Converting app page views into installs is a critical stage in the sales funnel. Even if you drive maximum traffic from various sources, a low conversion rate will result in wasted marketing spend without delivering meaningful results.
Today, we will look at all the elements within the App Store and Google Play that directly or indirectly affect CR (Conversion Rate), assign a conditional impact score to each, and sprinkle it all with a pinch of expertise and unique experience from the RadASO team.
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The App Store and Google are like Coca-Cola and Pepsi – similar yet different. As they say, the devil is in the details. Let’s take a look at the key differences.
The App Store is quality-oriented and the visibility of your app will increase if you have a high conversion rate (which directly affects the ranking), lots of good reviews, and a high frequency of updates. In essence, conversion directly influences your app’s visibility and ranking.
For Google Play, in addition to these factors, user behavior after installation also plays a major role: Factors like Churn Rate (the percentage of users who uninstall the app) and Average Time Spent (the average duration users engage with the app) significantly impact rankings. Thus, in Google Play, low conversion rates can be offset by high user retention rates.
The App Store lets you test up to 3 Product Page Optimization (PPO – Product Page Optimization) variants at a time, focusing on the following elements:
Only basic metrics are available for analysis – conversion and number of impressions. It is also worth adding that the test audience is divided into equal segments without deep customization options.
It is also possible to create up to 35 unique variants of Custom Product Pages (CPP – unique product page). It’s not exactly A/B testing, but it allows you to create CPPs for marketing campaigns or for specific user segments and thus gather statistical data and make adjustments to the original product page. You can’t customize alternative icons for CPPs, but you can add different variations of promotional text.
Google Play has its very own Store Listing Experiments tool, which allows you to test up to 5 variations of the main product page by modifying the following elements:
The analytics available include actual installs, calculated scaled installs (from all traffic) and the performance comparison showing the percentage of the test page that performed better or worse Deeper customization of audience segmentation for testing is also available.
You can also create up to 50 custom pages (Custom Store Listing). Geographical and language segmentation, user status (whether they have previously installed the app or not) and traffic channel (such as integration with Google Ads for marketing campaigns) are available for customization. You can change all metadata on them, including icon, screenshots and texts – these changes will be visible to users searching for specific terms or groups of terms.
Essentially Custom Store Listings allow you to personalize your page for a specific audience, while Store Listing Experiments are designed for broader testing to boost conversions.
An icon is the first thing a user pays attention to. Its task is to convey the essence of your application “in a single glance”. A well-designed, trend-aligned icon can significantly boost conversion rates.
In addition to the icon, the user also sees the first 3 screenshots (if they are horizontal, if they are vertical or just the first one if vertical). It's crucial that the screenshots align with the icon’s style and complement it harmoniously. They should not just attract attention, but reveal the key functionality and your unique features that set your app apart from your competitors. Using brief captions to enhance the images is highly recommended. While only the first three screenshots are visible by default, this doesn’t mean you should limit yourself to this number. In our experience, six screenshots often work best, though it's important to note that each subsequent screenshot after the first has less impact.
If you have a video, it appears before the first screenshot, making it a key attention-grabber. In the App Store, the maximum video length is 30 seconds, and its purpose is to showcase the app’s functionality and features in action. We recommend adding text to the video, as users may watch it without sound, which helps improve understanding of the content. Additionally, the user will see a still image of your choice as the video cover. The cover can be either vertical or horizontal and is uploaded directly to the App Store.
The visible part of the metadata – the title and subtitle – clearly communicate the core functionality of your app. Take care not only to add the most popular common keywords here, but also craft a clear, concise message The hidden part of the metadata (the keyword field) also impacts conversion: firstly, relevant keywords will allow you to improve visibility in search algorithms, driving more traffic, and secondly, irrelevant keywords is nothing but a way to increase the number of product page views without actually getting any downloads. For instance, if you have a calendar app but use “planner” as a keyword, users searching for a planner may land on your page and leave without finding the features they were looking for.
Reviews are crucial because, unlike the promotional content you provide, they reflect the real experiences of users. Featured reviews (those visible on the app page) are particularly important. A single negative review can drive users away – most won’t bother reading through the rest of the reviews to find a counterpoint; they’ll simply close the page.
A high number of positive reviews directly affects the credibility of your product and conversion rate.
Your app must be translated into the languages of the regions where you are promoting it. You may have only one icon for all regions in the App Store, so you should make it universal. But text and other graphical metadata (not to mention the app’s internal interface) should be translated with the help of native speakers. This will help maintain or even improve conversion rates.
