So it is vital and somewhat necessary for you to pick the perfect and short name for your app. A name that represents your brand forever.

But adapting to a shorter app name for the app store or Play Store is not that easy as it looks. Below in this read, we will talk about how to pick the best possible and other related info to make your app stand out from the rest.

What is New in App Store?

As per the recent statistics by Statista shows that Apple’s App Store has around 2 million apps. Taking this into account, last year, Apple announced that the platform needs some necessary improvements. One of the major improvements is they want only high-quality apps.

Similarly, Apple wants to keep the platform clean, so the apps that follow the market’s rules and guidelines will only remain on the platform; otherwise, authorities will remove the app.

The other significant change that the officials made is in the app name’s limit on the App store. According to this new change, the length or limit of your app name is 30 characters.

Besides, we know that most users look for apps just by a simple search, nothing fancy. And Apple wants to assist its users, and by reducing the characters in app names, it is actually helping the users. This is because many app developers were using lengthy phrases in their app name, and that practice was affecting the search results.

Many evidence show that people were using whole descriptions in the app name, and most of them were totally irrelevant to the app. This was irritating for users in many ways, and hence the change was needed.

Furthermore, all the apps on App Store that crash on the initial launch will be removed from the platform immediately. Similarly, if your app doesn’t fulfill the platform’s requirements, you will receive a notification from the App Store team to update the app within a month or 30 days.

However, in this case, you can use the app’s name, and it will remain in your account so that no one can use that name.

Remember that during the course, your app will not be available for download on the app store; only the existing users can use the app. To make your app functional for new consumers, you will have to update the app within thirty days.

Pick a simple and short name

People can easily remember clear and easy names, or else it will be difficult for them to download the app and spread the word about it with others.

There is no problem in adding one or two features to the app’s title. But keep in mind that users don’t have that much time to view or read all these properties of your fantastic app, and there are only 23 characters before users press the famous “More” button

Never use pieces of other famous apps in your app’s title or name

In this case, your app’s name will be much longer than the others, and your users might not like this mixture. And, above all, by doing so, you will be inviting the official to remove your app from the App Store.

Find the best and relevant keywords using the third-party tools

Always use the appropriate and best keywords in your app’s name but don’t overlook the characters limit. Various researches and studies have proven that keywords are vital not only in the description but also in the app’s name.

We will advise you to utilize reputable tools for this purpose, such as Sensor Tower, Search Man, and many others. Use them to find the best keywords, and it will boost your chances when users search for an app on Apple’s app store.

Don’t use special characters in your app’s title

Apart from users, Apple also uses the app’s name for many purposes, but the primary usage is to make the app’s URL.

Don’t overlook Synonyms When going for localization

If you are planning to localize your new mobile app, you need to search short and relevant synonyms of your app in those local languages. It’s beneficial to have a localized app but keep in mind that word’s length in those local languages. Don’t opt for complex or hard to pronounce words; instead, keep the title short and sweet.

Stick with the title you selected

Don’t frequently change or play with the app’s name as it can affect its reputation significantly. Similarly, by doing so, your mobile app will never be famous among users. So, pick the name wisely and then stick to it and enjoy the results.

Keep in mind ASO

App Store Optimization is vital for any product that is listed on the App Store or Google Play Store. So never ever neglect ASO when creating a marketing strategy for your app, and this thing starts with the title or name of your app.

Use Your Chosen Keywords appropriately

Earlier, we talked about how you can find relevant keywords for your app’s name, but it’s about how to use them and take benefit from those phrases.

Always assign relevant keywords to your App when submitting it to the App Store. Use those keywords in the metadata field, as well as in the app’s name to get incredible and higher search results. But here is the things.

If you blindly stuff keywords or overuse them, it will result in immediate rejection or removal of your app from the App Store.

That’s why it’s vital for you to understand how keywords work and how you can boost your search rankings via them. The simple rule is to use the words or terms that your target audience will likely use to search the apps.

Similarly, remember that searching and using keywords is a continuous process. Whether you want to rank on Google Play Store or App Store, keywords are the primary factor in search rankings.

Make the name searchable  

As mentioned above in the post, a large number of downloads are due to the simple search made by users. The ideal way to gain organic traffic is to come up with short and simple phrases that your target users are likely to use when searching for that particular product or service. Then you need to align the title with the shortlisted keywords.

Make the app’s name stand out

We hope you understand how important it is to adapt to a shorter name for your App on the App Store but remember that a shorter term alone might not work for you.

