The document discusses strategies for improving app ratings, emphasizing the importance of active communication with users to enhance feedback and ratings. It outlines how most app downloads are driven by casual browsing rather than direct searches, underscoring the significance of app visibility and user engagement. The text also highlights the average rating landscape and presents successful tactics for soliciting user reviews, ultimately leading to better ratings and increased downloads.

1. App Ratings & Reviews:
How to Improve your App’s Ratings and Why It
Matters
@apptentive @rganguly
www.apptentive.com RobiGanguly

2. App Stores: Amazing for Distribution
>500,000 >500mm
Developers People

3. BUT: App Stores Are Horrible for Communication
WELL, YOU RUINED
THIS ONE!
…fun factor is gone. So is this app and
developer!

4. APP stores are very NOISY
>75 Apps Per Person
1,000,000
500,000
0
Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2008 2008 2008 2009 2009 2009 2009 2010 2010 2010 2010 2011 2011 2011 2011
Android apps iOS apps

5. App retention is abysmal
Retention - Months after Acquisition
100%
38%
29%
24%
20%
16% 14%
11% 9%
0% 7% 6% 5% 4%
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Credit: Flurry Analytics

6. The App Funnel Is Simple
Download
Retain
$$

7. So how do downloads happen?
Search /Referral Navigation Discovery
(~20%) (>75%)
App Store Page Views
Installations
The vast majority of downloads are the
result of surfing activity, lacking explicit
intent or authority-driven referrals.

8. How do app store page views convert?
View Details View Details
Page Page
Install Install
(<33%) (<5%)
FREE PAID

9. How do consumers decide?
15 seconds 5 seconds 2 seconds 5 seconds
10 seconds 5 seconds

10. What drives rankings?
Absolute volume, Past 72 hours, Trends
Downloads
(increasing/decreasing)
Absolute volume, Average
Ratings
Rating, Trends
How often is the app updated? Is the
Freshness
app regularly maintained?
While the app stores are opaque about
the inputs and weights, these 3
components are crucial.

11. What is the landscape for app ratings?
Category Average Rating
The average bar is…
Book 3.36
average
Business 3.14
Catalogs 3.85 For most categories, the
average rating is between 3
Newsstand 2.91 and 4 stars.
Photo & video 3.59
Achieving an average rating
Productivity 3.29 of 4+ for the most recent
Sports 3.22 version of an app should be
the goal, in order to
Travel 3.36 maximize opportunity.
Utilities 3.01
Games – Action 3.24
Games - Sports 3.12

12. So, how can ratings be influenced?
Invest in creating a great app, continue
App Quality
to test, update, learn and refine
Reach out to customers, in your app, in
Proactive Prompting
order to qualify sentiment and prompt
ratings by enthusiastic customers
If an app customer isn’t happy, provide
Intercept & Resolve
an outlet for their complaints that ISN’T
the app store
Ratings & reviews are often left to
chance. Being proactive is the
exception, rather than the rule

13. In-App Prompt to Increase Ratings
Prompt & Qualify
the people using your App
Only those who answer yes are taken
to the app store to rate

14. Consumer Catharsis & Interception
Apptentive solicits feedback
Those who click “No”
immediately give you feedback.
Are there app problems? Is the service
you provide not working? All feedback
goes directly to you, instead of being
broadcast in the app store.

15. How many people love your app?
Our instrumentation provides insights
into the results of your prompts. How
many times is it seen? What happens?

16. Manage & Optimize Ratings Activity
Change Ratings Prompts On the Fly
Modify all ratings prompt activities on the server, ensuring that apps can be
optimized in real-time
Our administrative capabilities make it
easy to change ratings prompts
WITHOUT updating the app.

17. Result: MORE RATINGS
“So how well does it work? I have seen
an improvement in ratings, with about
twice as many written reviews per day
as there were a year ago.”
Increased review volume (50%+)

18. Result: BETTER RATINGS
"We saw a huge boost in the
number of reviews, overall
rating, and sales when we
started to solicit users (went
from 3.5 to 4.5 stars)."
Ratings improvements of 1 full star
Download gain from 1 star increase: ~30%

19. Result: INTERCEPT NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
Interception Rate: ~20%