Whether you’re looking to get your app to the top spot on the chart or looking to convert users to your app over the competition, app reviews are going to be very important. It has been speculated from research on app store optimization that app reviews have a drastic impact on your app ranking.
Some great ways to boost your app reviews is to offer in-app advancement in return for leaving a review. Often times putting this at the beginning of the game will have the best results as users are excited to play and it should be living up to their immediate expectations. By getting an influx of reviews through incentivizing them you will not only have more reviews but have a higher ranking in the app store.
Just like we use reviews to determine our purchase/meal/service decisions, choosing an app is in many ways the same. Some other tips that we have found work well is to reduce the size of your app so that minimal data is required up front to use. We find with a smoother transition to the tutorial or use of the app results in happier users. If your app is heavy, consider prompting users to download content in stages so they don’t have to wait for the entire install to start using it.
In both of these cases above, we find when our client has a light app with close to 5 start reviews they benefit more when entering paid promotion. Types of benefits we find as the mobile user acquisition partner is better conversion rates and higher downstream events with less users dropping off on the 1st,3rd and post 7 days after the install.
App reviews can even be gained off of the apps store. Often times a good forum presence can attract users to the app store. Being a part of the conversation in the environment of your users can create a group of advocates that will influence others to try your app over the competition.