Instead, try to add uniqueness in the name to make your app stand out from the rest and instantly grabs your potential users’ attention. According to a survey, about 31% of users download an app because its name is exciting or sounds funny.

Play with on words

Often, playing with words pays off really well, and you can come up with a flawless app title. Maybe you have to compromise on the exact word that defines your app, but distinguishing the title can give you that much-needed twist, and you may have multiple options. But don’t cross the limits. Your prospects still find your new mobile app.

Create meaning

Your app’s name usually carries a meaning. If you can’t find the word that truly reflects your app, try to merge the words or use compound words such as noun + noun, noun + adjective, etc. It will help you to craft a more comprehensive title for your app.

Another handy tip is to use capitalization or lower-case alphabets but keep it simple as it will overwhelm your potential users.

Use Two-part head

Experts recommend using an app name containing a two-part head. In simple words, choose a name that describes both the purpose of your new mobile application and its’ functionality. Think about Evernote, for example.

If going international

If you plan to launch your mobile application across the globe, ensure to check that your app’s name is easily pronounceable in other languages. Similarly, don’t use names that might sound awkward in other countries.

Check the availability

Ensure that your app title or even part of the title are not in use. Furthermore, this is not applicable to the App store but also to your business website and social media accounts.

Keep the title as per the App Stores guidelines

It’s always wise to play according to the rules. So we recommend you to read the instructions provided by the App Store and then act accordingly.

For example, it will not affect you to learn that selecting a title is related to the content and functionality of your mobile app. By doing so, you will be a step ahead of your competitors and save your app from rejection.

Specific case: If you are developing an app for an established brand

Things will be much different when you are developing or launching an app for an already established brand or organization. In this case, naming your app is the simplest thing to do because you can stick to the brand name, or you have the choice to add the prominent features of your app.

However, you need to consider the App Store’s requirements when doing so. Apple’s App Store allows you to utilize a maximum of 30 characters, while Google Play Store allows you to use 50 characters for the app’s title.

Hence, choosing a title that remains within the limit and reflects the brand or business makes complete sense. Besides, also remember that it will be shortened. Users might not be able to view the full name. In some cases, users can only view the first ten characters of your app’s name when exploring the stores.

Now, do you realize how important it is to adapt to a shorter name for your app on the app store? Similarly, also think about how the name will look like on the phone’s screen.

Besides, you need to understand that the name of your App will be visible on the home screen of your consumer’s device; hence it should look nice.

Last but not least, consider how you will utilize your mobile app’s title within your app. For example, in the splash screen. Here you need to ensure that you don’t lose those precious keywords that describe the features and functions of your app.

Some additional tips:

Here are a few nuggets of advice to pay attention to:

• Keep things simple and easy.
• Ensure that others can easily spell the app’s name.
• Stay away from adverse or inappropriate meanings.
• Ensure that the name doesn’t mean anything awkward in other languages.
• Consider using a verb if possible, as people often use it in their routine conversations.
• Don’t add “r” to the end of the name, such as Flickr, Grindr, Tumblr, as many companies and brands are already using the same.
• Don’t copy the words “Google.” The randomness of the words “Google” is quirky & cute and theory, but this will not be the case with your app. Instead, try to be practical. Besides, Google’s original title was BackRub.
• Don’t hesitate to seek suggestions from others.

Final Thoughts

It’s a good thing that Apple is looking and making new improvements and up-gradations for its App Store. Similarly, the process will not end, and things will continue to improve in the future.

Those who understand the benefits of adapting shorter names for their app on the app store and those who play by rules will remain on the platform. While those who throw random apps with stuffed keywords and titles will be removed from the platform.

So, stick to the rules and enjoy!

The post How to Adapt to Shorter App Names On App Store first appeared on AppSamurai.

1. Target across multiple devices

Twitter users access the site through several types of devices: desktop computers, mobile phones, and tablets. If you aren’t correctly targeting your ads to the device a user is on, then you are missing out on an opportunity to craft a more compelling ad. Thankfully, Twitter allows advertisers to create different ads for different devices. While a strong focus on mobile advertising makes sense when you are trying to improve your mobile app user acquisition, that shouldn’t necessarily be the only device type that you advertise on. 

Despite the fact that the 80% of Twitter users who access the site via mobile make up the core audience of a mobile app ad campaign, nearly everyone who accesses the site through a desktop computer also has a mobile device. You don’t want to leave 20% of Twitter’s huge user base of nearly 200 million people out of your reach just because they aren’t currently on the device that you’re trying to target. 

