iOS 6 Breaks the App Store

#1

Post by Mazer23 » Thu, Sep 20, 2012, 12:04 AM UTC

iOS 6 Breaks the App Store
pixiteapps.com

Re: iOS 6 Breaks the App Store

#2

Post by mtgx » Thu, Sep 20, 2012, 12:57 AM UTC

Sounds like Apple's algorithm for the App Store is pretty horrible and primitive. I wonder if most of the success stories came mainly from the fact that Apple was picking them for their feature lists.

Re: iOS 6 Breaks the App Store

#3

Post by seangransee » Thu, Sep 20, 2012, 12:57 AM UTC

It's unlikely that Apple will fix this any time soon. I can't think of a single time when Apple gave one of their pre-loaded apps an overhaul except when releasing the next major version of iOS.

Re: iOS 6 Breaks the App Store

#4

Post by jpdoctor » Thu, Sep 20, 2012, 1:04 AM UTC

Could the message be any more clear? Stop putting Apple in your critical path. They hold all the cards and you hold none.

Re: iOS 6 Breaks the App Store

#5

Post by sumukh1 » Thu, Sep 20, 2012, 1:07 AM UTC

This is awesome news (though it's been known for a while) for the top publishers who have: large download numbers, good AppStore SEO, and good screenshots.

While I think that this is bad on whole for developers/discovery as we knew it, it might just help users. Most of the time, users are either window shopping or looking for a very specific product.

Window Shoppers: "I want a photo editing app", chances are you are going to look at the first result and scroll down and see if a icon stands out. With the new model, you see the screenshots too. Could save time over, tapping into an app, tapping into reviews, and then tapping back twice. This means that the icon is downplayed in sales and the first screenshot has become extremely important.

Very Specific Product: "I'm looking for Gmail" It's quicker to just get the first result and confirm that it's actually what you are looking for. This however means that Apple has to be really confident in their search results (which aren't as great as they can be).

Net effect for developers: 1. App Store SEO is important. (It always was, but now I think developers will start to see it now in their app sales)

2. Your copy on the sales page should also grab users attention.

3. Your first screenshot is very important. Your screenshots should be good. (Link: http://mobile.tutsplus.com/tutorials/mobile-design-tutorials...)

4. Also note, categories have been removed from the app tab bar.

5. Ratings seem to matter a lot for the search algorithm but not for Featured apps

6. This is the "Chomp" update, and Chomp has been known to get content from Blogs and various sources, so you should be mentioned off the App Store too.

7. Facebook Likes also help since those are displayed.

Here's a cheat sheet that seemed useful: http://www.apptamin.com/ASO_Cheat_Sheet-v2.pdf

Re: iOS 6 Breaks the App Store

#6

Post by lbotos » Thu, Sep 20, 2012, 1:07 AM UTC

mtgx wrote: post #2

Sounds like Apple's algorithm for the App Store is pretty horrible and primitive. I wonder if most of the success stories came mainly from the fact that Apple was picking them for their feature lists.

For better or worse apple did acquire chomp sometime back:

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-27/apple-buys-chomp...

I'm not sure how much they had to do with this but they actively have people trying to solve "app store discovery". 95% of Apps I've ever purchased have been due to personal recommendation or web review. I don't think I've ever browsed the app store for purchase. (I know I'm in the minority)

Re: iOS 6 Breaks the App Store

#7

Post by jeffpalmer » Thu, Sep 20, 2012, 1:13 AM UTC

I saw the new style search directly after I upgraded to iOS 6. I just opened the app store again after reading this post and now I am getting search results in the old list style. I wonder if Apple decided to switch back? Screenshot: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wl7w37pwuti87en/2012-09-19%2021.08...

Re: iOS 6 Breaks the App Store

#8

Post by ojbyrne » Thu, Sep 20, 2012, 1:15 AM UTC

I'm looking at it on an iPad that I just upgraded, and it doesn't look like that. I can see 4 full products, and the top of two more in 2 vertical columns.

Re: iOS 6 Breaks the App Store

#9

Post by taligent » Thu, Sep 20, 2012, 1:23 AM UTC

mtgx wrote: post #2

Sounds like Apple's algorithm for the App Store is pretty horrible and primitive. I wonder if most of the success stories came mainly from the fact that Apple was picking them for their feature lists.

Yeh I can't imagine apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Angry Birds being popular without Apple featuring them. Oh wait.

And I am not sure what specifically makes the algorithm primitive.

Re: iOS 6 Breaks the App Store

#10

Post by mannkind » Thu, Sep 20, 2012, 1:24 AM UTC

jpdoctor wrote: post #4

Could the message be any more clear? Stop putting Apple in your critical path. They hold all the cards and you hold none.

Of course! There's no possible way to promote your app other than telling users to search for it in the App Store. If having users stumble upon your app is in your critical path, you have other problems.

The search results have always been less-than-stellar whether you could scroll through 25 results in 1s or 11s.