Compatibility with all current devices is a crucial factor that can positively impact your conversion rate. Optimizing screenshots and the app interface for all the latest iPhone and iPad models will provide a significant advantage.
It's quite simple in this case – the wrong category will mislead users’ expectations, causing them to visit your page but leave without installing the app.
This is a controversial issue, because the presence of these elements can either repel or attract users, depending on the niche of your product. For example, if your app is a game like Clash of Clans, offering exclusive content and items for purchase can be a positive feature, allowing you to stand out while keeping the core gameplay free. However, trying to monetize features that users expect to be free, or being overly aggressive in offering paid content, can drive them away.
Users are willing to pay if they can see the value of the product. Your job is to communicate that value through text and graphic metadata.
Events refer to in-app or in-game happenings, and in terms of conversion, they primarily impact current users as well as those who previously installed the app but uninstalled it.
Let's be honest, 90% of users don't read the description. But nevertheless, it’s important to keep it concise, clear, and focused on highlighting your features and benefits. – after all, this is your opportunity to stand out when users are comparing apps or searching for something specific. A massive block of text or a single line of content will turn people away, no matter how great your icon and screenshots are.
A fairly minor factor, but it will play a crucial role when preparing content for certain age groups.
This also serves as a trust factor – if an app is frequently updated, it means it is actively supported.
Awards once again emphasize the exceptional quality of your app, which is a plus for users when choosing an app.
This factor doesn’t have the biggest impact on conversion, and in most cases, the average user won’t pay much attention to it. However, if the developer is well-known for creating quality products, it can instantly boost trust.
Release notes are another factor that mainly affects current and former users as it can highlight a long-awaited update, new features or closed bugs.
In 2024, app size is not as important to the average user due to the ample internal storage available on most devices. However, for users with many apps installed, it can still be a crucial factor when making a choice.
On Google Play, unlike the App Store, users searching with general terms only see the icon and title, making these elements crucial for conversion.
No surprises here, screenshots are also important for helping the user visualize the functionality and interface of your app. When users search for your app using branded terms, they’ll see screenshots alongside the icon. The first 3-4 (if they are vertical) will be the most impactful for conversion, provided there is no video. The number of screenshots the user will see depends on the custom interval between them, which is set by the developer in the console.
A promo banner is an essential element for getting your app into the store. It serves multiple purposes, acting as a video cover, appearing in curated collections, recommendations, or enhancing your product page.
Your video is uploaded directly to YouTube, requiring a horizontal format. While a vertical video is possible, it won’t display well, as it will appear with black bars on the sides. The Feature Graphic will be used as the cover art for the video.
Everything here is similar to the App Store, except that the keywords are indexed directly in the full description of the application, so your task is to compose an informative and structured text with a keyword density of 2-3%.
Audience reviews play a crucial role in conversion, especially featured reviews on the app page. Google’s algorithm selects them on its own based on a number of parameters such as relevance, rating and usefulness, volume, helpfulness, developer responses, and even relevant keywords.
Strong rankings and a large number of reviews are as big a factor for conversion rates on Google Play as they are on the App Store.
This is one of the most powerful ways to boost conversion rates if your app is available in different countries. Similar to the App Store approach, it’s essential to translate absolutely every aspect of the app and populate the product page with translations using native speakers.
It’s important to strike a balance and adopt a competitive pricing strategy to avoid negative user feedback.
The large number of installs serves as a social proof factor that significantly contributes to the decision to install the product.
Transparent and valuable in-app subscriptions and in-app purchases will help you get more quality reviews and high ratings.
Apps optimized for a wide range of devices and screen sizes are more likely to receive positive feedback and be installed more often.
As we've already established earlier, on Google Play, user retention rate is crucial for your app's visibility. So choosing the right category and subcategories will not only allow you to achieve high conversion rates but will also have a positive impact on your app listing’s ranking in general.
Content rating affects audience size, user retention, and reviews.
With the vast diversity of Android devices far outnumbering their iOS counterparts, app size becomes a more significant factor in many users’ decisions.
Frequent updates indicate that developers are actively fixing bugs and making updates to functionality.
The Data Safety section has become mandatory and contains information about the collection, storage and use of user data. Maximum transparency will generate more trust.
Similarly, App Store products from established studios with a track record of quality products in their portfolio will generate more trust and interest.
Well-formatted release notes highlighting fixes and new features can help the user decide whether to download the app or not, while their absence or poor presentation may deter them.
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