10 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your App

Driving traffic to your app is essential to your app’s survival in the extremely crowded app stores. Despite creating a useful app that responds to users’ needs in a specific market, these efforts could get lost if you do not manage to drive enough traffic to your app and do not take advantage of marketing strategies to increase your app’s chances of being discovered by new users.

Gaining more traffic for your app or game on the App Store and Google Play will allow you to consequently register an increase in terms of visibility, downloads, user engagement and, eventually, a growth in app reviews and ratings with an overall return on investment.

In this blog, we’ll look into 10 best ways to help you boost traffic to your app or game on the app stores.

1. Monitor and improve your ASO strategy

According to Apple, 65% of the downloads for an app come from search results. As a result, apps that are optimized from an ASO point of view are more likely to appear in the search results and reach users actively looking for an app to solve an issue or fill a need they have. ASO helps your mobile app to rank higher in store’s search results and reach users relevant to your app. Although brand searches tend to drive more downloads per term, there are a lot more generic keywords that will bring an additional stream of downloads to your app, whether directly or by helping you rank better on competitors’ brand terms.

Here are some tips that can help you improve your ASO strategy:

• Choose the right app name that explains your app’s purpose and is easy for users to remember. Along with the app name, add to your title high volume and relevant, generic keywords that will allow your app to rank for those specific targeted keywords.
• Pick the most relevant category for your app. It can happen that there is more than one relevant category for your app. However, it might be worth investing some extra time to identify the optimal one for your app. You should take into consideration elements like competitions, category volatility, and keywords you want to rank for.
• Run a keyword audit, backed up by data, to find the most relevant and high-traffic keywords for your app. Opt for popular terms that users tend to search for, so that you can make sure you optimize for keywords with high potential.
• Optimize your creative assets. Prioritize qualitative and creative screenshots that state the unique selling proposition of your app. Showcase your app’s best features and opt for short sentences and highly visible text, in good contrast with the background.

• Localize your app store listing. If your app is available in several countries, make sure to adapt your app metadata and visuals to the language and culture in the local market. It is important to remember that app store localization goes beyond simply translating your text, but rather analyzing the cultural differences between markets that might affect search behaviors, mobile preferences, and competitive landscapes around the world.

• Regularly update and monitor your app. ASO is a constant process that implies frequent updates and monitoring. Make sure you regularly update your app with new features, fix bugs, and implement improvements. This will help show users and the store that your app provides an optimal user experience and it is well-maintained.

2. Present your app’s landing page in the best possible way

Your website is one of the best places where you can highlight the value of your app to your audience and, consequently, increase its traffic. Here are a few tips to help you drive traffic to your app:

• Feature your app on your website’s homepage and landing page. Draw users’ attention to your app by using call-to-action buttons and eye-catching styles.
• Make sure users are directed to the App Store or Google Play when clicking on the clickable link from your website, so there is less friction in the customer journey. A powerful feature in this case is given by custom product pages (CPPs) and custom store listings (CSLs). CPPs and CLSs allow you to highlight different functionalities, different content, or offers than those presented on the default pages of your app. They can be accessible via a unique URL link on your website that targets specific users.
• Encourage users to download the app from your website by offering incentives (e.g. discount or free trial period).
• Optimize your SEO strategy. In order for users to find your app displayed on your website, you should make sure your website is visible enough to reach a relevant audience. Use search engine optimization techniques to improve your website’s visibility in search engine results.

3. Promote your app to a larger audience with Apple Search Ads

Apple Search Ads (ASA) is an advertising platform that can help you promote your app within the App Store search results, and consequently increase traffic to your app. The main benefits of ASA are given by the possibility to target specific audiences, to reach more users, and to grow your app’s user base. You might be interested in running ASA campaigns, since some keywords may be extremely competitive organically and/or monopolized by certain brands. ASA gives you an opportunity to drive in a pool of high intent traffic.

We recommend keeping the following tips in mind when running ASA campaigns:

• Apple Search Ads increases the visibility of your app by displaying it at the top of relevant search results, which can lead to an increase in impressions, downloads and, ultimately, traffic.
• ASA campaigns help you select a relevant audience by targeting specific keywords. It is not enough to have your app appear in search results; it has also to be relevant to what users are looking for. By targeting your ads to the right users, you can make sure you are increasing your traffic and visibility in the right direction.
• Apple Search Ads can be better leveraged by using custom product pages (CPPs). CPPs help an app to highlight different features, content or offers than the ones showcased in the default page. When optimizing your ASA campaign, you can tailor your ad content to match your CPPs. By using your CPP as your landing page, you can provide customers with all the information they need to make a purchase, while also presenting a visually appealing and user-friendly experience.

4. Use paid UA to bring the right audience to your app

Paid user acquisition (UA) is an extremely handy marketing strategy when it comes to increasing the traffic of your app. You can follow the steps below when setting up your paid UA strategy:

• Identify your target audience. Determine your ideal user demographic, interests, and behavior. This information will help you target the right users with your paid campaigns and maximize your ROI.
• Choose the right ad format. Depending on your app’s features, benefits, and goals, choose the right ad format for your paid UA campaigns. Common ad formats include banner ads, native ads, interstitial ads, rewarded video ads, and playable ads.
• Set a budget. Determine your budget for paid UA, keeping in mind that it’s a continuous process and you may need to adjust your budget and strategy over time.
• Select the right ad networks. Choose the right ad networks that reach your target audience and maximize your reach. Popular ad networks include Google ads, Facebook ads, Twitter ads, Snapchat ads, and TikTok ads.
• Track and measure your results. Monitor your key performance indicators (KPIs), such as cost per install (CPI), click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate (CVR), and return on ad spend (ROAS), and optimize your campaigns accordingly.

