Every appreneur wants his/her app to be featured on the App Store because of the obvious advantages. It is the best way to boost the number of direct downloads through increased visibility. Getting a spot in App Store’s featured page is even more important when there are over 2 billion applications participating in the cut-throat competition. There is no guide to earn a position in the featured segment of App Store but there are certain tricks that can help you make it there. But first, let us know why Apple features certain Apps.

Reason behind featuring certain Apps

10 years ago, App Store was launched. An iPhone is a collection of Apps that are downloaded from App Store. In these 10 years, App Store has transformed our lifestyle completely. For any kind of entertainment source, social networking or even business productivity, us search for relevant Apps on the App Store that can help us live our lives in a better and enhanced manner. In 2018 only, 500 million weekly users have been recorded for App Store.

Apparently, the most benefited entity from App downloads is Apple itself. Having said that, it is their foremost responsibility to maintain healthy relationships with the developers. So, Apple features the work of developers and showcases their Apps in order to acknowledge their work. The latest iOS 12 App Store has introduced a new option in the menu bar; You May Have Missed. In this, the users will be able to see the most noticeable apps of the week which is unlike the earlier display of content from past one week. Additionally, the App Store feed will be customized as per the user preferences to offer personalized experience.

Impact of iOS 12 On App Store Featuring

In the iOS 11 upgrade, discovering Apps in App Store became simpler and easier. With iOS 12 upgrade, discovering apps has become personalized. The touch of personalization helps in boosting the number of downloads as users are able to relate more with the Apps shown to them. The Today screen in iOS 12 App Store will showcase apps as per the interests of the users and not just random apps that are not relevant to the audience’s interest. This implies that every user’s Today screen can differ as per his/her interests.

How to Get Featured in the iOS 12 App Store

The first and foremost part in getting your App featured in iOS 12 App Store or any version, is to have a great mobile application that offers amazing user experience and addresses the needs of the end users. To begin with, just make sure that you are following these below listed standard pointers:

Bug-Free Functionality

Pay attention to the quality of your app at every phase. The App must have an intuitive interface. Apple will never promote an App that hinders with the user experience. So, the first thing to focus in your app is the overall quality which should be the best.

Native Apps Rule

Before the app development phase, you will be asked to make a choice between hybrid and native app. To help you make that choice, you should know that Apple prefers the Native Apps made exclusively for iOS platforms and not the low performance cross-platforms apps. Therefore, when you will put your App on the App Store, you will have better chances of getting featured if the App was developed natively.

Promote Apple Through Your App

Apple’s idea behind promoting other Apps is to gain promotion too. So, you must carefully adhere to Apple’s objectives. To understand this better, let’s say Apple just launched a new API. Integrating that API in your App can improve your chances of landing on the featured spot of App Store. This is because you are promoting Apple’s product through your mobile application. Additionally, you can launch your app on other iOS devices such as iPad, Apple watch and Apple TV.

To stay on top of all the Apple’s latest releases, you just need to focus on their annual WWDC event. It is not mandatory to have an App on all iOS devices. For an instance, Fitness Apps will function better if they are also available for Apple Watch but it is absolutely unnecessary to build project management App for Apple Watch. Therefore, you must be considerable in making choices of iOS platforms as per your business goals.

Keep Your App Up-to-Date

Stay updated and Apple will consider your App to be featured. Simple as it is.

App Store Optimization

Uploading the App on App Store is just the first step. To persuade the users to download your App, you should optimize the App Store page listing of your App. Make your description interesting and choose the artwork of your App very carefully. The first impression matters, at least in this case. Secondly, you will have to optimize your App Store page for increasing visibility. This is similar to Search Engine Optimization where your App will appear in the top search results. For this, you will have to place your Keywords in your App Store page content. Optimizing the title with the help of keywords can help users discover your App without much difficulty.

Creative App Icon and Name

App Icon is an important aspect when it comes to making the first impression. When people search for Apps, the first thing they see is the App name and App Icon. If you lost them there, then you are not really focusing on your App. The name of the App should be creative yet informative of your App’s functionality. App Icon should be created using vibrant colors that also go along your App’s Design.  

High Ratings

Good ratings are not only helpful on building trust among the users but also help in your App ranking on App Store. Normally, ratings above 4.5 will help in getting your App featured. Apple editors, just like normal users prefer to feature Apps with high ratings. To have better ratings, you can only focus on providing good customer experience. You can send notifications to the users to submit App Store reviews. Also, you must resolve all the negative reviews by interacting with the users in a professional manner.

Create The Hype

Before your app launches, there should be curiosity among the masses about your App. Make sure that you are promoting your mobile app through different platforms by pushing various kinds of content such as press releases, emails, messages etc. You can choose to promote your App at some kind of event too. Also, if you collaborate with tech publications that publish about your App launch, Apple editors are likely to discover it and then feature it.

Pitching It To App Store Editors

App Store Editors review apps on daily basis. They receive thousands of requests from developers across the world but they do not review all of them. Apparently, they also select the ones that have a convincing pitch. Your pitch should explain your App’s functionality in a brief yet impressive manner. They will also give preference to new and recently updated Apps while assessing quality of the App too.

Closing Thoughts

There isn’t any list of Do’s and Don’ts when for your App featured in the App Store. However, you can always better your chances using the given tactics. With every iOS update, App Store’s algorithm undergoes certain changes. This time the change is all about personalization. Therefore, it is time to provide a personalized experience in your App Store page. As a result, you will see a boost in your traffic, conversion rates and retention rates.