to sign updates to your app with the same certificate you used to sign the original. If you lose that certificate (or lose access to it), you cannot update your app. You'll have to create a new listing in the Android market.
Don't forget to make debuggable=false in your Manifest. That's caught me out a couple of times.
I'm not totally sure but I think this would then include a lot of information making a code hackers life a bit easier.
I remember years ago I accidentally deleted the source to a java project, in horror I realised I had no backup! I used a utility called jad to decompile the jar file on the production server, it had all the variables intact and was almost perfect. I can't remember if the comments were there or not, but then I didn't put a lot of comments back in them days anyway :) This is because I was including symbols when compiling.
In addition to the great suggestions above, think about using Flurry for mobile analytics. I didn't know about that when I first started releasing my apps, but now that I've updated them to include it, I love seeing what users are actually doing with the app. This can provide valuable feedback and guidance for things that might be hard for users to find or not interesting/useful to the user.
As far as I know comments are not included in the app in any form.
The only "gotcha" for a developer that I found during app submission was the various graphics you can provide to the market. Be prepared to take several screenshots and create several app icon sizes as well as promotional graphics.
On the bright side, be prepared to have your app show up instantly in the store -- there is no approval process to go through for Android Market apps.
I would also make sure you had some sort of error reporting so you know how many users are encountering error's. You may want to keep a copy of your old version when updating your app incase you need to roll back. Its also nice to compile a checklist specific for your app that you can go over everytime.
Also to add to this you may want to use a trimmer to take pieces of code out that are unused to cut down on the overall file size(as phone space is pretty limited). You also may want to obfuscate your code for extra protection.
To get a clear idea..go through this ..
http://bewithandroid.blogspot.in/2012/05/publishing-android-application-on.html
Declare an android:process and android:sharedUserId attribute!
See sharedUserId: safe to change when app is already in market? for why.
I would like to know how many times I must wait to post an update for my application. I want to be sure that the update will appears in the "news" section of the Android Market.
You're trying to game the Market system. Don't do that. Update your app when it needs updating, i.e. when you have new features or bug-fixes.
In my experience, updating too often will make existing users angry, and you'll get several one-star "too many updates - uninstalled" comments. I think those are a bit dumb (I'm always glad to have well-maintained apps), but the bottom line is still - don't update if you don't have to.
You can update several times a day if you wish, there's no limitation regarding that. Personally, I tried to wait at least 14 days inbetween updates, but if I can hold out even longer, I will.
Updates are an hidden question to the user, "Do I really need this app?"
There are two buttons: Update and Uninstall.
Easy enough to press the Uninstall-Button.
So, with every update you will loose installations ...
S.
My experience: less than 2 weeks but I think also, that you have to change the description more than just a bit. I cant believe that the Market only check for "waiting time".
I always thought it was 7 Days.
You can update as many times you wish on Android Market Place. Normally, I try to update my app on NET-30 day basis. Reason being that for any new update, Google marks it as new app and try to promote the updated app in marketplace. Most importantly, the app is given a position in New Chart and that helps boost your download. On the other side, if you update often, you may annoy your users and they may leave bad comments if they don't see much change in UI and any extra feature being added. It's wise to update your app once every 2-3 weeks.