Guide · Market
Marketing an app with no budget
Your store listing is your most important marketing page. Start there before spending anything.
Without an ad budget, App Store search is where most downloads come from. That makes your store listing the first place to spend your marketing time.
Treat your listing as a landing page
- Name and subtitle. Put your main keyword in the name, and a second one in the subtitle, written for people, not robots.
- Keyword field. Use all 100 characters. Separate words with commas, no spaces, and don't repeat words already in the name.
- Screenshots. Most people never read the description. The first two screenshots must explain the app in one glance, with a big, short caption on each.
- Preview video. A short video of the app in use can raise downloads, and it's easy to make.
Localize the listing
Each language and country has its own search results. Translating your name, subtitle, keywords and screenshot captions lets you rank in many stores at once. Don't just translate words: check what people in that country actually search for.
Ask for ratings at the right moment
Ratings help ranking and convince new users. Ask after a moment of success, like a solved problem or a finished streak, never on first launch and never in the middle of a task.
Build a home on the web
A simple website with free tools and helpful articles can bring visitors from Google who are already looking for what your app does. It takes longer to grow, but it keeps working without paying for clicks.
Update often
Regular updates give you a reason to refresh screenshots, test new keywords and reply to reviews. Small, steady improvements add up more than one big launch.