Android Market Observations Part 1
It is now eight weeks since the initial release of Puzzle Blox and Puzzle Blox Lite to the Google Android market…
Let me first state that the Google Android market is a great opportunity for all you independent software developers and people like me who do programming as a hobby. Since Apple launched their iPhone and iPod Touch AppStore it has never been easier to release apps and games to potentially millions of customers.
During the first few weeks after the release Puzzle Blox approached not only to the Top 100 games downloads but also got easily into the Top 50 puzzle & brain category. I did only very less promotion as I have been on holidays shortly after the launch 
The first download numbers where surprisingly high and promising. But today, eight weeks after the launch, download growth starts to stagnate now. Time for a review of what worked and what didn’t.
Android Market Observations Part 1 | Reach for the top – FAST!
The most important thing on Android market is to get recognized. Personally I don’t read a lot of blogs about apps and games and so do others of your users. Many people will just start browsing the market (maybe choosing a specific app or game category) and start checking out the first few entries which draw their attention. So the goal is clear: to be one of those first apps listed and to draw enough attention! But how can you achieve this?
For the end user there are two main entry points into browsing market apps: Either by popularity or by date. While the popularity of your app cannot be manipulated directly the release date can! Browsing by date should give the user the opportunity to not only discover new apps but also get noted which one was updated recently and might be worth re-downloading. So by releasing an update every few weeks your app will reappear at the top of the “by date” listing again and again. But please don’t believe that your users are just a stupid mob. They’ll note if you just upload unchanged binaries to snatch some more downloads and will most likely complain in the comment section of your app. That’s bad publicity you should try to avoid. So quintessence is: release often but always try to add some more value.
My own game, Puzzle Blox, was launches June 1st. In the following graphic you can see how the launch and the first update affected the overall ranking of the game. Within the first four weeks it made it into the Top 100 games on Android Market.
Puzzle Blox Lite Market Ranking
Some random tips to draw initial attention to your app:
- Design an icon which differs from others. That might sound obvious but just have a look at the apps already in market. As one extreme you’ll find a lot of hand drawn icons which looks like very bad usage of Microsoft Paint. Another extreme are the iPhone lookalike icons which are looking all the same. The icon is the most important eyecatcher to attract new users. Choose it wisely and think of something different! Ask a friend to create one for you if you aren’t an artist yourself.
- Choosing your application title. The second thing your users will notice instantly is the application title. You have plenty of options here. You can choose a random but melodic or funny name which draws attention due to its uniqueness. Example are “Mobeedo”, “Buka” and “Shazam” (though this the name of a Marvel superhero). Or you can think of some words which describe your app best and built a title from it. But take care as for many words there are a lot of synonyms. Best chance of being found is to use the most common one! So if you’re doing a network application you might prefer the term WiFi over WLAN. Another option applies mainly to games: You can simply try choosing familiar name like Sudoku, Solitair, Tic Tac Toe, etc. or some modification of such. The drawback of this is that you won’t be the only one using that name… Just search for one of those terms and see how many results you’ll get
And beware that you might get in conflict with existing trademark laws! - The description. Thought twittering in 140 chars is difficult? Imagine how hard it is to describe a full featured kick-a** application with just a few more words. As Google limits the description text to 325 characters you have to choose your wording carefully. Especially if you want to include not only a description and your key features but also a short update history and a link to your web site, etc. You might think that the description is something people will only read if your app icon and title have drawn enough attention to the user. That’s right on one side but don’t forget that people are not only browsing the market but also searching it! So the key to success is to add important tags and search terms into your application description so it will be found more easily.
So if you follow these tips I’m quite sure your own app or game will make it to the top very quickly, too. However, it won’t be enough to have a nice looking icon, a meaningful description text and just release updates every now and then… I had to learn this myself as the Puzzle Blox downloads have stagnated very quickly after not being listed in the first few pages of the “by date” category anymore. Obviously people won’t scroll through hundreds of apps just to find yours. So there’s more to do for you than just wait for the customers to step in… Continue reading in the follow-up article Android Market Observations Part 2 – “Do good things and talk about them.” which will be published shortly 
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