Getting Noticed on the iPhone App Store

In a megastore as big as Apple’s iPhone App Store, the secret to success is getting noticed. With more than 65,000 apps in 20 categories, app developers have come up with different strategies to accomplish that. The Wall Street Journal's Digits Blog reports.

One focus is getting on Apple’s ranking lists, to be one of the top 25, which people regularly comb through to find apps they want and can accesses via iPhone. The next 25 can still be viewed on iPhones, but numbers 51 through 100 can only be accessed through computers. Apple doesn’t rank beyond that.

And now for a few tricks of the trade:

-- Word-of-mouth campaign. Send out promotional codes for new apps

-- Advertising. Advertise on the Internet and in other iPhone apps through ad networks run by firms like Greystripe and AdMob

-- Choose a smaller category amongst the 20 categories of the App Store

-- Set a target release date. Weekends and Mondays are the most ideal launch days

-- Cut prices. It seems to work

-- Creat free demo versions. Offer free trial versions and label them “lite.”

-- Keyword searches. Straightforward app titles work better than creative ones

-- Copycat apps. Create an app that is similar to a popular existing app

-- Become one of Apple’s featured apps. A dream come true when it happens

-- Target specific regions. Like the iTunes music store, the App Store has a different interface for each market.

Read full article.

emily | 8:54 AM | Cell Phone Apps and Advertising |
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