作者：Ignasi Prat 译者ciel chen

手游曝光度一直以来对独立游戏开发者来说都是个老大难的问题。据预计2017年全球应用商城大概将有约2700亿次应用被下载，与去年的2280亿相比又有所增长。（数据来自Statista）如果你是一个有预算意识的开发者，网络广告应该不会是你首选的获取新用户方式。

考虑定位在应用商城的分销战略

不要把自己的应用局限在谷歌和苹果的应用商城里，机智的做法是——在其他的应用商城也进行发行，为提高应用下载量去寻找更多的机会。当然了，核心的两个应用商城还是App Store和Google Play，但是除了这两个市场大佬之外，还有很多可选的应用商店。

探索交叉推广圈并且在当中推销自己

网络广告公司是一个获取新用户的强大且有保证的渠道。如果你的开发工作室没有投资网络广告的必要预算，那你最好探索各种各样可以去免费得到宣传机遇的交叉推广圈。

他们大多数的运作原理是一样的——在应用程序开发者网站或者圈子里他们可以免费交换用户和广告。包括Tapdaq、Tappx和Eeryplay这些网站都是如此。这是一颗对大家都好的策略，无论你是一个独立游戏新人还是手游系列剧作开发者质疑。很多厉害的应用开发者都会使用交叉推广来作为自己增加下载量以开发新产品应用的首要策略。

Keyword optimisation in App stores（from develop online）

做一个交叉宣传的手游广告策略好处多多。开发者可以进行高度定向的广告交付，这让他们可以从不同垂直行业类别中选定特定的地理地区进行发行，例如，在英国、发过、德国和印度，可以用类似的休闲游戏标题为一款休闲手游制作广告标语。

一旦开发者启用了交叉推广的广告宣传活动，他们就可以获取他们的宣传数据进行评估，比如说，他们可以根据点击率来评估用户对app的印象。为了优化交叉推广活动，你需要进行大量的试行和分析来让结果最优化。

采取一种具有创造性、带入感以及针对性的PR策略

如果你深入参与到了软件的开发过程中，你就完全具备资格去在目标媒体、有影响力媒体、博客以及社交媒体平台上推广它。确保你制作的PR策略能点对点落实到位的，这样才能制造轰动和兴奋度。比如说，在即将上市的游戏中，手游玩家对那些别有特性、游戏玩法/图像画质新颖的比较有兴趣。

其他包含了开发者领衔人物采访的新闻公告、挂靠可能有所关联的知名游戏IP、邀请有影响力的人/记者到你的开发工作室、撰写开发博文以及给你的游戏社区提供一些见解和建议。还有，培养一个有灵感有氛围的的游戏社区是得到反馈和想法的很好来源，所以对游戏的粉丝以及媒体作出回应是很重要的。

优化在应用商城中的关键词

去研究并尝试选择各种不同的关键词来提高应用的有机可见度。事实证明，使用应用名中经过测试的关键词可以提高应用在app商城的排名。值得注意的是，多次使用关键词并不会提高你的app在应用商店的排名。所以测试不同的关键词、描述语以及同义词组合来找到产生最佳有机搜索结果是非常重要的。

以我们的经验来看，这个特定关键词要有足够的针对性，结果最好能让应用排在搜索结果的前五名；而不是用那些比较通用的关键词，出来的结果排到了列表前100的位置。另外，如果你想探索专业的高级APP Store优化工具（ASO），有几个关键的供给者可以满足这个需求——比如App Annie和apptamin。

优化应用设计和视觉效果

保证你的应用Log和在商城的图表够清晰，够简洁，够亮眼。研究研究你的竞争对手在做些什么，去为潜在的新用户提供一些特别的内容。通过a/b测试去测试一些不同的备选logo，然后看看哪种的效果最好。

App store介绍的截屏图片和描述

用你截图中最好看的图片来推广你应用程序中独特的主张。不管你的应用类别以及主要功能是什么，都需要在这方面做得精巧绝妙些。要保证你的app描述和截图有所关联，强调突出app的特点、优点和卖点。还有可以的话考虑考虑制作相关视频，因为这是一种可以在几秒钟内传达应用的关键优点和信息的方式。

参与企业与消费者奖励项目

通过各种奖励平台推销你的才能和应用，大肆宣传你的成功与成就。这是赢得目标受众和同行尊重的有效方式。赢取的奖项就意味着你的商业成就被得到了认可和咱没，这会引起观众中无论是消费者、投资者还是其他人的共鸣。一些著名的应用奖励平台包括——Google Play Awards和Best Mobile App Awards。

还有，去探索你所属的行业/app类别的奖项。比如说——在游戏开放行业的2017游戏开发奖，或者为西消费者颁发的“金摇杆奖”。再来，这里非常值得注意的是——这些奖项通常都有独立游戏开发者这个特定的类别，所以说这方面奖项是值得你去试试的。那么，多花点时间，考虑你所做的最成功项目，然后去提交奖项申请。记住，不入虎穴焉得虎子。

建立一个游戏的微网站或网站页面。

许多独立游戏开发者忘记了迈出这至关重要的一步——构建一个网站页面或者微网站来为你所有重要的利益相关者提供软件的提供一个重要的目的地，无论他们是希望被告知最新app更新消息的消费者，还是那些研究你最新博客和宣传的企业。根据我们的经验，一个好的网站可以让你像一个搜索引擎优化器、大横幅广告和链接交换般地参与到传统营销的实践中去。通常情况下，有一个带有App Store下载选项的简易网站足矣了。

本文由游戏邦编译，转载请注明来源，或咨询微信zhengjintiao

Mobile app discovery is one of the toughest tasks facing indie developers. Around 270 billion apps are forecast to be downloaded across global app stores in 2017, an increase from 228 billion last year, according to data from Statista. If you’re a budget conscious developer, ad networks may not be the first feasible point of call to acquire new users.

