App Conversion Rate Optimization: What It Is and 15 Tips to Increase It

app conversion rate optimization

Before we dig into app conversion rate optimization, let’s see what conversion rate is. Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors to your website who have completed the desired goal out of the total number of visitors. One of the most effective marketing methods is conversion rate optimization. CRO results in high conversion rates. It converts visitors to leads and eventually to customers. It is crucial to know what app conversion optimization is and what factors should be considered to get the most of it. In this article, we’ll review what CRO is and what it takes to increase your app conversion rate. 

Note: For those of you who have developed a web app and just looking for a quick solution to give a boost to your web app’s CR, WatchThemLive is here to help.

With a free account, you get to access a host of features tailored for CRO whether for web apps or websites. Gain access to your CRO lab now by creating your account for free. 

What Is App Conversion Rate Optimization?

App conversion optimization is the process of increasing the percentage of conversions by monitoring users’ behavior and finding ways to improve the chances of having more users take the desired action and convert to loyal users. The desired action can be clicking on a button, downloading an app, installing the app, and in-app purchasing. The golden key to app CRO is to identify your app’s specific funnel, search for ways to attract people, and lead them from the top of the funnel to its bottom.

For example, you may have an app that helps people do online shopping easier. If the app is:

  1. Accessible to everyone for free
  2. User-friendly
  3. Crystal clear to search through
  4. Easy to purchase

you will be a step ahead of your competitors. You can optimize your app to be highly effective. You can read about conversion rate optimization trends in 2022 here.

What Is a Good Conversion Rate For Apps?

Based on recent research, the average app conversion rate is 1-2%. It means having a conversion above 2% is considered an acceptable conversion rate. Still, the average conversion rate depends on the app; for instance, games usually get a higher rate, about 10%, because they are typically more engaging. On the other hand, software as a service app (SaaS) naturally gets 1% with hardship. Additionally, Some apps perform better on mobile than on desktop.

How To Calculate Mobile App Conversion Rate?

Mathematically speaking, the app conversion rate formula is calculated by dividing the number of users who responded to the desired action by the number of total visitors, multiplying 100.

So, if your website gets 1000 visitors and 40 users click on your CTA, your conversion rate would be 4%, which is a pretty strong conversion rate.

What Is Mobile App Conversion Rate?

As we have discussed earlier, the conversion rate is the number of desired actions divided by the total number of visitors. In the mobile app world, the mobile app conversion rate is calculated in two ways:

  1. Number of app downloads
  2. The number of app purchases

The mobile app conversion (MAC) rate is an essential tool because it signifies the app’s performance, and you can understand its usability and functionality in users’ lives.

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Why Is My App Conversion Rate So Low?

Many reasons can impact your conversion rate negatively; we have listed the most common reasons here.

  1. Poor first impression
  2. Not knowing your audience
  3. Metadata changes 
  4. Poor visuals
  5. Not being user-friendly 
  6. Your site isn’t optimized
  7. Mobile users are being ignored
  8. Unclear CTAs 
  9. Lack of trust
  10. Global trends
  11. Difficult purchasing process

For a more detailed article, you can check this article: “Is Your Conversion Rate Low?

How Do I Increase App Conversion Rate

Now that we have discussed what mobile app conversion rate is, we want to review some of the factors that can help increase app conversion rate.

1. Measure Metrics and Use Data Analytics

The importance of measuring data and using analytics is no secret. They can help you understand your marketing efforts, and by giving you a more comprehensive sight, they result in your improvement. People have been using statistics for years; nowadays, data has become so crucial that you can’t take any actions without using data analytics. Day by day, it is becoming more and more vital to track analytics for improving app conversion rates. 

WatchThemLive is an analytics tool that provides you with valuable data about your users and websites. This information includes the number of users’ sessions, pageviews, browser language, operating system, device, browser, bounce rate, referrers, etc. Monitoring these analytics allows you to measure the success of your businesses and marketing campaigns. Sign up here and see WatchThemLive’s other great features for boosting your conversion rate!

