Apple's App Store improvements could help app discovery (AAPL)
BII
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Last Friday, Apple unveiled a number of improvements to the App Store aimed at trimming away apps that are buggy and shortening lengthy app names.
Starting today, Apple will begin implementing an ongoing app evaluation process, notifying developers when their apps are not functioning as intended and removing apps that have been abandoned by developers. The App Store is also limiting app names to 50 characters in an effort to cut back on developers using long names in order to optimize the number of keywords they encapsulate.
But how many apps will be affected by the changes? Quite a few it turns out. In an unofficial analysis of around 8,000 top free and top paid apps across multiple categories, it was found that roughly 25% of apps in the App Store hadn’t been updated in over a year. This means they’re still optimized for iOS 8 (iOS 9 was not released until September 2015). Around the same share of apps had more than 50 characters in their titles.
Apple’s new policy is in line with its efforts to boost revenue from its Services segment. By ensuring that apps in the App Store are functioning at the highest degree possible, the company is protecting the user experience. At the same time, regulating the number of characters app titles can have helps even the playing field for app discovery. Search is among the most used form of app discovery by users.
Cutting through the noise of an overcrowded app market is critical for any app developer looking to build a viable user base. There are now well over 3 million apps available across the world’s five largest app stores. Delivering the right product to the right audience at the right time in this environment is imperative to the success of any app.
The challenge of marketing an app effectively has made app-install ads — an ad unit that directs users to download a mobile app — an essential tool for developers seeking to stand out in the Google Play and Apple app stores. This is why it's not surprising that more marketers are using paid channels to drive downloads than ever before. In fact, over 80% of respondents in a survey of the top 100 grossing mobile app developers noted they plan on increasing their spend on app-install ads in 2015.
BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on mobile app-install ads that looks at the revenues from app-install ads and how they're expected to grow over the next five years. It also looks at the performance of app-install ads and how these metrics are expected to change over time.
Furthermore, the report examines the top app-install ad products and pricing models offered by the leading advertising platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, and Google, as well as newer app-install formats from Instagram and Snapchat. Looking to the future, the report examines how companies are shifting their app-install ad spend to new formats, as well as the new tools they're using to improve optimization and ad effectiveness.
Here are some key takeaways from the report:
- Mobile app-install ads — ad units that direct users to download a mobile app — are an essential tool for developers, and they account for a major share of mobile ad spend. We estimate 25% of total US mobile ad revenue was generated by app-install ads in 2015.
- A combination of new developers entering the space and rising ad budgets will drive increased spending in years to come. US app-install ad revenue will grow to over $7 billion by year-end 2020, according to BI Intelligence estimates.
- Mobile app install advertisers have traditionally invested heavily in display and interstitial ads, but are moving to mobile video and native install formats. 86% of developers currently use in-feed video app-install ads, and video ads are seen as the most effective app-install format.
- As formats like video rise in popularity, older formats are losing their appeal for install campaigns. Static nonnative ads are widely used but are not seen as effective. Free app networks and offer walls have also fallen out of favor.
- Ad platforms are now developing innovative new install formats to earn even more revenue from these lucrative ad units. New approaches, including deep linking and app streaming, are more contextualized and interactive than older ad formats.
In full, the report:
- Forecasts app-install ad spending in the US through 2020.
- Explores which app-install ad formats developers believe are most effective.
- Discusses what the most popular platforms and ad networks are doing to attract ad spending.
- Investigates new tools for marketing apps, including deep linking and app streaming.
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The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the fast-moving world of mobile app-install ads.