After 5+ years in development, we’re excited to announce the official launch of AppSeek, our proprietary technology platform for managing Cost-Per-Install and Cost-Per-Action campaigns. Delivering campaigns across both Android and iOS, AppSeek utilises a number of key features to define itself as an industry leading software.

As a team we invested significant time into identifying the key areas that cause issues for mobile advertisers and publishers alike. The industry has shifted in recent years and we felt it imperative that we built a platform that reflected this. With an emphasis on campaign management, tracking, traffic optimization and fraud prevention, we introduced features including:

• Full Transparency of Ad Placements
• Conversion Rate Optimizer
• Time to Install Optimizer
• Category-Based Targeting
• API Integration for Advertisers and Publishers
• Auto-Verification of Campaign Tracking

Having achieved exceptional results for advertisers like Pandora, CarsGuide, Indeed and Wish, the new platform is in a constant state of improvement through our custom built machine learning algorithms, which take campaign performance data and utilise this to determine where the best ad placements are for your app. This in turn drives stronger results for all advertisers as each campaign learns from one another.

For more information on advertiser benefits click here.

For more information on publisher benefits click here.

Want to chat with our team about how we can help your campaigns? Email enquiry@brusmedia.com

From ordering food to popping virtual pimples, there seems to be an app for literally everything. So, how can you get your app discovered on the app store? Our SEO partners Search Factory take us through the App Store optimisation (ASO) process!

Despite apps’ much higher expense and the complications that come with monitoring and handling updates, they’re generally faster and simpler than mobile websites.

What is App Store Optimization?

It’s a lot like search engine optimisation, but instead of aiming to get a website to the top of the search results pages, app store optimisation is all about improving the visibility and ranking of a mobile app in an app store. These app stores might include the Apple Store for iOS or Google Play for Android devices.

Factors that affect your app ranking in an app store

Keywords – Keywords help inform the topical relevancy of your app, just like with SEO. There are a lot of app keyword ranking trackers out there that can help you get insights and monitor your keywords.

Title –

Including the keyword in your app’s title is still the best practice, and we  given the recorded increase in ranking presented in this apps with keywords in the title ranked on average 10.3% higher than those without a keyword in the title

https://blog.kissmetrics.com/app-store-optimization/

Number of downloads – having a larger number of downloads than competitors’ apps can send out signal that users find yours increasingly relevant to what they’re looking for.

Ratings – ratings allow users to gauge the performance of an app. Much like ratings for anything (website, movie, restaurant), a higher app rating would equal to higher level of reliability, quality and therefore endorsement

Reviews – reviews allow users to learn more about the apps (both pros and cons) before downloading it. Having good reviews is essential to your app ranking as bad reviews can discourage users from endorsing the app, and lower number of downloads, as mentioned above, can cause lower app ranking.

Content optimisation – along with the above main factors, it is important that your app is optimized with great images, short video clips of the app in use, in-depth description and list of features it offers. In so doing, you will help facilitate a user’s decision-making process and more likely improve the number of downloads.

Things to keep in mind

Much like SEO, ASO takes time, so darn well be patient and don’t expect results overnight.

Besides the main factors with direct impact on your app ranking, brand awareness is a potential hindrance to endorsement as a majority of users prefer brands they’re familiar with as opposed to new-comers. As such, if you’re a new kid on the block, it may be worthwhile investing in a Paid campaign and some other marketing channels to increase your brand awareness before you can rely on ASO to bring you good results.

 

Cheetah Ad Platform has recently released some staggering findings in user engagement, competition in markets and popularity of verticals with mobile applications.

The platform interpreted data from over 52 million Android phone users and determined an average worldwide user base of 27 mobile apps each month, using apps on average 39 times a month. Their findings included data from nine different countries and showed that the country with the most app competition and user engagement is Brazil. Overall each month, a smartphone user would use apps on average 63.6 times and use on average 29.3 apps.