At Tappx we’re no stranger to this situation as we started out as budding developers ourselves with a blank canvas. Through this article, we provide our top recommendations for increasing your app download rates, helping you to stand out in a busy and competitive app marketplace.

1. Consider your app store distribution strategy

Don’t limit yourself to just iOS or Google Play App stores. The smart strategy to increase your chances for more downloads is to launch across other app stores in geolocations in which you’re launching into. The core duo is, of course, the Apple App Store and Google Play. Beyond these two market leaders, there are a myriad of other additional app store options available.

2. Explore cross-promotion communities and promote yourself within

Ad networks are a powerful and proven channel for acquiring news users. If your development studio doesn’t have the necessary budget to invest in ad networks yet, you should explore the various cross-promotional communities available for free.

Most of them work on the same premise – a network or community of app developers exchanges users or ads for free. Some examples include Tapdaq, Tappx and Everyplay. This is a strategy which can benefit everyone, whether you are a new indie developer or part of a large franchise of mobile games. Many leading app developers use cross promoting as a primary means to increase downloads when bringing new apps to market.

Integrating a cross-promotional mobile ad strategy has powerful benefits. Developers can conduct highly targeted ad delivery with options to choose specific geolocations across various vertical industry sectors, e.g. deploying banner ads for a casual puzzle mobile game launching into UK, France, Germany and India, across similar casual gaming titles.

Once developers have activated a cross-promotional ad campaign, they can then capture and evaluate their campaign data, such as being able to view click-through rates and gauge impressions. To optimise your cross promotion activity, you’ll need to conduct lots of testing and analysis to deliver the best results.

3. Implement a creative, engaged and targeted PR strategy

As you’re intimately involved with the development of your app, this makes you eminently qualified to promote it across target media outlets, influencers, blogs and social media platforms. Ensure you create an end-to-end PR strategy to help create buzz and excitement. For example, app gamers like to hear about up and coming new games which possess unique features and innovative gameplay mechanics/graphics.

Other possible news announcements include interviews with lead developers, leveraging any notable IPs which may be involved, inviting influencers/journalists to your development studio, writing development blogs and providing insights and recommendations to your community. Also, nurturing an inspired and engaged community is a great source of feedback and ideas, so it’s important to be responsive to your fans and media.

4. Keyword optimisation in App stores

Research and try different selections of relevant keywords to increase the organic visibility of your apps. Using tested keywords in your app title or name is a proven method to increase app store rankings. It’s worth noting that utilising keywords multiple times doesn’t increase your rankings on app stores. It is critical to test different combinations of keywords, descriptors and synonyms to discover which combination yields the best organic search results.

In our experience, it’s preferable to appear in the top five search results of a targeted specific keyword search than compared to appearing in a top 100 list of a more generic keyword search. Additionally, if you wish to explore professional premium App Store Optimisation (ASO) tools, there are a number of key providers which can fulfil this need. Some examples include App Annie and apptamin.

5. Optimise app design and visual assets

Ensure that at your app logo or app store icon is clear, succinct and eye-catching. Research what your competitors are doing and deliver something unique for potential new users. Test a few different candidate logo options via a/b testing, and see what delivers the best results.

App store screen grabs and descriptors

Using your best screenshots which sell the unique propositions of your app. Regardless of your app’s category or key functionality, this part of the app store experience needs to be executed with finesse. Ensure you include descriptors for your screen grabs, highlighting features/benefits/selling points. Consider using video content if relevant as this is a potent way to communicate your app’s key benefits and messaging within a few seconds.

6. Enter business and consumer awards programmes

Shout about your successes and achievements by promoting your talent and apps through various award platforms. This is a potent way to gain the respect of your target audiences and your industry peers. Winning awards recognises business achievement accolades, that resonate with audiences whether consumers, investors or other. Some notable app award platforms include the Google Play Awards and Best Mobile App Awards.
Also, explore your industry/app category awards. For example, the Develop Awards 2017 for games trade, or The Golden Joystick Awards for consumers. It’s definitely worth noting that these awards often have indie developer specific categories, so it’s certainly worthy of investigation. So spend some time, consider your most successful projects, and submit your entries. Remember, you’ve got to be in it to win it.

7. Build a microsite or website

Many indie developers forget to implement this vital step. Establish a website or microsite as a key destination for all your important stakeholders, whether they be consumers wishing to be notified about your latest app updates, or businesses researching your latest blog or publicity. In our experience, a good site empowers you to engage with traditional marketing practices like SEO, banners and link exchanges. Often enough, having a simple site with app store download options is sufficient.（source：develop online ）