Of course, putting your ads across all devices and spending equally on ad campaigns across all devices is not the same thing. Like with any aspect of mobile app advertising, you want to constantly be looking at which ads are bringing you the best return on your investment and adjust your spending so that those are the ones receiving a larger share of your ad spending. 

2. Use Mobile App Installs campaigns to exploit instant gratification

When advertising mobile apps on Twitter, it’s a good idea to take advantage of technology developed by the company explicitly for that purpose. Back in 2013, Twitter announced a new set of cards aimed at mobile app developers. Cards are what Twitter calls the various ad types they offer that include increased functionality of traditional text ads. For mobile developers, there are a few interesting possibilities. 

• Mobile App Installs – By adding this card to your ad, any user who doesn’t currently have your app on their device will be able to simply tap on a download button and immediately be taken to the appropriate app store to download the app.
• Deep-linking – For targeting users that already do have your app, you can use a deep-linking card from Twitter. When the button is tapped on these cards, your app will open and you can send the user to any resource within it. This is good for increasing engagement, and as a result, organic user acquisition.

Both of these methods take advantage of the fact that people love instant gratification. If they see an ad for an app they’re interested in, reducing the friction required for them to start using the app as much as possible will increase the likelihood that they’ll do so. 

3. Diversify your ad types

In addition to several different types of cards, Twitter offers multiple ad types as well. You may be tempted to stick mostly with the Mobile App Install card mentioned in the previous section, but that would be a mistake. While taking advantage of the desire for instant gratification is certainly a powerful motivator, not everyone who sees an ad for an app is going to want to take the time to download it at that time. By diversifying your ad campaign across a variety of different ad types, you’ll be helping to build brand awareness and keep your product fresh in people’s minds. This could lead them to go out and purchase the ad on their own, or could increase the chance that they’ll download it the next time your Mobile App Installs card does show up. Some of the common Twitter ad types that app developers may be interested in are discussed below.

• Promoted Video – An exciting trailer for your app can go a long way in building a desire for users to download it. Promoted videos allow you to send out your trailer to your selected target audience and reach people you wouldn’t otherwise.
• Promoted Tweet – Ordinarily, people on Twitter don’t see your tweets unless they are following you or you are retweeted by someone they do follow. Promoted tweets allow you to put your tweet in front of your target audience even when they aren’t following you.
• Brand Reminders – This is a fantastic strategy for an initial product launch. Twitter’s brand reminder feature allows you to announce an upcoming release of your new app and let users like the tweet in order to be reminded when it launches. This can be a good way to get momentum for your app right out of the gate

4. Experiment with images

As an app developer, you already understand the importance of having attractive icons on your app’s store page. Just like on the various app stores, users of Twitter are inundated with pictures as they scroll through their feeds. So much so, that there’s a tendency to just block out many of the pictures they see. Not every image you select for your advertisement is going to perform as well as others. It’s important that you do some A/B testing with various types of images to see which ones work best for your particular target customer.

You can perform this testing at several different layers of granularity. For example, does your audience respond better to stylized images, or more realistic ones? Do they prefer screenshots of the app or an artistic rendering of the content of the app? This can depend a lot on the type of app you are selling, so it’s worth testing to figure out what works best. After you answer these big questions, you can go deeper and test different colors and fonts for your images. It’s a good idea to be continually testing images so you are constantly improving the user acquisition achieved from your ad campaigns. 

5. Optimize your audience targeting

Nearly everyone who uses it has had the experience of scrolling through Twitter and seeing an ad that doesn’t seem to fit them at all. Twitter even has an option to view why a particular ad was targeted at you. Often, ads that have a very specific target audience are shown to a very wide audience. In these cases, the advertiser is not getting their money’s worth on the campaign. You don’t want this to be you. When you are creating your ad campaigns, think about the types of people who will be using your app and try to target specifically to those demographics. If you have analytics installed in your app that will let you do customer segmentation, that can go a long way to determining exactly who your target audience is. As you learn more about the types of people who use your app, tweak your ad targeting to reach those people more precisely.

This is also something else you can use A/B testing for. If you aren’t sure whether a particular demographic may be interested in your app, target them with an ad and see how well it performs. Ditch the poor performing demographics and focus on the ones that convert better. Again, a process of continual refinement will yield the best user acquisition for your mobile app. 