On a whole, the company reported that the US, Mexico and Brazil have the most competitive mobile application markets.

When it came to verticals, the UK is said to have the most active shopping apps compared to the other countries. Mexico also took the top place for communication apps. The most activate app vertical for Canada is board games and lastly, Russia sees the most competition in action and arcade games.

Senior vice president at Cheetah Mobile/ Ad Platform, Djamel Agaoua commented recently to the Social Times “We looked at the data from 52 million smartphone users to see how people engage with their devices and apps across the world. Just like the Olympics, the competition among developers is fierce.”

Gaming giant Ubisoft has released its financial report for FY16 and it shows some pretty staggering results. In just under six days, their new hit title Hungry Shark World was downloaded more than 10 million times.

The newest edition to the Hungry Shark family of games is in the stores under the arcade category. Players are challenged to unlock bigger and bigger sharks as they chew their way through various characters (sea creatures) in the game.

Previously, Hungry Shark Evolution; another one of Ubisoft’s hit games generated more than 80 million installs.

To Ubisoft, another key measurement of success for the game would be its top grossing results. In the iTunes App Store for iPhones it reached its top position at #34 and is currently sitting at position #50.

It is a general conception that single player games are lower when it comes to long term retention, so let see how the game maintains its position – its surely looking promising!

An interesting fact is that according to Ubisoft’s FY16 sales records, handheld and mobile gaming amounts to around $95 million.

Hungry Shark World is available for a free download from the iTunes App Store and Google Play.

 

Soon to be released is The Angry Birds Movie, coming to screens in May. Before its release, Rovio has released another hit game – Angry Birds Action for mobile devices. The game, which was developed by Tap Games is essentially an Angry Birds themed pinball, where players are able to fling around the bird character to complete their various goals.

Throughout each level the player is required to drag their finger over the screen to take their aim and lift their finger to shoot. Once the bird fires out, it bounces around the screen through obstacles and hits objects around the screen until it stops.

Different levels of the game have various boards available, each with their own goals to accomplish.  The goals may be to collect candy by running through them or rescue eggs by knocking down the pillars they are on top of.  Each player has a limited number of birds to clear the board with however each of these birds may be used for multiple shots before exiting the screen.

To kick the game off, players will start with red and over time will unlock additional birds.  For example, bomb would set off a blast when he hits another object.

After the movie is released, a bonus scene may be unlocked as well as Piggy Island of content, which is done by using their device in the movie and allowing the game to listen to the film during the credits.

The vice president of games at Rovio said in a recent statement “Angry Birds Action is the cornerstone of our comprehensive digital movie program, which bridges digital and physical entertainment like never before, and with more than 1 billion BirdCodes to be found out in the wild, at a scale never seen before either.”

Angry Birds Action is available for a free download from Google Play and iTunes App Store.

 

 

Nintendo, the gaming giant released its first mobile app game on March 31^st and so far it’s been a huge success. Within just eight hours of the apps release it reached number one spot in the US iTunes Store, according to the app store optimisation company Sensor Tower.  The app offers users the ability to create unique Mii characters and share answers to questions about themselves to friends.

After just 5 days from the games release, iPhone and iPad users had collectively downloaded the app 1.58 million times in the US.  According to Sensor Tower, between March 31 and April 3, the US had the most downloads of Miitomo compared to any other country.

Miitomo has also seen great success throughout Japan after its release there in March. Nintendo reported that the app saw over 1 million downloads in Japan in just three days.

Similar Web, a digital market intelligence company showed data that revealed that app was installed by 0.62 percent of Android users in the US by the 3^rd of April. They also revealed staggering loyalty rates and on average, a user would spend approximately 36 minutes and 28 seconds in the app daily. In Japan, users that had installed the app before April 5^th spent more than 22 minutes a day within the app.

Miitomo is available for a free download from the iTunes App Store and Google Play.

