10 Powerful Strategies to Boost Mobile App Downloads
You’ve finally built your own app.
You love your design, your app icon, and it works flawlessly on every device you tested it on. The niche you found is unexplored and competition-free.
There’s only one problem (and it’s a big one):
No one is downloading your app.
If that’s the case, you’ve run into the same problem many developers encounter after they publish their apps. But don’t be discouraged – if you have an app you want the whole world to use, you can make it happen.
Once you get downloads you’ll be able to make some real money.
All it takes is a little effort and the right know-how to bring your app to the attention of the masses. So, to learn the best ways to boost your mobile app downloads, let’s first understand how apps are downloaded in the first place.
How App Store Optimization Works

The first thing you need to grasp to generate more app downloads is how the app stores you publish your app to actually work.
Let’s go over some basic app developer language.
You may have heard of SEO – Search Engine Optimization. But have you heard of ASO – App Store Optimization?
The two are very similar in relation to your app’s success, but ASO has even greater impact on its listing than SEO does for Google search results. ASO is specifically what increases the visibility of your app in the marketplace. The higher its rank, the more users will find your app when they search.
And once a user finds your app, ASO also helps determine whether they actually download it. There are quite a few factors that affect your ASO:
- Positive reviews: The more positive reviews an app has, the higher its rating will be. When users rank an app highly, it will also be ranked highly, which naturally improves downloads.
- App downloads: The more downloads you have, the more downloads you’ll get. App publishers should aim for a steady amount of downloads to rank highly.
- Keyword relevance: Apps with popular keywords in their title and description may see more downloads.
- Revenue: Apps with a good record of revenue generation will get more visibility from the app store.
- Country: Regional success can influence your ranking in that region. Boosting your ranking in multiple regions can have a snowball effect.
- Backlinks: If you can include backlinks to many relevant pages, you can improve your app ranking.
- Social proof: Your app’s popularity across social media platforms can affect its app store ranking – especially on Android. Shares and +1’s on Google+ can determine whether users notice your app or ignore it.
- App starts: The number of times users actually open your app also has a significant impact on ranking.
- Retention: The number of people who uninstall your app vs. the amount who keep it within 30 days also affects rankings. To ensure retention, cater heavily toward your target audience in the app description.
Taking all of these into account can dramatically alter the way your app is perceived by the general public, and how it’s treated by app store algorithms