There are more than one million apps on the Apple App Store alone meaning brands with apps have more competition than ever. While the competition for app downloads is fierce the opportunity to get more visibility is not as hard as one might think. One solid way to get more exposure is to get more app reviews as reviews can increase your brand’s ability to come up in the app search results as well as increase the likelihood your app will be featured on the app store.
Rather than leaving it up to your users to organically leave reviews of your app it is a helpful approach to nudge them in the right direction. Let’s take a look at some must use ways to get more app reviews so that you can increase the exposure of your brand’s app.
1. Create or Install Review Functionality
One of the most straightforward ways to get more app reviews is to ask for them. You can approach this two ways: the first is to install review functionality within your app and the second is to install an app review plugin.
App review plugins are often the preferred choice because they minimize additional programming and these plugins have been created with the user in mind. One of the most popular iOS app rater plugins is Appirater. This is a simple to use plugin that reminds your users to leave reviews on the App store. This plugin is also available for Android and can easily help you to increase the amount of reviews for your app.
2. Time App Review Pop-ups after Certain Conditions are Met
One of the biggest mistakes brands make in terms of asking for the review is asking too early or at inopportune times. Consider the user’s experience when you ask for the review and the times that you think they are more likely to leave favorable reviews. A great way to go about this is to wait until certain conditions are met within your app before you ask for the review. For example, ask for a review from users who have used the app more than five times in a month, have passed a certain level (for games), accomplished certain goals or have met other app-specific criteria.
A bad time to ask for a review would be upon the initial launch of the app as these users have not yet had time to try it out.
3. Use Incentives to get More Reviews
When your app users are asked to leave a review make sure you provide them a “what’s in it for me” incentive before asking for their feedback. Many people don’t like the idea of being distracted and leaving their app to take the time to leave a review so it makes sense to make it worth their while.
Brainstorm some ideas that would be beneficial to your app users and implement them into the review process so that user reviews are a win-win for everyone. Offering a bonus level for game apps is one example of an incentive that can be translated into apps of other types as well.
4. Implement Live User Support
Apps, like websites, can often confuse users. This is why customer service for apps can be just as important for apps as it can be for websites. Rather than solely allowing users to send emails for support consider implementing live user support so that your users can get feedback in real time.
In-app help desk company Helpshift is an example of a dedicated app dashboard that provides something of a two-way messaging platform so that users can get help in real time. Once the user has completed the communication with the help desk team you can prompt a review pop-up (Helpshift comes with a plugin) to encourage positive reviews.
Ask and You Shall Receive!
One of the fundamental aspects of getting more app reviews is asking. Consider implementing the aforementioned tips and try to find the best opportunities to get reviews so you can increase your downloads and app exposure.
