Apple’s App Store Rankings Algorithm Changed

#1

Post by srebeck » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 6:58 PM UTC

Apple’s App Store Rankings Algorithm Changed
techcrunch.com

Re: Apple’s App Store Rankings Algorithm Changed

#2

Post by jliptzin » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 7:41 PM UTC

I never understood why they let this behavior go on for so long in the first place.

Re: Apple’s App Store Rankings Algorithm Changed

#3

Post by coldcode » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 7:53 PM UTC

Fiksu, quoted in the article, is also in the business of pay for position. We tried them once and all the downloads came from Egypt, China and similar places but none of the users actually used the app. It did artificially boost the ranking but only as long as you keep paying. I hope Apple stops these type of folks.

Re: Apple’s App Store Rankings Algorithm Changed

#4

Post by awjr » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 8:45 PM UTC

There is an immense amount of redundant 'crap' in app stores and I really wish they would get away from boasting about how many apps are in the app store.

I do wonder if the solution is to 'wrap' the app inside a container that reports some sort of user id/app id hash back to the store when it is fired up.

Re: Apple’s App Store Rankings Algorithm Changed

#5

Post by nsxwolf » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 9:31 PM UTC

Pay for downloads was shady, but what do the little guys have left now?

Re: Apple’s App Store Rankings Algorithm Changed

#6

Post by zulfishah » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 9:32 PM UTC

Just to add to the "anecdotal" evidence: I watch App Store rankings for my app like a hawk, and aside from the comment about rankings not changing as often, maybe once in 2-3 hours, I haven't noticed any other changes. My app is rated very highly (4.5 for most recent version), and it's ranking inside Business category is consistent with revenue as before. Haven't noticed anything different.

Re: Apple’s App Store Rankings Algorithm Changed

#7

Post by gyardley » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 10:42 PM UTC

Bad for the 'buy downloads' industry, good for the 'buy reviews' industry.

Of course, since you have to download an app in order to review it, the 'buy downloads' industry and 'buy reviews' industry are one and the same.

Re: Apple’s App Store Rankings Algorithm Changed

#8

Post by threeseed » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 10:44 PM UTC

nsxwolf wrote: post #5

Pay for downloads was shady, but what do the little guys have left now?

Making a great app.

Are you implying that it is impossible to do that anymore and be successful ?

Re: Apple’s App Store Rankings Algorithm Changed

#9

Post by nsxwolf » Sat, Aug 24, 2013, 5:25 AM UTC

threeseed wrote: post #8

nsxwolf wrote: post #5

Pay for downloads was shady, but what do the little guys have left now?

Making a great app. Are you implying that it is impossible to do that anymore and be successful ?

No, but it's a lot harder to be successful when not many people are going to get a chance to see it.

Re: Apple’s App Store Rankings Algorithm Changed

#10

Post by nasalgoat » Sat, Aug 24, 2013, 3:27 PM UTC

zulfishah wrote: post #6

Just to add to the "anecdotal" evidence: I watch App Store rankings for my app like a hawk, and aside from the comment about rankings not changing as often, maybe once in 2-3 hours, I haven't noticed any other changes. My app is rated very highly (4.5 for most recent version), and it's ranking inside Business category is consistent with revenue as before. Haven't noticed anything different.

Our app, which is also highly rated, jumped significantly while our lower-rated competition dropped.

I think this is a good move - it will make everyone work harder to make a better quality product.