Google: recommendations for apps on Google Play

    The topic of applications is one of the most talked about and “trending,” while the topic of phichiring and success of an application in a particular store is the most discussed subtopic.

    Recently, The Secrets to App Success on Google Play guide was published , which, if translated literally, will help your application or game become successful on Google Play (by the way, you can download the book from Google Play ).

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    Someone will think that this, of course, is great, but it is unlikely to become a magic wand for the application. There are definitely tips in the manual that can be interesting and useful for beginners who write not only for Android, but also for iOS, Windows or for the Amazon store, etc. Developers who are not the first year in the industry will be able to find recommendations that apply specifically to Google Play.

    Why publish an app on Google Play?


    Each developer chooses for himself at what time and in what time frame to publish the application. But, you must admit, everyone needs some input to make a decision. According to the latest Vision Mobile study ( Developer Economics Q3 2014: State of the Developer Nation ), the number of platforms that developers are guided by is reduced on average to 2.2 (previously 2.9), so choosing a platform and a store is becoming an increasingly balanced decision.

    The facts about Google Play and the Android ecosystem are below:
    1. The share of Android is 84% ​​in the smartphone market and 66% in the tablet market, and the number of active Android users is close to 1 billion.
    2. 86% of Android devices are running version 4.0 and higher. This means that the application can use many of the latest device features and APIs.
    3. New form factors, i.e. the integration of familiar mobile phones, wearable electronics and other devices, such as Android TV, expand user engagement and loyalty.
    4. The number of installations of applications from Google Play has reached 50 billion.
    5. Google Play has become the fastest growing gaming platform (between January and June 2014, 100 million new users appeared on Google Play).
    6. The developers were paid $ 5 billion between June 2013 and June 2014 (an increase of 250% year-on-year).


    Material design


    Of course, the mentioned guide focuses on the use of Material Design (MD). The MD concept will make it much easier to create applications for various devices and their form factors. Below is an example of an updated design for Evernote.

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    Appurify


    Sometimes it is not easy to create an application, sometimes (and always better) the application also needs to be tested. To do this, you can use Appurify , which offers developers a cloud service for testing applications. Appurify allows you to remotely test the application on various real Android devices and get not only a detailed report on the test results, but also screenshots and videos of how the application looks and behaves on devices with different screen sizes and other characteristics. Note : Appurify was recently acquired by Google.

    Alpha and Beta Testing


    Important is a reminder of the possibilities of using the alpha and beta testing functionality on Google Play, i.e. publishing applications to a pre-selected group of users (usually the most loyal), which allows you to catch all the features [bugs] in advance, before publishing to a wide audience.

    Installing the over-the-air (OTA) application


    Do not forget about the ability to install the over-the-air application. This term refers to the direct installation of the application from the site, bypassing the store. According to statistics, 40% of users agree to the proposal to install the application - a pretty good conversion. Below is an example from fitbit.com , where, after logging in through a Google account, it is proposed to download the application to your phone.

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    AdWords re-engagement campaign and Google Search App Indexing


    The AdWords re-engagement campaign is a special campaign that aims to automatically redirect the user not to your site, but to a specific section of your installed application.

    Also, be sure to use a feature like the Google Search App Indexing . To do this, you need to create deep links inside the application so that when searching, the user does not just see the application in the results, but when they get to it, they get to the screen where specific information is displayed on request (for more details, see Indexing the content of Android applications is now available for all developers ).

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    Android Wear, Ok Google, Chromecast, and Android TV


    Use the advanced features of the Android ecosystem. For example, it supports Android Wear devices and the “Ok Google” function, which allows you to control the device or perform some action with a voice command. According to the Canalys report, the smart watch market in Q3 2014 shows good growth (compared with Q2 2014, shipments increased by 37% and reached 5 million units) and, in particular, Android Wear platform started off well. There is a clear tendency that at the moment users perceive application support for smart watches and similar gadgets as a nice feature (which, by the way, can clearly increase user engagement and loyalty). It is predicted that soon it will become a must have for any application.

    The ecosystem of modern devices is wider than just smart watches and bracelets, yes, yes - it's about the good old TVs. Using the Google Cast API, you can add support for Chromecast devices or Android TV to the application, i.e. implement "streaming" applications on a television screen, which again, users will positively perceive. By the way, applications that implement this functionality are marked with a special badge on Google Play - Google Cast Ready.

    Application Monetization


    Everyone who looks into the manual will surely carefully study this section.
    Various options for monetizing the application are possible on Google Play: paid applications; In-app purchases built-in ads and subscriptions. Which strategy to choose largely depends on the particular application, its audience, etc. A lot of market research is now available on application monetization. For example, see the AppAnie and IDC Mobile App Advertising and Monetization Trends 2012-2017: The Economics of Free report (March 2014). I want to note that sometimes the subscription model is unreasonably forgotten. For example, the Google Play Music application uses this particular model.

    Actually, on the topic of monetization, I am completing my review of successful applications on Google Play.

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