You got a mind-blowing app idea in which you saw great potential.
Hence, you invested your precious time and hard-earned money to hire app development experts for creating an app on your idea and launching it in the market.
Now, you might be wondering about results, asking yourself questions like:
How did the app perform?
Whether it was a success?
Will it cover the investments I made?
Yet the riddle is:
Is there any method for measuring the success of an app?
The answer is yes!
There are not 1, 2 or 3 but a plethora of app success metrics which you can use to see how your app performed compared to other apps in the market. Thousands of app development experts in UAE, US, UK, and Singapore use these scales to measure the success of their apps. You can also do the same.
So, have a dekko at the:
List of Metrics for Measuring the Success of an App
User Engagement Measuring Factors
1. App DownloadsThe number of times users download or install your app on their phones.
Fewer downloads mean that your app is not performing well and you need to come up with a better strategy - be it doing ASO again, creating an attractive landing page, or changing the name or icon of your app.
2. Active UsersDetails the number of users that are currently active in your app.
A lesser number of active users signify that people downloaded your app. Although, not of all of them are using it because it fails to serve their purpose.
In such a case, you need to look for ways to improve app’s user experience.
3. Average Visit Time/ Screen Views per VisitThe average time duration for which users use your app. Screen views per visit detail the average number of screens the user navigate in one visit.
Lesser numbers detail that users are spending less time on your app, which is not good from user engagement point of view.
4. Session IntervalsThe time between user sessions. It details how frequently users return to your app.
Increased session intervals mean that users are losing interest in your app and you have to do something for improving its level.
5. RetentionThe number of users that return to your app after their first visit.
An app is considered successful if its retention rates are high. It signifies that a large number of users are coming back to your app after using it.
6. ChurnA companion metric to retention, which measures the number of users that have stopped using your app.
Increased churn rates signify that your app’s popularity is diminishing and you need to take some serious steps to improve them.
Important Note: Churn rates are more significant when the most active or the top revenue-generating users are leaving your app.
7. Event TrackingMonitors how users interact with important features and flows on your app. This doesn’t mean just watching the app screens only. It’s the analysis of the actual actions that a user takes on your app, such as creating a profile, checking a notification, or chatting with a friend.
If you want your app to be admired by users, you have to pay special attention towards these little events. Otherwise, your app will result in poor micro interaction, which will further affect the user experience.
Customer Satisfaction Measurement Factors
8. RatingsA quality score assigned by the user to apps. It designates the quality of an app. Apps having higher ratings are of good quality, while the ones with low ratings are average or below-average.
9. ReviewsWritten testimony about apps provided by the user along with ratings, in which a user writes his experience with the app.
Good reviews mean that quality of the app is good. If ratings are bad, your app doesn’t meet app user expectations.
10. User Recordings or Touch HeatmapsTouch heatmaps track those areas of the app screen on which users interact the most. On the other hand, user recordings monitor the actual interaction of the user with your app.
Both factors play their own significant roles in measuring the app success. Touch heatmaps let you know the features on which user spends the most time and the features they fail to notice. On the other hand, user recordings play important role in knowing how the app makes a user feel.
You need to pay special attention towards both these features to improve your app’s user experience.
11. In-app FeedbackYou’ll need to ask the user for in-app feedback from time to time, on the basis of which you’ll find out where your app lacks and how you can improve it.
There are multiple ways to take a feedback, i.e. surveys, contact forms, or quick feedback prompts. You can use the one you want on the basis of your requirements.
However, there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind while asking for feedback, such as:
- Keep proper check of where you’re displaying the app feedback popups.Displaying them at the wrong moment may result in poor a user experience.
- Don’t show app feedback popups too much. Doing so will only annoy users
Yet another important thing!
A good feedback is not necessarily the one that only says good things about you. A feedback that addresses important issues is considered more valuable.
12. Support Response TimesSupport response times reflect how much time you take to respond to user feedback and queries.
Quick response times result in higher customer satisfaction and there are higher chances that users will admire your app.
So, make sure that the support response time of your app is fast.
13. Net promoter scoreNet promoter score is a scale for measuring the chances of a user to recommend your app to a friend.
