The Importance of Conversion Rate (Recommended Read)

Hello everyone. My previous articles generally covered both the Google Play Store and the App Store together. In this article, I want to talk a little about the differences between these two marketplaces — such as which metrics and factors are more important on each platform.

My articles are usually written as concise summaries of the most important points — the parts I believe will provide the most value to you. Of course, in the mobile app industry, every topic can go into much more detail, but I try to focus mainly on the key aspects in my writing.

I always mention that organic downloads are influenced by many factors such as your app’s name, short description, description, subtitle, icon, screenshots, ratings, and reviews. After all, these are the elements visible to end users. (On the App Store side, the 100-character keyword field is also very important.)

In my opinion, one of the most important metrics for organic downloads and keyword rankings is the Conversion Rate.

There are different types of conversion rates: icon conversion rate, store listing conversion rate, IAP conversion rate, and so on. All of these are highly important for both your organic downloads and keyword rankings. When the algorithm determines keyword rankings (in other words, rankings for organic downloads), it takes these conversion rates into account. Apps with higher conversion rates are generally ranked higher.

That’s why, in my ASO work, I focus not only on expanding relevant keyword coverage and targeting ideal keywords, but also on improving conversion rates.

Icon conversion rate: Simply put, how often is your app icon seen, and how often is it clicked after being seen? This is not about downloads — it measures how many out of every 100 users who see your app icon go to your app’s store page. We can say product page views or Impressions.

Store listing conversion rate: We can interpret this as “Out of every 100 users who visit your app’s store page, how many download your app?”

You can also describe it as: total downloads divided by product page views.

Ultimately, it’s quite clear that the overall conversion rate is determined by the multiplication of these two metrics.

Since I’ve analyzed hundreds of apps so far, I can speak with some authority on this topic. While it varies from category to category, the average icon conversion rate is around 10%, and the average store listing conversion rate is around 25%. Of course, these numbers may not apply to your app specifically — this conclusion is based on the overall data from all the apps I’ve analyzed so far.

Depending on your situation, you can take action accordingly. For example, if your icon conversion rate is low, you can focus on finding ways to improve it.

Although it’s not the main topic of this article, I also want to mention this: Google Play Console only shows the store listing conversion rate, whereas App Store Connect provides data for both metrics. App Store Connect does not directly present icon conversion rate as a metric, but since it shows impressions, product page views, and total downloads, you can calculate it yourself by dividing the numbers accordingly. (App Store mainly presents the overall conversion rate.)

In the rest of this article, I’ll focus on the first design layer, which is more closely related to icon conversion rate and which I consider more important. Of course, store listing conversion rate also matters; however, that first visual design is the very first thing users encounter when they search using keywords, so it deserves slightly more attention.

THE FIRST DESIGN

Right after a keyword search is made on the App Store, users see the app name, subtitle, icon, the IAP label (if your app has in-app purchases), star rating and review count (if they are not zero in the searched country), developer name, category, and screenshots.

After a keyword search on Google Play, the app name, your app’s icon, screenshots (there is a dropdown, but I think it’s used very frequently, so this section is also very important), the developer name, category, star rating–review ratio, size, and total number of downloads are displayed.

Additionally, while the App Store displays star ratings and reviews on a country-by-country basis, Google Play shows star ratings and reviews aggregated across all countries. This is exactly where having a strong strategy becomes important. Developing a different strategy for each marketplace can make a significant difference here.

AN EXAMPLE(Stars — Reviews)

Let’s say you’re targeting organic installs in the US. Assume you already have strong keyword ASO. Now you want to increase your US organic installs further. Your main strategy here is running an ad campaign in a Tier 3 (low-cost) country to boost installs, ratings, and review count (as well as the star-rating-to-review ratio). On Google Play, the next screen also shows this star-rating and review data.

Would this strategy work on Google Play? Yes… Because ratings and reviews you get from low-cost countries are also visible to US users, and by improving your conversion rate, they can indirectly help boost your US organic installs. (Since total install count also increases globally rather than per-country, this can also have a positive effect on Google Play overall.)

Would this strategy work on the App Store? No… Because ratings and reviews you get from low-cost countries are not shown to US users, so you shouldn’t expect much impact on the US side. In this case, the benefit is mostly limited to the country where those ratings are generated, and you shouldn’t expect a direct boost for the US market.

So what can you do on the App Store if your ratings and reviews are weak? For example, getting at least one rating or review from each country can improve conversion rates in those markets. Just one — but from every country… Because if, say, France has zero ratings, it may show as “Developer Name” instead of a ★★★★★. However, even a single 5-star rating makes it show as 5 stars for users in France, creating a better conversion scenario. It may seem like a small thing, but success is built on the accumulation of such small steps.

This is just one example… Depending on your app, budget, or creativity, you can develop different strategies. It’s recommended to carefully analyze the initial design in detail.

ONE MORE EXAMPLE (APP SIZE)

In the previous example, I discussed the differences in ratings and reviews. Here, let’s talk about app size.

On Google Play, app size is directly visible on the first screen. On the App Store, however, it is not shown immediately.

Suppose your app size is significantly larger than your competitors’.

If you reduce your app size:

• Google Play users will immediately notice the improvement on the first screen.
• On the App Store, users would only see this information later and often need to scroll further down.

As a result, reducing app size is generally more critical for Google Play than for the App Store.

So if your Android app has a very large size, optimizing it may deserve higher priority, whereas on iOS you might prioritize other factors first.

As I mentioned before, these are all specific examples. Your strategy should always depend on your own app’s situation.

In my ASO work, I always emphasize that these screens themselves should be optimized accordingly.

THE SECOND DESIGN

This section is also important for your conversion rates, although not as much as the first screen. Elements such as the app name, subtitle (App Store), short description (Google Play), icon, screenshots, star rating–review status, age rating, and category ranking are visible here. Of course, some users may scroll down, so those areas may also need to be taken into account in certain cases.

The second screen is also important, although not as much as the first screen, so you should still give it proper attention.

Conversion rates are very important for organic installs, and how your app appears on these screens is directly linked to your conversion rate. Therefore, those who optimize these screens properly will be a few steps ahead.

It is quite clear that elements such as text, icon, screenshots, and star-rating/review status are important. In addition, depending on the situation, improving other elements shown on the first and second screens will also be beneficial for you.

Of course, there are also some factors not visible here that the algorithm takes into account — such as keyword coverage, keyword placement, retention, IAP rate, average usage time, etc. — which are also very important for organic installs. Those who approach this as a whole system are the ones who win.

FINDING YOUR APP

Sometimes an app is very new and cannot be easily found in the store. When you check via a direct link, you may be able to see the second screen, but we primarily try to optimize its appearance on the first screen. Therefore, you need to create a “search experience,” because users go through this experience when downloading your app.

On Google Play, it is recommended to use quotation marks (“”). You can directly search your app name with quotation marks. For example, for our sample app: “Google Translate”. On the App Store, however, the app usually appears directly when you search by its name. (There are other methods as well, but these are sufficient for now.)

Sometimes app stores make design changes. I have seen many apps where organic installs significantly decreased or increased solely due to a design change. Tracking these changes is also very important. If your goal is to increase organic installs, I recommend constantly checking your store listing and optimizing it over time.

For better terminology consistency, some parts of the text are written in Turkish and some in English.

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