What are App Install Rates?
App install rates are the percentage of users that decide to install an app after visiting an App Store or Google Play product page. It can be referred to as a conversion rate (CVR). There are different types of app install rates depending on their traffic source including referral, paid ads, browse traffic, and search traffic.
Why App Install Rates are Important?
It’s important to understand that different sources bring different users with different states of mind to a product page. This results in install rate figures being different between these sources, sometimes dramatically.
Browser rates are usually low as this traffic is made up of a much broader audience. Search rates are usually higher due to the intent of this audience specifically and actively searching for an app / game. Referral rates depend on the ad channel users come from. If a high quality channel like Facebook is used, referral rates can be high but if user acquisition (UA) teams choose to use a low quality source like specific ad networks (that put ads in front of users who may be playing an app at that moment so aren’t necessarily looking for a new one at that time) those rates can be low.
It’s important to understand that different sources bring different users with different states of mind to a product page. This results in install rate figures being different between these sources, sometimes dramatically.
App Install Rates and ASO
App install rates is a vital metric that shows the power of an app’s product page. But this metric needs to be analyzed in context, it can’t just simply be evaluated over time with the conclusion that a product page is failing if app install rates are decreasing. Any changes in UA methodology or spend can change the audience traffic which will affect the install rate and is another example that shows how important it is for UA teams to work closely with ASO teams to reduce the chance of misinterpreting results.
Changes to discoverability can affect the rate also, if a product page has more impressions, (exposure) an app’s CVR may decrease due to receiving a broader audience that may not necessarily be an app’s target audience.
Install rates cannot be measured in a vacuum, they must be contextualized in order to understand how successful an App Store or Google Play Store product page really is. It’s imperative to avoid misinterpreting results that are the result of other factors being changed.
Attracting users to a product page is key but converting them to download is the crucial next step.
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