作者：David Tyler York

我从与iPhone应用开发商和智能手机安全公司Lookout共事经历中学到的重要经验是应用商店之间存在差异，以及如何通过较小营销投入发挥应用排名的最大作用。我在Android Market领域经验更丰富，但我会分享系列适用各商店的建议。

app stores(from gamasutra)

Android Market的关键在于搜索

就如我从Charles Hudson 8月份Android i fied演讲中所收获的，Android用户主要通过搜索发现应用和游戏，“因为这是谷歌市场”。我觉得这显而易见。应用市场的创建方式会影响用户行为，若你去过Android Market，你会发现在屏幕顶部有个搜索框。

因此，挖掘Android Market市场潜力的关键在于优化搜索引擎（游戏邦注：就像我们常会优化网站搜索）。遗憾的是，由于营销材料有限及缺乏链接，你无法采用原始SEO策略。相反，你可以通过下列举措优化应用在Android Market搜索结果中的排名：

1. 寻找Android Market用户搜索中同游戏相关的关键字。用户通常通过搜索这些关键词发现你的游戏，你可以通过Google Analytics追踪这些信息。或者你可以根据常出现在同类热门应用的关键词做出合理推测。

2. 频繁将这些关键词添加至游戏列表，最好是游戏标题，游戏说明也非常合适。这个策略听起来并不高明，但效果非常好。Android Market搜索算法相比谷歌主页算法，算是非常基础，提高频率能够改善搜索结果。尽量将其自然融入对话中，但不要忘记在关键词版块中的游戏描述底部添加这些内容。

3. 通过游戏描述中的优质营销资料提高点击下载率，同时要做好这些关键字。

4. 采取措施提高留存率，我们发现这和市场排名存在密切联系。实现此目标的简单方式是基于预期设计描述，避免过度承诺，或迎合错误用户。

同样，由于Android Market依然允许奖励下载，不妨“购买”游戏的前1000名用户，建立自己的用户基础，加快发展步伐。这能够有效提高全新游戏的商店排名，让你获得改善营销方案所需的重要信息。

优化图标

现在我要过渡到某些其他应用商店也适用的建议。首先你能够通过营销方案优化的重要内容是图标。图标是游戏品牌在市场和用户手机上的唯一直观记忆信息。

在盒装内容架上销售的时代，你可以通过盒子两面推广产品内容，也许还有折叠副翼。现在你需通过80×80的PNG文件传递品牌信息，在半秒内容促使用户试验游戏。你如何确保游戏图标实现此目标，而不会淹没在各大应用丛中？

若你缺乏制作优质图标的艺术天份，不妨请人代劳。是否还记得我提到的图标重要性所在？这些理由也充分说明在图标设计中投入大笔资金完全有其价值。

也就是说，你依然需要给设计师些许指引，你需控制游戏品牌的创意视角。下面是若干突出游戏图标的方式。

app icons(from gamasutra)

1. 脱颖而出。这听起来简单、直白，但最难实现。参考其他同类游戏所采用的颜色、样式和字体，然后选择截然不同的呈现方式。以便游戏能够在周围环境中崭露头角，获得用户关注。

2. 选定品牌。不论其蹩脚还是光彩照人，光鲜还是暗淡，品牌是游戏的个性所在，是用户最记得的内容。品牌是应用同用户互动的首个要素，所以设计具有代表性的图标非常重要。

3. 保持简洁性。易产生视觉疲劳的图标通常无法获得较多关注，或像简单图标那样有效传递品牌信息。相反，瞄准定义游戏的单个对象（游戏邦注：不论是游戏主角，还是众多处在运动中的角色，武器/装备符号，或是游戏商标）。优质游戏都有简单品牌象征图标，这些信息具有独特性，易于辨认。

4. 保持一致性。你希望在市场和用户手机上创建自己的品牌，重新设计图标其实是进行不断重置。也就是说，你可以更新图标，但要从小处着手，循序渐进，不要一下子呈现全新商标。

拥有优秀图标的典型例子包括《水果忍者》（脱颖而出）、《割绳子》（品牌设计突出）、《X Construction》（简单）和《Words With Friends》（一致性）。

获得推荐

任何应用商店的必杀技都是推荐，这能够帮你1天获得大量用户。遗憾的是，获得推荐的过程对开发商来说是个“黑箱”操作（游戏邦注：黑箱是指内部构造和机理不清楚，但可以通过外部观测和试验，去认识其功能和特性的事物）。制作优秀内容能够有所帮助，但若你希望应用获得推荐，与应用商店创建良好关系也必不可少。

