The new analysis shows that in the past few years, it has become more and more difficult for an application to enter the top of the app store in terms of download volume According to the new data of sensor tower, an application intelligence company, since 2019, the number of downloads required for an application to break into the first position in the Apple iPhone app store in the United States has risen by 37%
Specifically, it estimates that an app now needs about 156000 downloads a day to reach the top of the list, compared with 114000 downloads a day in 2019.
But it should be clear that the number of downloads alone does not make an app top of the list. It's just an apple Is one of several factors considered by the ranking algorithm in managing its rankings.
In the early days of the app store, apple soon realized that developers could easily buy the first place only by downloading.
It then expanded its ranking algorithm to make it more complex -- and more mysterious. Apptopia, another company, thinks that it has reverse designed the current version of the algorithm. It is said that it has considered many factors, such as speed, application usage, number of new users, etc. That is, the number of downloads is still part of the equation here.
In the new discovery, sensor tower noted that Apple seems to have adjusted the ranking algorithm to cope with the impact of the 2020 covid-19 pandemic.
It reported that in 2020, the number of downloads required for an app to rank first in the U.S. app store reached 185000, a year-on-year increase of 62%, a record high. This will be consistent with the overall improvement of APP downloading and use, because consumers stay at home under the government blockade, while schools, stores and workplaces are closed.
However, it was relatively easy to reach the same position on Google play at that time, because the required daily downloads only increased by 5% year-on-year, reaching 87000 in 2020.
Since then, with the trend after covid to normalize the use of applications, the number of daily downloads that reached the first place in the two markets has decreased.
This year, sensor tower estimated that, as mentioned above, applications must reach the median of 156000 installations per day to rank first in the app store. However, Android applications now only need 56000 installations, which is 33% lower than the 83000 installations in 2019.
Breaking into the top 10 app stores in the United States also requires more efforts than reaching the same position on Google play.
According to the findings of the report, it now takes about 52000 downloads the next day to enter the top 10 of the app store, which is 2% more than the 51000 times required to enter the top 10 in 2019. However, Android apps only need to be downloaded in the next day, which is 9% lower than the level in 2019.
However, these figures are approximations based on trends across app stores. When you look at the numbers for each category in more detail, you can see different trends. For example, in the app store, compared with other categories such as shopping, social networking, tourism or finance, it is necessary to enter the top 10 free [iphone] in the entertainment category( https://apple.pvxt.net/c/1251234/435400/7639?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fcn%2Fiphone%2F ) Application is more difficult. Android is the same. It also believes that entertainment needs more daily installation, but it is followed by shopping, tools, finance, and then communication.
It is worth pointing out that these trends only apply to mobile applications, not mobile games. This is a completely different problem.
When studying mobile games, sensor tower found that iPhone games now need 93000 downloads to reach the first place, while Android games need 37000 installations. These figures are lower than the 2019 level by 46% and 68% respectively.
The report also points out that historically, games require less installation to enter the top 10. From 2022 to now, iPhone games need 26000 downloads the next day to enter the top 10, which is 40% lower than 43000 downloads in 2019. Android games only need 16000 next day installations, which is 52% lower than 33000 in 2019.
Although most of the new report focuses on the U.S. market, sensor tower also checked the comparison between the top 10 in the United States and other countries.
Here, it found that it was much more difficult for China's non game applications to enter the top ten -- the daily download volume required was more than twice that of the United States, that is, 108000 (China) vs. 52000 (United States).
However, among Android systems, India is the most difficult market to reach the top. It needs 292000 downloads the next day to enter the top 10 free non game applications.
Although the data here is worth investigating, this analysis does not take into account other factors required by apps and games to climb the leaderboard, so it is not a complete picture of how or why apps can climb to the top of the app store.
In addition, it was learned that Apple may adjust its algorithm more in recent weeks, because the rankings of Facebook, Netflix, snapchat and other large applications have been hit since mid April. This may be a test or a more lasting change. Its purpose is to give small applications a chance to stand out and be discovered among the technology giants, but it requires more time for analysis.
However, such adjustments may help to highlight applications that benefit from marketing, promotions and other trends. This may explain why planet fitness now ranks second in the U.S. free Rankings - the company offers free fitness cards to teenagers in the summer. At the same time, DirecTV has recently integrated its applications, making it ranked third. Livein, a new social networking application popular among teenagers, now ranks higher than Facebook and snapchat, ranking seventh.