Net promoter score is measured using a scale of 1-10, where:
- 9-10 are promoters, users who’ll definitely recommend your app
- 7-8 are passives, users who you can’t be assured of
- Rest are called detractors, users who are most likely not to recommend your app
Here’s the formula for calculating the net promoters score of an app:
Net Promoter Score (NPS) = Percentage of promoters – percentage of detractors
If the net promoter of more than 50, it’s successful. Otherwise, you need to work on improving its user experience.
User Acquisition Metrics
14. App Store RankingApp store ranking shows how popular your app is on the app stores.Apps with a higher ranking are more visible on the store and there are higher chances that they’ll reach potential users. Given this, always aim for higher app store rankings.
The most efficient approach for improving the ranking of an app is to do its ASO. Apart from this, you can also work on other factors like regular updates and cultivating positive ratings & reviews to increase your app’s credibility so that more and more people download it.
15. AttributionLets you keep track of sources that led users to your app. The metric plays an important part in measuring the success your app if you’re promoting it using marketing campaigns.
In order to make your app marketing campaigns successful, try directing users using a deep link, i.e. navigate them from an advertisement or promotion to a screen you want them to interact with, e.g. a personalised onboarding screen. You’ll see better results.
16. AbandonmentA number of users who abandoned your app after using it for some time.
High abandonment rate of your app means that it has some flaws that you need to fix as soon as possible.
You can measure the abandonment rate of an app using any standard analytics tool.
17. Funnel TrackingFunnel shows the sequence of events that lead to a conversion. For example, the following diagram a details the process of monetisation of an app:
While creating a funnel process, you’ll need to keep in mind that each step should lead to the next and user shouldn’t feel like abandoning at a particular stage.
18. ViralnessViralness signifies how much popular is your app among folks and how many users are being brought to your app by its active users.
The more viral your app is, easier it will be for your app to get new users. So, make sure your app is viral.
19. Cost per acquisitionAn amount you’ve to spend for getting an active user or subscriber on your app. This includes the cost of advertisements and PR, technology costs like hosting and infrastructure, customer support, legal help, etc.
You can calculate the cost per acquisition using the following formula:
Cost per acquisition = Total cost of campaign/number of acquisitions
Remember! You need to adjust your cost per acquisition according to the revenue-generating opportunities on your app. There’s no use of investing too much on an app that gives no results.
20. Lifetime Value of AppLifetime value is the total revenue you generate from a user before he stops using your app.
You need to know an important thing while calculating this metric, i.e. it will a long time and more efforts for a user to spend money on your time than you did while acquiring him/her. So, you just need to be patient.
If you really want to extend the lifetime value of your app, take care of their needs. There’s no other alternative.
21. Revenue TargetThe revenue you intend to generate with your app in a certain amount of time.
Metric plays an important role for investors, whose primary goal is to cover the investment they’ve made on the app.
22. AOVAverage Order Value (AOV) is the average amount that users spend on your app. The metric lets you know how much your app is worth of.
Successful apps usually have higher average order value (AOV).
In order to increase the AOV of an app, try offering additional product or service suggestions right before checkout.
App Performance Metrics
23. App CrashesNo of times your app closes abruptly while a user is using it.
High crash rates will only result in poor user experience and abandoning of your app. So, it’s our suggestion that you should keep app crashes to the minimum.
24. App SpeedShows how slow or fast your app runs.
Slower apps ofter result in poor user experience and are often disliked by users. So, make sure that your app runs fast. For this, you can use techniques like speed optimisation, image optimisation, etc.
25. Network ErrorsServer and HTTP errors that occur within your app when you’re trying to connect to a network. They often result in app crashes.One thing that you need to know about network errors is that you can’t prevent them all. Although, you can manage them properly so that they don’t affect your app’s working.
For example: If a network is taking too long to connect, it’s better to inform the user of what’s going on rather than keep him in dilemma. The similar case applies to other situations as well.
Our list of app success metrics ends here. Now, it’s time for some practical. So, download some analytics tools, analyse your app on them, and see if it met with the expected user response or not.
Also, don’t forget to share your views in comments!