5. Boost your app traffic through social media campaigns

Social media platforms are yet another powerful tool to reach large and relevant audiences. Here are some ways in which you can optimize your social media campaigns to reach wider app users:

• Identify relevant social media platforms where you have the largest and most active audience.
• Create valuable content that highlights the benefits of your app and why users should download it. Focus on telling users how your app can solve their pain points.
• Employ paid advertising to increase your app visibility. Facebook, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter offer paid targeted advertising.
• Organize contests and giveaways for users who download your app.

6. Reach out to influencers to get more exposure for your app

Choose to collaborate with influencers in your app industry or those likely to have an affinity for your brand and/or your app to reach a wider audience for your app.

Keep the following elements in mind when opting for an influencer marketing campaign:

• Identify and select influencers that are relevant to your app. It is ideal to have an influencer who associates with your app and has an audience following that might express interest in your app. For instance, a fitness influencer might be a good idea if you have a yoga app.
• Customize your campaigns. When promoting your app with the goal of increasing traffic, you can opt for different ways to encourage users to look for your app and eventually download it. It is important to identify which incentives would resonate best with each influencer’s audience. You can create sponsored content that showcase your app’s features and highlights, as well as offer promo codes and other exclusive benefits.
• Diversify the platforms where your app is being advertised to reach an audience as wide as possible. Based on your priorities and influencer marketing campaign strategy, you can opt for social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or Facebook.

7. Leverage cross-partnership to grow your app traffic

Cross-partnership is another marketing strategy that could turn out to be super helpful in increasing traffic to your app. It relies on partnering with other businesses and brands to promote each other’s products and/or services. This marketing technique can significantly help grow traffic to your app. However, it is important to make sure the chosen partners share your target audience, so that you can reach users that have the potential to be interested and download your app. After identifying valuable and relevant potential partners, you can work on a mutual agreement on how to best promote each other’s products. You can take advantage of your partners’ network and audience to increase traffic to your own app, while doing the same with their product.

8. Encourage user ratings & reviews for your app

Nothing can promote your app better than users that have already tried it out and are happy to share their experience with others. Referral marketing has a powerful social proof at the basis that is known to be really effective when trying to acquire new users. When considering this marketing strategy, you could keep in mind the following:

• Encourage existing users to spread the word about your app by incentivizing referrals. You can offer them discounts, premium features, or other rewards when referring your app to a friend.
• Make sure the referral process is easy for users. You can create a link current users can share with their friends via different channels with a pre-written message. Leave space for personalization in case your audience is interested in building their own messages.
• Implement an attractive referral program. Invest some efforts in building a catchy and rewarding referral system. It can be worth offering rewards both to the referred and the new user.
• Proactively engage with users that leave reviews for your app. Taking care of users’ frustrations and eventual issues they are experiencing while using your app shows your community that you truly care about them. Set up an efficient review management process that allows you to take care of users’ complaints and brings your app closer to your potential customers.

Learn the best ways to respond to positive and negative reviews about your app

9. Create QR codes to drive app downloads

QR codes are an effective strategy of offline advertising to drive traffic to your app.

• Place a QR code in strategic points where you reach a wide (relevant) audience without too much effort. An example of a simple but effective strategy in terms of QR codes are given by restaurants that display on-site QR codes redirecting to their app. You can create QR codes that link directly to your app’s download page on the App Store or Google Play to minimize the user journey.

• Make sure the codes are in the right size and are high-quality images, so that users do not experience issues in scanning them. You can include QR codes on marketing materials such as brochures, flyers, posters, or in-store displays to direct potential users to download your app.

10. Use content marketing to drive traffic to your app

Embrace qualitative content marketing to drive quality traffic and leads to your app. The following tips can help you better leverage your content marketing strategy:

• Develop high-quality content that is relevant, engaging, and useful to your target audience. This can include blog posts, infographics, videos, whitepapers, eBooks, and case studies.
• Optimize your content for search engines. Use relevant keywords and phrases in your content to get noticed by search engines. This will help drive organic traffic to your website and increase the chances of your app being discovered by potential users.
• Build authoritative backlinks through guest posts. This can help you improve your SEO and result in more traffic through organic click-throughs.
• Use email marketing. Send newsletters or email campaigns to your email list promoting your content and app. This will help keep your audience engaged and informed about your app’s features and benefits.

TLDR

The mobile app market is bustling, so it is essential to make sure that your app gets discovered by users and survives in the app stores. Based on the app and target audience, there are different ways to boost traffic to an app. Here are a few effective marketing strategies to increase your mobile app traffic:

1. Invest in a robust ASO strategy and monitor your efforts continuously
2. Build an eye-catching app landing page with call-to-action buttons and clickable links
3. Grow your app’s user base with Apple Search Ads campaigns
4. Choose paid UA campaigns to attract the right users to your app
5. Reach larger and relevant audiences with social media campaigns
6. Collaborate with influencers to get more exposure for your app
7. Take advantage of cross-partnerships to promote your app
8. Ask users to make referrals to boost your app traffic
9. Use QR codes to drive app engagement and downloads
10. Employ content marketing (ebooks, blogs, whitepapers, infographic, videos, etc.) to attract traffic to your app

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