就我在Lookout的工作经验来看，常驻Android Market各载体推荐版块的关键在于同应用商店代表建立利于应用的关系。

关于推荐，若你的应用刚入驻商店就简单得多，所以要尽早及频繁提交应用。目标并不一定是一次就获得推荐，而是与你沟通过的商店代表建立良好关系。即使拒绝，你也可以围绕如下话题展开交流：

* 你们对推荐应用有何要求？

* 我要如何调整应用让其更吸引用户眼球？

* 我是否能够通过粉丝请求你推荐应用？

* 我要如何修改我的应用推荐申请，提高成功机率？

这个沟通不仅能够让你从中获得宝贵意见，还能够让你同代表建立密切关系，这样下次你提交申请时，他们就会记得你，以及你根据他们的建议所做的相应完善。这会提高他们同意推荐应用的可能性，特别是你通过邮件直接向代表提交，而不是通过提交流程。

也就是说，这个方式的关键在于获得所联系代表的邮件。在我先展开多次对话最后再加入Lookout的过程中，我结识许多新朋友。下面是供大家参考的几点建议：

1. 制作有趣而完善的全新应用，他们定会腾出时间给你（游戏邦注：这也就是通过制作优质应用获得推荐）。也就是说，不要只是默默筹划着向他们提交申请：若没有提交，你便无法从中学到什么东西。

2. 保持邮件简洁性。挑选上述其中一个问题进行询问。不要谈论没有价值的内容，不要进行闲聊，而是从经验中学习，完善应用，给下次申请作准备。

3. 持之以恒。这是我从Dean Takahashi 6月的“Meet the App Press”发言中学到的东西。虽然你向他们发送信息没有获得回应，但他们会记得你，下次在邮件中看到你的名字，他们就可能会看邮件内容。

总结

我希望这些建议能够给大家提供帮助，特别是缺乏营销渠道的独立开发者和小型团队。营销绝非易事，但只要保持虚心态度，多点付出，你就会发现这比想象中的简单得多。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Opinion: Finessing The App Stores

by David Tyler York

[In this reprinted #altdevblogaday-opinion piece, Betable's David Tyler York offers advice on how to get your application or game noticed on the Android Market and other crowded mobile app stores.]

My name is Tyler York and I have grown up with video games my whole life, but only started working in the industry recently when I went to Betable. Betable is a pretty cool startup: we make it so game developers can legally add real-money gambling to their video games just by integrating with our API. Yes, it is legal for any developer to use, including US developers, but that’s a topic for another post.

One of the things that I picked up from my work with iPhone app developers and smartphone security company Lookout is how the app stores differ from each other and how to best use the small marketing assets you have to get the most out of your app’s listing. I have more experience working with the Android Market, but I’ll also include some insights that will be helpful for both stores. Let’s get started, shall we?

The Key To The Android Market Is Search

As I learned from Charles Hudson at the Android-i-fied event back in August, Android users primarily discover apps and games through search “because it is Google.”

That was a ‘duh!’ moment for me. The way that an app marketplace is set up drives behavior, and at the top of your screen where ever you go on the Android Market, you can find the Search bar.

Therefore, the key to unlocking the Android Market is by optimizing for Search just like you would for a website. Unfortunately, with limited marketing copy and no linking, you can’t use your father’s SEO strategy. Instead, take the following steps to improve your Android Market ranking in search results:

1. Find out what key words are relevant to your game that the Android Market users search for. Often times, they are key words that people search for to find your game, which you can track with Google Analytics. Alternatively, you can make educated guesses based on key phrases appearing frequently in top-ranked apps in your category.

2. Add those key words to your game listing as many times as possible, preferably in the title and many times in the description. This tactic may seem silly, but it works extremely well. The Android Market’s search algorithm is surprisingly basic when compared to Google’s homepage algorithm, and frequency does improve your results. Do your best to fit it in the conversation naturally, but also remember to add them at the bottom of your game description in the Keywords section. Just take a look at Lookout’s description to see this strategy in action.

3. Take steps to improve your click-to-download rate with good marketing copy in the game description, while fitting in those keywords.

4. Take steps to improve your retention rate, which we found had a strong correlation to our Market ranking. An easy way to do this is to simply manage expectations with your description and not over-promise or cater to the wrong audience.

Also, since the Android Market still allows incentivized installs, there’s no harm in buying your first 1,000 users to get that seed group of users and accelerate your growth. This helps tremendously with improving your ranking for a brand new game and getting you that valuable information you need to improve your marketing.

