How many app stores scattered around the Internet? I haven’t taken the time to count them. My most recent search on Google returned over one billion hits. When I have some spare time I may just check them all out; then again, maybe not. Of one thing I am certain; ‘app culture’ for want of a better word has longevity.
How many!
Someone (not sure who) coined the phrase; “there’s an app for that” and it appears to be a truism. There are millions of apps available cross platform and multiple device and operating system compliant. But how do you find that app which is essential to your lifestyle? How do you find that app which you know is out there, you know you have to have it but have no idea where to look, or how to search?
Get that app noticed
There are over 700,000 available in Apple’s App Store with roughly the same number in Google Play. These are arguably the biggest app stores on the planet. If an app isn’t a best seller, isn’t networked by word of mouth or featured on a website social media network, as a seller you have a potential problem.
It isn’t just potential app users who have a problem; it is also app developers and marketers. Marketing and selling apps is, and will continue to be, a very profitable business and will grow exponentially over the next few years.
As increasing numbers of apps are developed and enter the market place, we are going to sooner or later end up in the same position as we find ourselves in with websites. That problem is billions of websites, but only one front page in Google. As in the case of website optimisation, targeting a consumer audience and making known to that audience an app exists in the first place will be a priority.
If you’re an app developer or marketer, how do consumers find your little trinket buried among all that treasure trove?
Image of Opera App Store top sellers on Android powered Smartphone courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The next big thing – app optimisation
We’ve seen the rise of website optimisation over the past decade or so. You know; the black hat/white hat game website owners have to play with Google to get their websites ranked as high as possible. Each of these elements has had an impact in one way or another on website optimisation and integrated search:
• QR codes
• Image optimisation
• Organic search integration
• Video content optimisation
I may have to eat my words, but time will tell. I believe the next evolution of search and the next ‘big thing’ is going to be app and app store optimisation. Like website optimisation it will be a steep learning curve for app developers and marketers. Like website optimisation there also will not be a ‘one size fits all’ solution.
There is also another issue; localisation. Knowing your target market and knowing the target market in any one locality will be the key to winning the forthcoming ‘app wars’. As the world and his (her) dog becomes more connected and mobile computing becomes a fundamental, essential element to everyday life, app sales and the market will grow exponentially.
As a result, app optimisation will become an increasingly important element in marketing and a potent source of revenue for many diverse as well as interconnected online businesses.
