One of your worst nightmares as an app developer or app owner is to see app downloads are dropping. Just when you think better days are ahead, you suddenly saw your graph going down the hill.Your immediate question is, “Why?”Why would the number of my downloads go down? What could be the reason? What should I do?
Don’t worry as we got you covered.
In this post, we will share with you some of the likeliest reasons why your app downloads decreased or are decreasing. Not only that, but we will also share with you some effective solutions to get your app back to the competition again!
No. 1: App Quality
When trying to figure out what might be the reason your app downloads are dropping, you should start with your app.Obviously, if you have a great app, you would attract more people to download it.The problem is that having a great app at the start won’t guarantee you a lifetime of success. You need to maintain your app’s quality or else people will walk away.In the Apple App Store, newly launched apps are given an initial boost of exposure. This means that the App Store allows a new app to get featured in various places so it gets enough visibility to get a headstart. This gives you an increase in app downloads during the first few days of your launch.After a week, the App Store would start to mellow down the boost of visibility it is giving you. Eventually, you’ll be on your own. Thus, it is crucial that you take advantage of the time when the App Store gives you the boost.Now, if your app proves to be great, then people would continue to use your app, allowing you to get more visibility even after a week or two of going live.On the other hand, if your app’s quality is poor, people will not only uninstall your app, but they may give you poor ratings. This could lead to a sudden drop in the number of your app installs.
No. 2: You made changes to your metadata
If you have made a recent change to your metadata and you saw app downloads are dropping, then that might be the culprit.Metadata refers to the details of your app. These include, but not limited to, app name, app description, title, developer name, icon, promotional images, and videos.You might think that your metadata isn’t that important in your ranking. However, that might be a wrong conclusion. You see, a change in your metadata could lead to moving your app from the center stage to the sideline of the app store.
No. 3: Errors in your app
Your app might have been running smoothly but errors can happen at any time. Without regular updates and maintenance, your app may come across various problems every now and then.Errors, bugs, unresponsiveness (ANRs), and crashes can easily turn off users. The problem with these errors is that they won’t simply affect only one or two users, but almost all of them. Thus, if you have a major error going on with your app and you don’t address it quickly enough, you can expect your app downloads will drop.
No. 4: Google Play & Apple App Store algorithm changes
We are done checking our app, it is time to check the app stores.If you are sure that it has nothing to do with your app and metadata, it could be that Google Play Store and Apple App Store made some changes in their algorithm.What makes things extra challenging is that app stores typically don’t announce algorithm updates. This is especially true when they do minor changes. Thankfully, they announce major updates, which could potentially have a great impact on the app store and their customers.However, that’s not very comforting when you are an app developer. You always want to know when updates are made, whether they are minor or major updates.Regrettably, algorithm updates are among the most common reasons app downloads could drop. On the other hand, it can also be a reason for your app downloads to go up. You just hope that the effect on your app is more on the positive side.
Number 5: Poor ASO strategies
If web search engines have Search Engine Optimization (SEO), app stores have App Store Optimization (ASO).If you have been enjoying a great number of downloads for quite some time, it could be that you have been using ASO strategies. Whether you know it or not, ASO plays a vital role in your app’s success.What most newbies don’t realize is that ASO is not a one-time event. It is not something you set once and you’re done for the rest of your life.You have to keep on doing ASO to sustain the popularity of your app.If in case you stopped performing effective ASO strategies, then you would surely find a dwindling download rate.
Number 6: Arrival of new competitors
Consider the following statistics from BuildFire:
The Apple App Store has an estimated 1.96 million downloadable apps.
The Google Play Store has more apps, though. It has about 2.87 million apps available for download.Now, those are huge numbers. Remember, when Apple App Store was launched in 2005, it has only about 500 apps. This should give you an idea of how app stores have explosively grown during the past years.With this in mind, it’s not a remote possibility that when app downloads are dropping, it could be due to the arrival of new competitors.
Number 7: Existing competitors improved their app
It is not only new apps that you should be concerned about. You also need to keep an eye on your existing mobile app competitors. While you might be ignoring them in the past, you might not be able to do so when you see your downloads going down.Sometimes, the reason you’re not getting a lot of downloads is that people are going in the opposite direction. Instead of going to you, they have seen a similar app that has better capabilities than yours. So, naturally, people would use something that is better than your app.