Summary

Twitter has a lot of users, and a lot of them are on a mobile device. This makes it a great platform for mobile apps advertising. But you can’t just throw money at an ad campaign and expect to rake in users. Mobile ad campaigns take a fair amount of nurturing in order to perform as optimally as they can. This work comes in two stages: the initial work of setting up the basic ad campaigns and creative content, and then the ongoing work of refining that content to perform as best as it possibly can. 

The last part shouldn’t be ignored. Proper A/B testing of different options for every one of the tips we’ve presented here will help to ensure that you’re getting the most bang for your buck. Many developers may feel as though the work put into doing this isn’t worth the time. However, if you aren’t taking steps to optimize your ad campaign, then you will certainly be wasting large amounts of money over the course of that campaign. 

If you’ve read this article, then you know very well how desirable quality ad space is. The same desire you have to give money to Twitter can be utilized to monetize your own app. Using App Samurai’s platform, you can sell ad space in your app and earn money for each user you acquire through your Twitter ad campaigns. For more information about the App Samurai platform, please feel free to contact us at any time.

The post Tips to Increase User Acquisition with Twitter Ads first appeared on AppSamurai.

We share and believe in the same vision!

As Techstars team do, we do believe that:

“Great people create great companies and great entrepreneurs are everywhere! “

Techstars aims to help entrepreneurs build great businesses and this is what we are passionate about. We know we have a lot of things to do for you as great entrepreneurs to be a part of your success story. As Techstars highlights, we believe that we can Do More Faster to be your most trusted partner. This is why we believe that we are on the right track with Techstars Berlin!

We Give First

As an advertising tool for startups, we always base our development and marketing efforts as “you-oriented”. We know how hard it is to trust and work with third party solutions to reach success and this is why we only focus on providing you the best experience in the market. In this way, we developed different award-winning campaigns just because we know that we need your support and feedbacks.

This is the second point of why Techstars is important for us. We know that giving and sharing is one of their main principles and we know that this will give an amazing chance to create more value for you!
We want to make you sure that joining Techstars is just an amazing beginning and an excellent journey for App Samurai in the way to serve you better! We promise you to provide the best value by combining our vision with Techstars’s values.
By the way, for the ones who are in Germany, it would be amazing to meet you there to have a cup of coffee!
Thank you for all the ones who share our thrill!

The post App Samurai Joined Techstars Berlin 2017! first appeared on AppSamurai.

How Does Our Committee Evaluate the Attendees and Choose the Winners?

We care transparency so before announcing the winners, I want to clarify the evaluation process to make it clear. Here is the path to winners.

• Firstly, we eliminated the attendees who don’t meet our rules of participation.
• We divided the remaining apps into 5 categories for each of our committee member.
• Our committee members evaluated the apps according to specified criteria and give apps points according to our point scoring system.
• After this first round, we picked the best 10 apps and ask our committee for give points to apps according to the same point scoring system. At the end of this evaluation process, we had the winners!

Voila! Congrats to…

Now it is time to announce the winners! Congratulations to all the winners with all my heart. Welcome to App Samurai, we look forward to being a witness to your path to success!

What you need to do now is signing up and completing the onboarding process by adding your app and selecting your analytics tool. Than we will reload your free ad credit to your account! 

It’s not over yet!

We cannot just announce the winners and turn away. We are aware that there are amazing apps among attendees and we’re dying to meet them too. This is why we expanded the prizes! For the apps forenamed below, we are ready to give $100 free credit without any condition. Just sign up to App Samurai and start creating your first campaign. Don’t forget that you always reach us to ask anything.

We’re really proud to win your trust and have a chance to express App Samurai to you. However, we are aware of that we can do something better for our next campaign. (Yes, there will be next!) We are always open to your feedbacks and suggestions to make the next one better. Please feel free to share your thoughts with us!
Again and again…
A lot of thanks to all the attendees and of course to the ones who help us to share this amazing first experience!

Fill the Form Below If You Want to Keep Informed When We Launch a New Campaign

The post And… ta-da… Here are the winners! first appeared on AppSamurai.

Even if you didn’t pay much attention to app engagement before this day, its okay. Better late than never! Here are seven ways on how to increase your mobile app engagement.

USE MULTI-CHANNEL MESSAGING

Following are the three ways on how you can achieve this.

In-App Messages

• In-app messages are the messages a customer receives while he is using your app. You should make sure you’re having in app messages as well, to gain the attention of your customers. These messages can be present on top of the screen as banners or be on the whole screen as shown.