 

 

 

Cartwheel by Target has just acquired a new feature that’s in testing phase. The app, which is available to iOS and Android users will now essentially enable users to obtain digital coupons from inside the app.  Users will in turn save money on products they purchases from the department store.

The app offers shoppers a variety of discounts for anything from clothing, movies and electronics. Additionally, the shopper can also obtain dollar discount amounts. For example, a coupon from within the app may give a user $.50 off a box of cereal.

Cartwheel’s percent off discounts may be used multiple times for as long as the deal is active, however the digital manufacturer coupon can only be used once.

Recently Target announced that users have saved more than $475 million in total with Cartwheel since the release of the app in 2013.  Cartwheel enables users to browse deals using text, or by scanning product barcodes. To obtain the discount at the stores, users must show the Cartwheel barcode during checkout.

Cartwheel is available for a free download from the iTunes App Store and Google Play.

Recently launched by Kaneland, is Nack the coffee gifting app targeted at Android and iOS devices. The app essentially allows users to buy coffee for random strangers or friends.

The app enables users to send a coffee by transferring an amount of $3, $5 or $7 to another users account. In order for a user to send a coffee, they need the end users email address or contact phone number.  Additionally, Nack allows users to leave ‘suspended coffees’ at nearby shops for the receiving users to redeem later.

Paul Haun, the CEO and founder of Kaneland said in a recent statement “Nack is more than a mobile gifting app—it is a social network built around the coffee experience. It is designed to facilitate thoughtful acts that can be expressed effortlessly as part of the average person’s daily routine and lifestyle.”

The app is available to users anywhere however its trial market is the home state of Kaneland in Rhode Island.  A coffee chain based in Rhode Island called Brewed Awakenings, teamed up with Kaneland for Nack to integrate its payment system and menu. Users can then show app-generated coupons at the register to redeem their coffee gifts.

Haun also commented “The feedback we are getting in our discussions with coffee retailers and other potential partners has been very positive.”

Nack is available for a free download from Google Play and the iTunes App Store.

 

 

Just launched to the iTunes Store is the Galaxia social networking mobile app by Mobli Media. The app essentially enables users to create multiple profiles and have “mini social networks” to post their content into. It is based on the perception that each person has various personas, or “public personalities”.

As examples, one mini social network may focus on food, while another is focused on the presidential election. Each mini network contains information such as news articles and images while users can comment or like the posts from within them. Users are able to join a mini network with any one of their personas and they are private and separate to the others.

For a user to share their content within a mini network they must join, however they are still able to view without joining. Users can broadcast live from within the app as well as add videos, share text and photos.

Furthermore, users are also able to create their own private (secured with a password) or public mini networks.  Once a user has created their own mini network, they can monetize by charging users to join. The creator also has the ability to monitor who can post content.

Moshe Hogeg, the CEO of Mobli Media said in a recent statement “Galaxia is a mix of messaging groups and social networks that enables a more natural social experience by offering users a complete freedom of expression in all their worlds.”

Galaxia is available for a free download from the iTunes App Store, coming soon to Google Play.

 

Newly launched to the Google Play and iTunes App Stores is the WhatToDo travel app by Last Minute Travel. The app enables users to book in and search various activities available in over 1000 destinations around the globe.

Users can use the app to search activities nearby, or even in other cities. They can search via categories such as tours, shows, airports transfers and much more.

WhatToDo offers search filters that allow users to search by distance and price, as well as obtain more information about destinations and attractions before they book. In some cases, users can have VIP access or priority seating when available and the company says that users can save up to a staggering 40% by booking in the app.

Omer Chehmer, the head of mobile communications at Last Minute Travel said in a recent statement “As more and more people look to their phone for last-minute entertainment opportunities, we saw the need for a specific app designed to serve people traveling to new cities, as well as the local who is looking for something fun to do in their own town.”

WhaToDo is available for a free download from Google Play and the iTunes App Store.