Optimize Your Icon

Now I’m going to transition into some tips that are applicable to all app stores, not just the Android Market. The first and most important thing that you can optimize with your marketing is your Icon. Your icon is your single most visible and memorable aspect of your game’s brand in the marketplace and on your users’ phones.

Back when software came in boxes and was sold on store shelves, you had two sides of a large box to sell your product, and maybe even a flap that folded out. Now, you have an 80×80 PNG file that needs to convey your brand and compel a user to try your game in about half a second as they flick by. How do you make sure that your icon does all this and doesn’t get lost in the vast sea of the major app stores?

If you don’t have the artistic skill to make a great icon (which is fine, not many do), then hire someone who does. Remember all of those reasons I just mentioned about why the icon is so important? Those same reasons make the few hundred dollars you spend on a professionally designed icon completely worth it.

That said, you still need to give your designer some guidance and you should definitely maintain control over the creative vision of your game’s brand. Let me give you a few tips that can make or break your game’s all-important icon.

1. Stand out from the pack. This sounds easy and straightforward, but it’s actually one of the most difficult parts of making a new icon. Look at what colors, styles and fonts that other games in your category are using, and then pick something totally different. You want your game to stand out from your surroundings and get the user’s attention.

2. Decide on your brand. Whether its grungy or glittery, bright or dark, your branding is the personality of your game and the thing that users remember best. Your icon is the first time that users will interact with your brand, so having an icon that represents it is key.

3. Keep it simple. An icon that is too busy visually will not as much attract attention or convey your brand as effectively as a simple icon. Instead, focus on a single object that defines your game, whether it be the main character of your game, a funny still involving the characters in action, a symbolic weapon/piece of equipment, or your game’s logo. The best games have simple representations of their brands that are unique and easy to recognize.

4. Be consistent. You want to establish your brand in the marketplace and on user’s phones, and by redesigning it you essentially hit the reset button on that process. That said, you can certainly update your icon, but you want to make small, incremental changes over time and not surprise them with a brand new logo.

Some examples of games with great icons include Fruit Ninja (stands out), Cut the Rope (well branded), X Construction (simple) and Words With Friends (consistent).

Getting Featured

The holy grail of any app store is to get Featured, which can drive tens of thousands of users to your game in a single day. Unfortunately, the process for getting Featured is a black box for the majority of developers. Building a great app helps, but building a great relationship with the app store’s manager is a must if you’re trying to get your app Featured.

I can tell you from my experience at Lookout that the key to consistent placement on the Android Market Featured section of various carriers was the relationships we built to support the great app that our engineers had created.

When aiming to get Featured, it’s easier if your app is new to the app store, so submit your app early and submit often. The goal isn’t necessarily to get Featured the first time, but to build a relationship with the app store representative that you end up talking to. Even if you get rejected, you can start a conversation around the following topics:

* What do you look for in a Featured app?

* What could I change about my app that would make it more valuable to users?

* Could I get my fans to request that you Feature my app?

* What can I change about my Featured app submission to increase its chances of success?

Not only does the ensuing conversation give you valuable advice, it also gives you a rapport with the representative so that next time you submit, they will recognize you and the improvements you’ve made in response to their advice. This makes it much more likely that they will accept your app for the Featured list, especially if you submit directly to the rep via email instead of through the submission process.

That said, the tricky part of this is definitely getting an email back at all from the representative that contacts you. While I joined Lookout after a lot of the initial conversations, I did initiate a couple of new ones and I think there’s a couple tips I can give you to that end:

1. Have an app that is new, interesting and polished, and they will make sure they find time for you (this is the “make a great app and you’ll get featured!” tip).

That said, don’t wait forever to send it to them either: you can’t learn if you never submit it.

2. Keep the email VERY concise. Pick one of the above questions and ask it. No fluff, no schmoozing, and no begging! You know that you aren’t getting featured, but want to learn from the experience and improve your app for your next submission.

3. Be persistent. This is a tip I picked up from Dean Takahashi at the “Meet the App Press” event in July. Even if you ping them and they don’t respond, they remember you, and the next time they see your name next to an email, they might be more inclined to take a look.

Wrapping Up

I hope this helped everyone, especially solo developers & small teams that don’t have a ton of bandwidth for marketing. Marketing isn’t easy, but with an open mind and a little elbow grease, you’ll find that it’s a lot easier than it looks.

If you have feedback (which I hope you do), send me an email at tyler@betable.com or find me on Twitter as both @davidtyleryork and @betable.（Source：gamasutra）