2. Make the App Easy to use

To get a higher conversion, you need to make downloading and purchasing as easy and straightforward as possible. Any obstacle can cause potential customers to change their minds and decide not to buy.

3. Make a Good First Impression

First impressions are always important, whether for a person or a website. The first impression is so crucial that it can increase your conversion rate by 26%. But the time you have to impress your visitors is up to three seconds. In those three vital seconds, you should satisfy the decisive visitors to finish buying and convince the exploring visitors to buy. 

4. Use Different Strategies for Different Platforms

You have probably noticed that different apps have different designs and various competitors, so you must maintain different strategies to succeed. 

5. Test Everything

As we discussed earlier, various platforms like App Store and Google Play work differently and respond to the same action differently. In addition, what works now on a forum may not work the same in the following weeks. Another point is that the time users wait for a page to load on the desktop is usually more than the time they tend to stay on a mobile device; you need to test the app frequently and ensure it doesn’t take much time to proceed.

To get better app conversion rates, you should test your mobile application frequently to learn, evolve, and find ways to improve it for a better user experience.

6. Target the Right Audience

You are trying hard, spending time and energy to improve your marketing strategies and get a better conversion rate; all that can simply and cheaply happen if you know who to target. You should target prospects who are likely to be your future loyal customers.

7. Use Push Notification Wisely

App notifications can be tedious and annoying due to their repetitive occurrence. Knowing how to design and what to write is crucial. On the bright side, it can result in increasing your conversion rate by converting visitors from the top of the funnel to the bottom of it. The exact opposite may happen if people find your app notification annoying and delete your app because of its numerous pop-ups.

8. Make Sure Your App Icon Is Unique

The icon you are using for the app should be well designed, memorable, and as unique as possible. You want your app icon to be easily recognized among hundreds of other app icons.

9. Use Simple UI/UX Design

The user interface and user experience are two other crucial factors for increasing conversion rates. To get the best result, you need to keep your app’s UI/UX simple, as in modern life, the focus is mostly on simple things, and minimalism is the trend. Keep in mind that your app’s design and flow should be intuitive, user-friendly, and without a sharp learning curve. Most apps are not getting enough downloads or are being uninstalled because their functionality is vague.

 10. Write a Strong Description

The first thing that can convince visitors to download your app is its description. Your description should be compelling and create a sense of need, and provide users with offers they find hard to refuse. You can increase your conversion rates by writing an effective and robust description.

11. Don’t Forget Localization and Cultralization 

You are already aware of local differences and you know that what works in one country may not necessarily bring the same result in another country. Localization is the process of changing an app and adapting it to other countries. Besides localization, culturalism is also crucial; you need to know if your app matches the target audiences’ cultures or not. Utilizing these two factors can increase the conversion rate up to 26%.

12. Cross-Promote Your App

Another strategy to increase your mobile app conversion rate is by cross-promoting your app on different platforms such as YouTube and your website. You can write articles on your website, talking about all the advantages your app has over the other ones, drive traffic to your website, and persuade visitors that they need your app on their mobile phones.

13. Make Prominent CTAs 

Having people responding to your CTAs can significantly increase your conversion rate. You should use call-to-action that is shown in a proper size, easily attract users’ attention, and are clear enough. While designing a CTA, you should think of its design for desktops and mobile phones simultaneously.

14. Encourage User Participation

The more user participation you have, the more visitors you convert to prospects. YouTube’s comments or Instagram likes and shares are examples of user participation that help you increase your conversion rate.

15. Build a Quiz Funnel 

A proven way to improve your conversion rate for a mobile app is by building a quiz funnel. The quiz should convince users that the app will probably solve their problems. Quiz funnels are estimated to double the conversion rates.

Conclusion

The primary reason to calculate the app conversion rate is to check whether your current strategies are working efficiently or not. To do so, you can track your users’ behavior. Next, you can come up with other techniques to help you with a better conversion rate. As an app owner, you should know what factors are affecting your conversion rate and how you can improve them. You can also use a behavioral analytics tool like WatchThemLive to optimize your web app conversion rate using several features. Sign up and start improving your conversions now!

Cyrus Nambakhsh
Cyrus Nambakhsh
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