The in app messages for medium used apps improve engagement by about 26%, and in highly used apps they increase the engagement by about 44%.
Make sure if there’s a new deal, you should alert your users while they are already using your app for them to directly go and familiarize themselves with the most relative points of interest.

Push Notifications

Like in app messages are important to keep the people engaged whilst using the app, we also know that push notifications are important to keep the people engaged with the app on a regular basis. Push notifications catch the attention of a user, and it helps bring the users back on the app.
Stats prove that about 65% of the users come back to the application within 30 days if the push notifications are enabled. 50% of the users think push notifications are important, and while they have most notifications for social media and news off, they have 20% notifications for certain apps on. And you need to make sure you have engaging push notifications to be on the list of the 20% of apps who’s notifications are enabled.

Email

While push notifications and in app messages are pertinent, don’t forget the importance of email. We’ll remember Facebook sending us so many emails, but we need to send our customers emails which catch their attention. Which may seem important, and may not be a waste of their time.

Here is an example of a good email.

Use Deep Linking

Deep linking can have links to content within an app, and it can be shared just like the web. Within apps, they have power sharing links, ads, and emails and invites indeed keep the customer engaged with your mobile app. It provides improved retention, and better user experience!
As we explained in our blog post, “The most frustrating situation is when an app announces a giveaway and, for that, you just have to install that app or, if you already have the app, you just have to click a button to open the app. But, instead of a layout with the promised gift the user is sent to the homepage of the app with no clue for the prize. The answer for this issue is that the app must have deep linking and, after the click, it should open a page with instructions for user’s benefit. This is an essential feature for a long-term relationship between brands and customers.”

Use Social Sharing

Thanks to the social networks, it has allowed a wide number of people to share their products online and gain a large audience to go through their app when required. By let your users share their experiences inside your app, you let your app go viral! Of course, first, you need to give your users something worth to share.

Here is a good example: Nike+ Run Club app. Inside the app, you can share your run on social media platform.
You can also encourage your users to share their experiences by giving them rewards. Subway Surf does it well by creating a reward for buying boosts just by logging in Facebook.

Give Incent to Encourage Them to Come Back
People love incentives! Even if it is a game app or a sports app, incentives give a reason to keep users coming back. Think about the game apps like Criminal Case. They use especially push notifications to let you know your reward and come back to the app. You can also do this by using retargeting on social media, push notifications, and emails. Don’t forget that this also can increase your app downloads if you use properly.

Consider Advertising

Mobile app advertising can be also used for user engagement for mobile apps. There are amazing ad types that you can prefer to gain your users back. Here are some of them.
Retargeting: It helps you to remind yourself to your lovely user while they are using social media platforms like Facebook. By using deep linking here, you can direct them to inside your app without wasting his time. You can also consider Google to retarget your users.
Display Ads: They help you to show discounts, rewards, or simply how your app is amazing.
Search Ads: This is a Google service for Android apps to let you engage with users in moments of intent as they’re looking for what you offer on Google Search.

Use an App Tracking Tool

Only creating an app is not enough, you even need to track the engagement of the customers who download it. You need to see what happens after someone downloads your app, and perhaps direct them according to their interests. That is why it is necessary to keep yourself up with some in app tracking tool, and keep yourself aware of the activities of customers within your app. After choosing your app tracking tool, you need to determine the events you want to follow.

Update Your App When Needed

Once you’ve created your app, is it true that it’ll be on top of everyone’s list if it stays the same forever?
Unfortunately, the answer is no. Look into your app, is it working properly? You need to keep up with the engagement of people, and you need to update your app from time to time. Make sure your app updates are timely, and they must have new segments to keep the customers interested.
According to a new app-update study from BI Intelligence, more frequent updates tend to be associated with higher ratings from app users. It can be seen from the following stats:

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/app-update-strategy-and-statistics-2015-1

Final Thoughts

Hence, through the above-mentioned tips, it is obvious how important it is to keep your customers engaged with your app. If you create an app, make sure you are willing to invest in it to gain more profit out of it. Put push notifications which are personalized along with in-app messages and make sure you use incentives to encourage your users to come back! Use app advertising types and deep links. Don’t forget to keep a track on your app, and keep updating it by the customers. It will help you keep a good app, and you’ll be successful in keeping the attention of your customers engaged.

The post 7 Best Practices to Increase Mobile App Engagement first appeared on AppSamurai.